Local foodie culture in Southwest Cork

I worked in Cathy's Kitchen on Cape Clear Island for 3 months this summer. Being a true foodie, Cathy provided an education on the best foods in West Cork, mostly by bringing bags and chunks to the Island to taste.

Cathy traveled to the Saturday farmer's market in town each week. She did this despite the long commute to and from the Island. There, she patronized and visited with market vendors. Cathy has working relationships with many of the farmers and producers, and as a restaurateur and a food enthusiast continued and frequent contact is absolutely necessary! This suggests that the market is not only a consumptive space but a gathering place where professional and social networking happens.

One particular stand that Cathy would visit was a cheese vendor, Gubbeen Farmhouse Products. Cheeses are great examples of place-based foods in Southwest Cork. Irish cheese-making has made a big come-back after being nearly extinguished due to developments in the dairy industry in the nineteenth century. Policies favored butter production over cheese, and cheese that was made was factory cheddar rather than "cottage" cheese (http://www.irishcheese.ie/about.html & http://www.durruscheese.com/). In the late 1970's traditionalist cheese-makers rediscovered Irish recipes and techniques.

Gubbeen make award winning Irish cheese in Southwest cork. They have successful local, national and international markets. As a food producer, they dually stress the quality of their cheeses and the holistic nature of their family farm.

The Ferguson family farm produces and grows many food items in addition to cheese including cured meats and fresh herbs and vegetables. They function as a diversified farm in which cheese-making, livestock systems and vegetable crops work harmoniously to recycle so-called waste materials. For instance, two types of livestock, dairy cattle and pigs, work well together because the pigs eat whey, a natural bi-product of cheese-making. Brochures convey these principles to consumers; they explain the idea of a closed-loop farm: milk from cows-> cheese making-> whey -> pigs -> cured meat -> manure -> herbs and vegetables. All Gubeen farmhouse products are popular because they are extremely tasty!

I have so many lovely people to thank (Cathy, Madeline, Mike, Beth, Bob, Tim and the list goes on...) for knowing local foodie culture in Southwest Cork. Foods like Gubeen chorizo, Durrus cheese, Tim's tomato and basil, Bob's new potatoes, the Olive Man's buffalo mozzarella and spanish anchovies, Woodcock smoked mackerel and Irish sea salt will forever conjure up a palatable sense of this place.