Dream Island

Many dream of travel to a desert island, with white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. My dream was to travel to Ireland, not just for the green hills and the Atlantic breezes, but for the wonderful, warm and lively Irish people.

An invitation to the West Cork Food Festival was the perfect opportunity for me to realize this dream. My first visit was in September 2010, and I was delighted to have the chance to return again this year for a West Cork Food Tour.

To say my visits to Ireland were not disappointing is huge understatement. I discovered a passionate people; who have survived the strife of civil unrest, much as we have in Lebanon. A people with an enormous capacity to embrace life, to laugh and to love; who open their doors and welcome visitors, eat and drink for hours, dance and sing the night away. The similarities to my own people did not go unnoticed. So with sincere affection I decided to grant the Irish the new title of The Lebanese of the West.

My travels in Ireland were confined to the lower tip of the island. To County Cork to be precise (they count by counties there), and to be even more precise to West Cork; which is the lower tip, the very bottom of the Emerald Isle. Everywhere are narrow winding roads bordered by hedges of blooming wild fuchsia, rolling green hills and meadows, all eventually ending at the windy and wavy Atlantic shore.

West Cork is a land of “crazy” people. I mean this in the most endearing of ways, the many locals whom I had the great pleasure to meet were wonderful, passionate, and big-hearted, in fact just perfect!

My Irish connections started years ago, at Slow Fish in Genoa, Italy. There, I met one of the “craziest” of all, Sally Barnes, the Fish Smoker. A woman whose enthusiasm for fish and the sea is unparalleled.

My first host in Ireland was a seed saver, another delightful kind of “crazy”. Madeline McKeever, is first and foremost a rebel. She continuously wants to change the world and make it a better place. Madeline is an organic beef farmer and a seed saver. Brown seed envelopes are the tools of her trade, a symbol of seed survival, and of her commitment to bio diversity and the global heritage of garden varieties.

The first Irish dinner that I cooked was with Georgie Keane. Her home, Inish Beg, is an island of its own, a dream property with a wonderful walled garden where her more than 100 sheep, chickens and other domestic animals all enjoy this organic ghetto, its beauty and harmony remarkable.

My very first meal in Ireland was at Glebe Restaurant, and also against the backdrop of a magnificent garden, (both Glebe garden and Inish Beg walled garden make the list of the 100 best Irish gardens) Glebe is a family-run eatery with spectacular meals created from the bounty of their farm.

The list of Gastronomic must dos in West Cork goes on, and on… No visit to West Cork would be complete with meeting the beautiful Giana Ferguson and visiting Gubbeen, her famous cheeses and charcuterie farm, or tasting Caherberg free range pork, or mulling over Milleens selection of farmhouse cheeses.

The West Cork Food Initiative, was launched by Sally (officially the craziest of all) and Stephen Sage. Their goal is to encourage culinary tourism in the area and to celebrate local producers and providers.
Sally and Stephen organize customized food tours (http://www.westcorkfood.com). I will be joining one in early June 2012. Care to join and add more “crazies” to the island ?