You’re listening to the Ken On Food Podcast and this is episode 8, or the one where I chat with John Holden about Cleere’s in Kilkenny city centre turning into a cultural food hub and what drives the simple soup and sandwich offerings.
To set the scene, this is the first of in a series of podcasts building up to the 2019 Savour Kilkenny Food Festival.
The festival, in partnership with KCLR and Kilkenny Local Enterprise Office have introduced a new award for 2019 – the Savour Food Provenance award. The aim is to recognise eateries for their work with local and regional producers and seasonal cooking.
In the weeks leading up to the festival, I’ve been tasked with visiting 12 different eateries around Kilkenny city and county to find out about what’s going on the menu, what’s going on the plate and have a chat to the people behind the food.
The conversations range from 10 to 15 minutes over lunch, to an hour spent in the kitchen and gardens.
Up first is Johnny Holden, who alongside Paul McCabe has been running John Cleere’s Bar & Theatre in Kilkenny for a good few years now.
Johnny’s approach to food has been simple and getting it right from the offset. When we sit down to talk and dig into one of his signature sandwiches, he’s getting ready for the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Here’s how it went.
Next week I’m off to chat with Damian Finnegan, head chef at Statham’s By Pembroke.
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