Celebrating Irish Growers on The Claire Byrne Show
Anthony joined Claire Byrne on Newstalk this week for a lively conversation about Irish growers, local food and just how much excitement there is around what we can grow in Ireland – from cucamelons and tomatillos to an extraordinary variety of tomatoes.
Anthony also worked with the programme team ahead of the show, sharing a list of market growers and others working with fresh food around Ireland who could help tell that bigger story. Joining Anthony in studio were Hilda Crampton of Castleruddery Organic Farm in County Wicklow and Denise Dunne, founder of The Herb School in North Dublin.
The conversation travelled from market growers and local food supply to working with chefs, honesty shops, community gardens, seeds and the growing interest in producing fruit, vegetables and herbs on a smaller scale. There were tomatoes, of course – including some of the unusual varieties grown at Fat Tomato – alongside plenty of discussion about flavour, seasonality and the excitement of discovering something you might never find on a supermarket shelf.
Anthony also spoke about how the garden feeds into Fat Tomato's collection of one-of-a-kind condiments, drinks and gifts, capturing unusual ingredients and flavours in ways that can be shared well beyond the growing season.
More than anything, it was a positive conversation about the people growing food across Ireland and the opportunity to reconnect people with where their food comes from – whether through a market garden, an honesty shop, a packet of seeds, a community growing project or simply tasting a tomato variety they've never encountered before.
A little more curiosity about what grows around us can open up a whole world of flavour.