I’m writing this post around one year on from where I penned a declaration to explore more that the Kilkenny food scene has to offer, and more about my own relationship with food (more of that here on the old AGF stomping ground).
As we approach the end of the year, I look back on 2023 as something of a transition back towards food. It was less about getting out and about, discovering new dishes, and more about leafing through cookbooks, spending more time in the kitchen and grabbing the occasional lunch out. Juggling a cost of living crisis, parenting of a now four-year-old and a busy work life is a good way to force you back indoors.
However, with a new year – and a new diary – in the offing, I get the feeling that 2024 will hold more opportunities on the food front, home and away. The Global Kitchen events happened this year, never got near them. In Kilkenny, restaurants closed (goodbye Toast, Keith Boyle’s short-lived stay at The Bridge House, Higgs Field and more), new eateries opened and more are still to come in the new year. Savour had one of its best years, if not the best year, to date. Around the country, more food festivals and events started to return as the post-pandemic hangover finally looks to have been shaken off. And wouldn’t you know it, turning 40 meant I finally got around to an occasion that would steer me through the doors at Campagne for one hell of a meal.
In a nutshell, plenty happened and plenty more didn’t happen so for me, 2024 is about making it happen, thankfully with a bit more time on my hands too. I’m in a bit of a “write or die” mode where I’ve probably turned out more content this year on other platforms and subjects than ever before and with the timing now right, I get to shift my focus back to food and more specifically to what’s going on in Kilkenny.
Now more than ever some great things are happening on the food front locally and I’m looking forward to both writing and speaking about them from the beginning of the new year. I’m even armed with a spreadsheet, some new podcast recordings and more to see me through the year. Fun times indeed.
If you’re in Kilkenny and you’ve got a food story you’d like to share, I’ll be all ears. You can reach me by email (directly) at ken@kenonfood.com.
Wait, what’s the photo?
The feature photo above is a dish you need to try if you’re looking for an alternative breakfast option at home. I spent a few months watching my blood glucose levels this year and in a bid to reduce the amount of processed food I was consuming and restrict carbohydrate intake, I turned to this one for breakfast during the week – two lean beef patties, topped with poached eggs, crispy onions and little black garlic chilli peanut rayu, served on a bed of spinach. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
