Spice Bags

By HeadStuff PodcastsSociety & Culture Arts Food

Spice Bags episodes

November 02, 2022 S4 Ep2: In Conversation with Angel & Julien of Miso Izakaya, Sligo
Hui-Wen Angel Cheng and Julien Thibault, owners of the award-winning Miso Izakaya Sligo restaurant, are not a conventional Irish culinary couple. Angel is a 23nd generation Hakka from Taiwan with a biomedical doctorate; Julien is a butter-loving chemist from France. They met and fell in love in Ireland; even while they pursued their day jobs in this country, their passion for eating endured.

Tune in to get a glimpse of the different elements that comprise Taiwan’s food and culture, and what it means to be the minority Hakka (guest people). Listen for Taiwan street food tips, how one tweaks a san pei chi (three cup chicken) to perfection, and what is the most excellent fish to cook when you are courting.

Plus hear insights into being an international foodies in rural Cavan. Where do Angel and Julien shop? (A favourite Spice Bags topic.) Where do they eat? Besides running Miso Izakaya, Angel and Julien are active members of Cavan 4C (Cavan Cross Cultural Community), which unites the international-Irish people in their area with festivities and – you guessed it -- food.

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Mentioned in this episode:
www.misosligo.ie
www.facebook.com/mimikoshopireland/
Cavan 4C Cross Cultural Community

For more about Taiwan and its history, we recommend Murray A. Rubenstein’s Taiwan: A New History.

Getting to Know SpiceBags
Our podcast episodes come in three delectable flavours:
Deep dives – comprehensive explorations into a country’s cuisine.
Staple chats – where we dish about a topic amongst ourselves.
Interviews – with individuals who have been impactful on the international Irish scene.

Pick a flavour, we hope you like more than one!

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40 min
October 19, 2022 S4 Ep1: Come shopping with us!
In the first episode of our new season we delve into one of our favourite topics: shopping!

In the shopping trolley: What are our number one food shops both nationally and internationally? What shops did we grow up with? What do snobby French people think of Eataly? Why the shopping trolley is essential? What is the special night time ingredient men can get at Pinoy Pinoy Sari?

While Mei as a child was fascinated with the deli counter and the immensity of American supermarkets, Blanca spent her childhood between the sterile supermarkets and lush food markets of Central America and Dee grew up in Tipperary with a freezer full of meat and doing shopping at Bernie's her local supermarket.
This episode is the perfect complement to our very successful shopping guides that cover Korea, China, Spain, Venezuela, ramen, Turkey, Egypt and fun grocery shopping and which are available on our website.

Our cookbook Soup published by Blasta Books will be published on January 26, 2023 and you can pre-order here.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Verafoods
Ayla Turkish Shop
Costless (Tallaght)
Pinoy Sari Sari
Dasco Deli
The English Market in Cork
Bernie's
Eataly
Cavistons

Getting to Know SpiceBags
Our podcast episodes come in three delectable flavours:
Deep dives – comprehensive explorations into a country’s cuisine.
Staple chats – where we dish about a topic amongst ourselves.
Interviews – with individuals who have been impactful on the international Irish scene.

Pick a flavour, we hope you like more than one!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
46 min
April 06, 2022 S3 Ep11: Season Finale! Smoking Sally: A Conversation with Fish Smoker Sally Barnes
Sally Barnes, the only exclusive smoker of wild salmon in Ireland and a legend in the artisanal food world, was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irish Food Writers’ Guild.

Born in Scotland, Sally washed up on the shores of West Cork with a fisherman husband. With a kiln that she procured from a man with a drinking debt, the young woman made sea-smoking history.

In our chat, Sally talks to us about her passion for the ocean and her concerns for its future. She delves into her experience as a Scottish woman in West Cork in the 1970s, and how she refined the process of her smoked fish, which is still made by hand and continues to be one of the most luxurious products in Ireland today. As a master of her craft, Sally has also begun to do fish-smoking workshops, transmitting her broad knowledge in her smokery, outside of Skibbereen, West Cork.

Dee and Mei were privileged to take a plunge with Sally Barnes, fishwife (her term, not ours!) and fish-whisperer, and understand her love for smoke, salt, salmon, and the sea.

For Sally’s fish and for more information about her fish smoking workshops: www.woodcocksmokery.ie

Special thanks to the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery, West Cork where this episode was recorded. www.celticrosshotel.com

Correction 8/04/2022: We originally said Sally was the last wild salmon smoker in Ireland. That was factually incorrect, there are several other smokers of wild salmon. She is the only smoker who exclusively smokes wild fish and does not use farmed or organic.

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1 hr 9 min
March 19, 2022 S3: (West) Corking Good Food & Chats: A St. Patrick's Minisode from Celtic Ross Hotel: Part 2
For Part 2 of our St. Patrick's special minisode and in celebration of the Celtic Ross Hotel's 25th birthday, we talk to two of the hotel’s local producers – Jeffa Gill of Durrus Cheese and Caroline Murphy of West Cork Eggs. Both multi-award winning women were born in England. They also belong to two distinct generations of producers, and hence have different stories to tell.

Legendary cheesemaker Jeffa Gill of Durrus made her first cheese in 1979, and together with Veronica Steele of Milleens, engendered the modern Irish farmhouse cheese movement. The semi-soft Durrus cheese is renowned all over the country for its pinkish-mottled rind and grassy, buttery flavour.

Self-dubbed “City Chic turned Country Chick” Caroline was born in London to Irish parents, and although she spent many childhood holidays in West Cork, she never thought she would end up there. Nevertheless, in 2009 (thirty years after Jeffa made her first cheese) she found herself husbanding her first flock of hens, which would eventually produce the West Cork eggs that are so coveted today.

Join us as we talk eggs and cheese, community, cottage farming, and most importantly, why women have been so crucial in shaping the West Cork artisanal food movement.

For more about Durrus cheese: https://www.durruscheese.com/
For more about West Cork eggs: https://www.neighbourfood.ie/producers/west-cork-eggs/8844
For more about the Celtic Ross Hotel: https://www.celticrosshotel.com/

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33 min
March 17, 2022 S3: (West) Corking Good Food & Chats: A St. Patrick’s Minisode from Celtic Ross Hotel: Part 1
We were honoured to be invited to the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery to record as part of their celebration of their 25th birthday! Like many ventures in West Cork, the hotel is a family-owned business. Operated by the Wycherley family for over two decades, its welcome is cozy and warm and with ease, you’re made to feel at home.

West Cork is widely recognised in Ireland as the cradle of modern Irish artisan food. However, it is also one of the most international spots in Ireland, having attracted people from abroad since the 1950s which has informed its culinary culture.

For part 1 of our St. Patrick’s Special, we were delighted to talk to Scotsman Neil Grant, general manager of the Celtic Ross, about his childhood in Dundee and what brought him here. Plus Chef Laurentiu Samoila (known as Chef Lawrence) regales us of early days in Romania, and his time spent in France, Italy, and the UK before he, like so many others before him, succumbed to the West Cork allure.

Expect chat about pig nose-to-tail, Abernathy smokies, and gorgeous local sardines.

For more about the Celtic Ross Hotel -https://www.celticrosshotel.com/

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28 min
March 09, 2022 S3 Ep10: Exploring Moroccan Cuisine with Chef Aziz Krouch
Aziz Krouch has been a chef in La Mamounia in Marrakesh (recently featured in Netflix's show Inventing Anna), La Medina in New York, and now he is the head chef of Marrakesh By Mindo on Capel Street in Dublin. As a child, he harvested cumin and made warqa pastry with his grandmother in the Atlas mountains. He has worked in Paris and has a pash for boeuf bourguignon.

From shopping in souks, tagines, and bisteeya, to almond ghriba and honey chebakia pastries at Ramadan, Aziz takes us through a tour of his rich and storied life and his understanding of Moroccan food. Why are certain fruits paired with certain meats? Why is the number 7 considered lucky in Morocco and how does that figure into the seven spices of ras el-hanout and the vegetables of couscous? How do dishes differ if they are from Tangier, Fez, or Casablanca?

We chat about chefs like Spanish-born Najat Kaanache and Moha Fedal, who are reviving the best way to cook Moroccan, which is long and slow.

Also, we talk about tea, a staple in Morocco, and which, according to Aziz, just like Moroccan food, requires patience.

Mentioned in this episode:
Marrakesh by Mindo https://www.marrakesh.ie/
La Mamounia https://mamounia.com/en/
Chebakia pastry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chebakia
Najat Kannache https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najat_Kaanache
Moha Fedal: https://darmoha.ma/index.php/en/chef-moha.html

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1 hr 4 min
March 03, 2022 S3: Minisode: In the Kitchens of Director Pedro Almodóvar
In this mini-episode, Mei quizzes Blanca on one of her favourite topics – Kitchens in Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar's movies.

From the tenebrous kitchen in What Have I Done to Deserve This? to the airy 90s kitchen in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, some of the most famous kitchens of the Almodóvar universe are discussed.

Plus Mei and Blanca discuss foods like flan and gazpacho that are quintessential to understanding Almodóvar himself, Spanish society and being a woman.

Almodovar has just released the movie Parallel Mothers with Penélope Cruz, one in which the kitchen tells us about the lives of the characters and his first openly political movie about the consequences of the Spanish Civil War.

Furthermore, Almodóvar recently edited the Director’s issue for W magazine in which Penélope Cruz, his longtime muse, is featured as an aspiring actress in a casting of the opera Carmen.

See a young Pedro in Spain’s most iconic cooking show Con las Manos en la Masa

Movies and shorts mentioned:
What Have I Done to Deserve This?
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Pain and Glory
The Cannibalistic Councillor

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35 min
February 17, 2022 S3 Ep9: Eat Your Words: Food Magazines
It’s a trip down memory lane! As children, Blanca, Dee, and Mei inhaled the glossy pages of food magazines and the promises of far-flung worlds from the recipes and the stories that they contained. As a result, the three of us have written, fact-checked, test-kitchened, and been editors for magazines throughout our adult lives. Magazines are dear to us.

In this episode, we talk about long-form food journalism, gourmand elitism, and pretty food-styled pictures. We discuss how in Ireland, food publishing gave voice to female writers, some of whom were salty. We chat about test kitchens, about the future of food magazines and whether a tradition of “tested recipes” is financially viable on the publishing market today.

Gourmet, The Gourmand, Olive, Australian Women’s Weekly – we name-drop them all. Plus we sneak in a reference to our old host Julia Langbein, and the social media account ‘70s Dinner Party’ that has brought Dee and Mei much joy and laughter.

We mentioned too many publications to list here, but should you have a question, please contact us at [email protected].

In this episode:
For food magazines: Ireland local libraries libby app

70s Dinner Party: Twitter and Instagram

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40 min
February 02, 2022 S3: Minisode: Celebrating Lunar New Year at the Guinness Storehouse
We celebrated the first day of Lunar New Year, on February 1st, in a very special way this year by recording this mini-episode of Spice Bags in the Guinness Storehouse!

We are delighted to have been invited to record in the Guinness Storehouse as part of their celebrations for the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival. Guinness has exported its dark, iconic brew to East Asia starting from the early 19th century, and so we were honoured to be in their beautiful Connoisseur bar discussing New Year holiday food, traditions, and, of course, Guinness.

Joining us is executive chef of the Guinness Storehouse, John Bueno, whose Lunar New Year dish in 1837 restaurant of Black Pepper and Guinness Short Rib of Beef is in collaboration with Terry Yang of Stoneybatter’s Hakkahan. What Asian foods pair well with Guinness? What's his craziest Guinness food venture? Bueno is from the Philippines, home of the world's oldest Chinatown, so he also shares some Filipino Lunar New Year memories.

Next, Taiwan-born Yvonne Kennedy and Korean-born Carol Cherico give us a tantalizing glimpse into their traditions and how they celebrate the New Year in Ireland. Moreover, Yvonne and Carol have lived in a number of places (including California, Connecticut, Beijing, Seoul) so their memories and knowledge offer a broad scope.

Tune in to hear about red versus white envelopes, Filipino mooncakes, hot pot, rice cakes, and yes, most importantly, Lunar New Year drinking etiquette!

A big thank you to the Guinness Storehouse for including us in their Lunar New Year celebrations.

LINKS
For more about Lunar New Year at Guinness Storehouse
For more about the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival
Hakkahan Dublin

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26 min
January 26, 2022 S3 Ep8: Lunar New Year & Kitchen Talk with Foodstagram.ie Duo
We're back after our mid-season break with a jam-packed episode, which we're delighted to say is sponsored by the Dublin Lunar New Year festival, whose lineup (from 26 January – 6 February) of food, art, music, and lectures pays tribute to the different cultures that celebrate this holiday here in Ireland.

Chúc mừng năm moi, Saehae bok mani badeuseyo and Gongxi facai!

To mark the Lunar New Year starting on February 1, Mei, Blanca and Dee discuss New Year foods from Singaporean fish toss to Korean ddok (rice cakes) and the role that phonetic puns play in Chinese New Year foods. New Year fashion tips are shared (you don't want to wear the wrong thing and bring bad luck!) and we touch on what is many people’s favourite New Year tradition: cash in fancy red envelopes.

Next, Blanca and Dee are joined by @foodstagram.ie duo Irah Mari & Lou Jurelle (Jelly) who are two of Ireland's rising stars of Instagram and TikTok. Born in Dubai and Singapore, these two Filipino/Irish girls’ Toonsbridge cannoli TikTok video took the city by storm – if you haven't seen it, check it out! These culinary influencers are known for their charm, winsome photos and videos, and real knowledge about restaurants and recipes, with a spotlight on Asian and international flavours.

Spice Bags chat with them about the room that is the soul of many homes around the world (but not all!) – the kitchen. This room can be a mirror into a person’s heritage, character, habits, but more importantly, if they have loads of money, their taste. Tune in to find out what we think about all types of kitchens from pretentious to one-pot ones. Also, discover what Irah calls “dirty” kitchens, what Blanca really thinks about Agas and Dee's keen interest in the use of movie kitchens as murder scenes.

Follow Foodstagram.ie on:
https://www.instagram.com/foodstagram.ie/
https://www.tiktok.com/@foodstagram.ie

For information about Dublin Lunar New Year:
https://www.dublinlunarnewyear.ie/

For details & to book tickets for our Sunday, Feb 6 Spice Bags Dublin Lunar New Year event: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/239577251007

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1 hr 4 min

About Spice Bags

From the publisher's feed

Sometimes the clearest way to see yourself is through a foreigner's eyes. Named after everyone's favorite Chinese-Irish deep-fried drunk snack, Spice Bags is a podcast about food in Ireland and…