Culture File: Limerick Food Trails with Val O’Connor

Starting the tour with breakfast in Cornstore at Home

Limerick is Val O’Connor’s hometown and she showcases its food to perfection on her Limerick Food Trails.

Early one Saturday morning in November I met herself and a collection of fellow food tourists at Cornstore at Home for a little pre-tour tasting – think Limerick vs Cork via two platters of breakfast meats, one from Caroline Rigney of Curraghcase Meats, the other from Kanturk butcher Sir Jack McCarthy. We rolled out of the deli and around the streets of the city, eating as we went, meeting jam makers and herring picklers, craft butchers, chocolatiers and baklava makers.

Just a few sprouts for dinner at the Strand

By the time we got to the Strand Hotel and head chef Tom Flavin conducted us on a behind-scenes tour of their kitchens – you had to feel sorry for the lad in the basement who got the job of peeling brussels sprouts for the four-week run-up to Christmas – we were well-fed and entertained and sat around the table for Tom’s own poached duck eggs on kale feeling like old friends.

Lots of good eating in Limerick.

Listen to my Culture File report for Lyric FM here:
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More information on Val’s Limerick Food Trails: www.valskitchen.com/foodtrails.
Or contact her via email: Val O’Connor

Also, watch out for her book on bread, coming in April from O’Brien Press.

Written and photographed by Val O’Connor