The food in Ireland is as the Irish would say, “gorgeous.” The smell, quality, texture, and freshness of the food overwhelmed my senses. Local restaurants and food places compete with each other not for the best food, but for the best quality of food. For example, my food experience in two different towns, Cloughjordan and Westport were completely different. As I smelled the fresh food cooking in the hostel in Cloughjordan and recognized the passion for food people have. I was part of group one, and on our night to cook I was excited. We went to the local grocery store and Irish local chicken, salmon, potatoes, cheese, and vegetables were right in front of my eyes . I was one of the three people who ate the salmon. Cloughjordan’s eco village makes use of the resources they have by having vegetable stands, conserving water, and using a compost pile.
Johanna, our chef, came in with buckets full of fresh vegetables for our lunch. My heart felt so appreciative of the passion the locals had for food. The second I had the salad I could taste the fresh rocket and onion. The food was my favorite part in Cloughjordan because it was healthy, fresh, and grown locally.
In Westport, I strongly felt as if the food supply was more similar to America. I took into consideration the difference between the locations/farmland in Cloughjordan, although at the bistro in Westport I had an amazing Caesar salad, the feeling of a restaurant making it vs. seeing Johanna with buckets of salad is a different feeling. Cloughjordan and Westport are completely different places regarding their surroundings; therefore it is hard to distinguish the food process between living next to restaurants and living next to a farm. I appreciated shopping and producing the food, and knowing that Johanna made all the food from scratch daily rather than ordering food in a restaurant and being told its “local.”