{"id":160054,"date":"2025-11-03T07:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T07:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/160054\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T07:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T07:17:10","slug":"what-foreign-diplomats-really-think-of-irish-food-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/160054\/","title":{"rendered":"What foreign diplomats really think of Irish food \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there any better judge of a country\u2019s food<\/a> than a seasoned diplomat used to the fine lunches, dinners and cocktail parties that we imagine punctuate their rarefied world? <\/p>\n

We asked seven such experienced operators based in Ireland for their views on Irish culinary offerings and what they miss most about the food at home.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Melitta Schubert, Austria\"AmbassadorAmbassador Melitta Schubert loves discovering new Irish restaurants. Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

When ambassador Schubert is coming back to Dublin<\/a> from a trip home, she likes to bring \u201ca loaf of dark bread fresh from the oven\u201d. This, she says, is the one food item she misses from her native country, with all her other favourite foodstuffs and ingredients generally available in Irish supermarkets. <\/p>\n

The only exception is quark, which she uses for her \u201cbeloved\u201d topfenpalatschinken, or sweet pancakes made with a creamy quark filling. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe available fat-free quark is just way too healthy,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Ambassador Schubert loves discovering new Irish restaurants too and has particularly enjoyed seafood at King Sitric in Howth<\/a>, Co Dublin and chowder at Johnny Fox\u2019s in Glencullen, Co Dublin. <\/p>\n

She also namechecks Aqua in Howth \u2013 \u201cbest fish with a great view\u201d and steak at Fire Steakhouse in Dublin 2. For pizza, she likes Little Pyg in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe list is being extended with every new experience,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Chowder is the dish she recommends most to fellow Austrians visiting Ireland, along with \u201csurprise, surprise\u201d, fish and chips as a \u201cclassical Irish dish\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for meat lovers of course the excellent steaks and Irish stew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has anything surprised her about Irish food? \u201cI did not know that so many different ways of serving potatoes exist; you always find them on your plate,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Does she have a guilty Irish food pleasure? \u201cTons of Irish butter.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ambassador Anna-Carolina (Lina) Holmstr\u00f6m van der Weyden, Sweden\"Anna-CarolinaAnna-Carolina (Lina) Holmstr\u00f6m van der Weyden enjoys a traditional Irish stew, which reminds her of kalops, a classic Swedish beef stew <\/p>\n

Swedish ambassador, Anna-Carolina (Lina) Holmstr\u00f6m van der Weyden is a particular fan of the Irish breakfast, which she acknowledges probably shouldn\u2019t be an everyday indulgence. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something hearty and deeply satisfying about taking the time to enjoy a proper fry-up with rashers, eggs, black and white pudding, grilled tomatoes, toast \u2013 and a cup of strong Barry\u2019s Tea,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The ambassador also enjoys a traditional Irish stew, which she says reminds her of kalops, a classic Swedish beef stew with allspice and root vegetables. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Michelin-star chef JP McMahon: We\u2019re looking at Irish food in a new way and we\u2019re very much part of the Nordic food movementOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother similarity I discovered is the black pudding! We have a similar version of it, called blodpudding \u2013 literally blood pudding \u2013 and it\u2019s typically served sliced and fried, with a side of lingonberry jam made fresh from the forest.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mention of lingonberry jam naturally leads us to Swedish mecca, Ikea in Ballymun, Dublin 11, which ambassador Holmstr\u00f6m van der Weyden greatly appreciates when she craves ingredients from home, such as Swedish meatballs. <\/p>\n

She also visits Lotts & Co (in Dublin 3, Dublin 4 and Dublin 6W) to stock up on Swedish sweets, crisps and crispbread. And in the run up to Christmas, it sells seasonal soft drink, julmust. <\/p>\n

Back in Ikea, the ambassador can get her cinnamon bun fix for an afternoon fika, or tea\/ coffee break with sweet buns or biscuits. She says fika is \u201cone of our most cherished traditions to socialise with family, friends and colleagues\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe ambassador describes fika as a ‘cherished tradition’. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n

On her travels, she has had the chance to visit Co Clare, recommending the smoked organic salmon at Burren Smokehouse, which was founded by a Swedish-Irish couple.<\/p>\n

Swedish \u201cpick and mix\u201d sweets top her list of things to bring back to Ireland after a visit home. She also likes Zo\u00e9ga\u2019s Skanerost coffee – from her hometown of Helsingborg, Santa Maria taco spice mix for Taco Fridays and kaviar, or smoked fish roe in a tube.<\/p>\n

Norimasa Yoshida, deputy head of mission, Japan\"NorimasaNorimasa Yoshida (front) dining with embassy colleagues at The Merrion Inn: ‘The chicken fillet roll is a perfect blend of something new yet familiar’ <\/p>\n

Like the Swedish ambassador, Norimasa Yoshida\u2019s favourite Irish food is the traditional breakfast, where the different components allow him to \u201cmake it a bit different\u201d every time. <\/p>\n

\u201cI especially like Irish soda bread and butter,\u201d he says, adding that his guilty pleasure is the humble chicken fillet roll. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such a simple food but really delicious. A lot of people in Japan enjoy fried food, including chicken, in sandwiches as well, so the chicken fillet roll is a perfect blend of something new yet familiar. I try not to use too much mayonnaise,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In general, he finds Irish ingredients to be \u201cexcellent\u201d, but he does miss some Japanese home comforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my favourite sweets in Japan use an ingredient called anko, which is a very sweet paste made with azuki beans. These can be quite hard to find in Ireland,\u201d he says. He also misses soba, the Japanese buckwheat noodles.<\/p>\n

He says it can still be hard to find specific Japanese-made ingredients for cooking at home. When he does make it back to Japan though, his focus is on omiyage or gifts and souvenirs, which he says are taken \u201cvery seriously\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cOmiyage can be sweets, locally-themed items, stationery, and so on,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always make sure to buy a big box of Japanese sweets to hand out to everyone at the embassy when I return from a trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

When people visit Ireland from Japan, he recommends that they try chowder, oysters and Guinness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love seafood in Japan, and so this is a perfect introduction to Irish food for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like ambassador Schubert from Austria, he was surprised at how many potatoes Irish people eat. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do they eat them often, but they prepare them in so many different ways. I think it is similar to how much rice we eat in Japan. I was also surprised by how sweet the vegetables are in Ireland. They are truly delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

And his favourite restaurant? He appreciates local service, singling out The Merrion Inn in Dublin 4, which is close to the embassy.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Nicola Faganello, Italy\"AmbassadorAmbassador Nicola Faganello enjoys Irish beer (in moderation). Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

Ambassador of Italy Nicola Faganello misses the cheese from the mountains of his native Trentino in the northeast of the country and, so far, hasn\u2019t been able to find it here. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s similar to pecorino but it\u2019s a cow\u2019s milk cheese, different from Gouda or Emmental; we eat it with potatoes and polenta. The two varieties I love most are asiago mezzano e stagionato, cruccolo and vezzena, which comes from the area that borders Trentino and Veneto, where a part of my family comes from and where I spent many summer holidays when I was young.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mostly though, he finds it easy enough to source his favourite Italian ingredients here, albeit often at higher prices or of lower quality. Freshness can also be an issue, with some foods losing their best qualities when not eaten fresh. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, in Italy we try to eat buffalo mozzarella or ricotta within 24, or max 48 hours, after they are produced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from his favourite cheese, ambassador Faganello likes to bring back grappa from Trentino – a grape-based brandy – when he returns from a trip home. His preferred Italian coffee might also sneak into his suitcase, along with \u201csugar-free and 100 per cent fruit jam from my region\u201d.<\/p>\n

He works hard to promote Italian food within his role and says he has found some good Italian restaurants in Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cItalian cuisine is not just food but also a set of social practices, habits, and gestures that lead to considering the preparation and consumption of a meal as an authentic moment of sharing and meeting, also with our Irish friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within Irish cuisine, he has noted \u201cthe very high quality of Irish meat\u201d (particularly beef and lamb), salmon and other seafood \u201cwhich I would recommend to everyone\u201d. He admits to particularly enjoying Irish beer (in moderation) and says he appreciates the \u201csubtle taste difference\u201d between Guinness and Murphy\u2019s, while preferring red beers.<\/p>\n

His biggest surprise about Irish food though will not be surprising to Irish readers: the provenance of many of our fish and chip restaurants. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was of course surprised when I realised that Italian emigrants \u2013 coming from a specific small area of central Italy in the province of Frosinone (south of Rome) and particularly from the little town of Casalattico and other nearby villages \u2013 are the ones that brought fish and chips to Ireland,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Leena Gardemeister, Finland\"Finland’sFinland\u2019s ambassador to Ireland Leena Gardemeister: ‘Everything\u2019s so tasty, and the ingredients are always fresh and varied.’ Photograph: Alan Betson\/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Bread is a recurring theme when it comes to thoughts of home, with Finnish ambassador Leena Gardemeister particularly wistful about Finnish rye bread: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like it anywhere in the world and no bread tastes as great,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

And the ingredients needed for this special food are not always easy to find in Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some special Finnish ingredients like dark treacle and beer malt that are essential in making malted rye bread that we serve with smoked salmon at our events. I always bring some from Finland,\u201d says the ambassador. She also likes to bring back salmiakki – the strong salted Finnish liquorice she identifies as her \u201cguilty pleasure\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved it since I was little but it\u2019s not exactly ideal for the blood pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like others, the ambassador enjoys seafood in Howth, saying she\u2019s had some of her best meals there. She has also loved seafood in Liscannor, Co Clare and, for a touch of luxury, recommends Chapter One in Dublin<\/a>, where the kitchen is run by fellow Finn, Mickael Viljanen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the food scene here was meant to be quite lively and modern, but I\u2019ve been genuinely impressed. Everything\u2019s so tasty, and the ingredients are always fresh and varied \u2013 it has been a lovely surprise,\u201d she says. Independent coffee shops bring her particular joy, but she wishes her tummy would tolerate more lattes.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Ibiyemi Aisha Ajiboye-Roberts, Nigeria\"WhenWhen ambassador Ibiyemi Aisha Ajiboye-Roberts visits home, she likes to bring back a local spice called iru <\/p>\n

Nigerians are the largest African group in the State, according to the last census, which means there has been a huge expansion in the availability of Nigerian foods here in recent years. <\/p>\n

Ambassador Ibiyemi Aisha Ajiboye-Roberts says she has no difficulty in finding ingredients from home in Ireland because \u201cthere are quite a number of African stores where Nigerian foods are sold\u201d. <\/p>\n

When she visits home, however, she likes to bring back a local spice called iru, which is popular across west African cooking. Made from fermented locust beans, iru is aromatic and has a rich, robust flavour used to enhance soups and stews.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0West African food is finally taking its place at Irish tablesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The ambassador singles out three dishes she particularly misses about home \u2013 amala, gbegiri and ewedu \u2013 saying \u201cthe originality of the food can only be got back home in Nigeria\u201d.<\/p>\n

Amala is a \u201cswallow food\u201d, or dough-like staple made from yam and cassava flour, or unripe plantain flour, while gbegiri is a soup made from beans or black-eyed peas. Ewedu, also a soup, is made from jute leaf.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Ajiboye-Roberts says she is \u201cstill searching\u201d for her favourite Irish restaurant but she has managed to find a guilty Irish pleasure in apple tart: \u201cI feel quite guilty about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She notes, however, that apple tart may not qualify as an Irish food because it\u2019s \u201cbasically English\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Chantelle Taylor, Australia\"AustralianAustralian ambassador to Ireland Chantelle Taylor says her favourite food recommendation for Aussies visiting Ireland is mussels. Photograph: Alan Betson\/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Unusually, ambassador Taylor does not like to bring food back to Ireland after visiting home because Australia\u2019s strict biosecurity measures to prevent invasive pests being introduced mean Australians are \u201cvery well conditioned to respect that risk in reverse\u201d. She says that if she could, she would love to bring back \u201ca huge tray of ripe Kensington Pride mangoes from Queensland\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fresh produce and seasons are intertwined in Australia, the ambassador says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet mangoes and crisp apples signal winter is finally over; juicy fresh watermelon and berries are the fuel of summer holidays; creamy avocados and juicy plums remind you to turn the heating on soon, and an abundance of mandarins and lemons are the perfect tonic for that first winter sneeze or cough.\u201d<\/p>\n

With her restrictions on imports, ambassador Taylor is forced to search for her quintessential Aussie products in Irish shops, with Tim Tams, Vegemite and Australian wines easy enough to source. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the Asian-inspired staples that are very common in Australian supermarkets can be harder to find, like Ponzu sauce or sesame dressing,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are out there, you just have to hunt for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Every pub we\u2019ve gone to, no matter where in Ireland, has treated us like we are family returning home<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Ambassador Chantelle Taylor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again like ambassador Schubert, ambassador Taylor has particularly enjoyed the \u201cgreat food and warm historic atmosphere\u201d at Johnny Fox\u2019s. She also likes DeVille\u2019s in Dalkey, Co Dublin \u201cfor its delicious steak and great Irish coffee\u201d. And like ambassador Gardemeister from Finland, she is patriotic for special occasions, picking D\u2019Olier Street in Dublin 2, where executive chef and owner James Moore is Australian. That\u2019s not the only reason for visiting, she emphasises: \u201cThe food is incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her favourite food recommendation for Australian visitors to Ireland is mussels, which she says have helped her to get over missing Australian specialities such as barramundi. Her guilty Irish pleasure is Toffee Brittle from Second Street Bakeshop in Cork. \u201cI can\u2019t actually have it in the house \u2013 it\u2019s too tempting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her other favourite experience is the welcome she has universally received in pubs and restaurants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere and warmth you feel when you walk into any Irish pub or restaurant in Ireland is a national superpower. Every pub we\u2019ve gone to, no matter where in Ireland, has treated us like we are family returning home. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery restaurant experience leaves you thinking \u2013 well, is this now my favourite?\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is there any better judge of a country\u2019s food than a seasoned diplomat used to the fine lunches,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,64254,19,17,5281],"class_list":{"0":"post-160054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-food-month","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-restaurant"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115484547345171297","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}