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PADDY SNACKERY: In honour of St Patrick's week, Domini Kempmakes the case for celebrating Irish food and supporting our artisan producers

WHEN I FLICKED through the pages of Colman Andrews’s new book, The Country Cooking of Ireland, it struck me that it’s amazing how an “outsider” sees our food when we can sometimes find ourselves immune to its charm. I’ve often felt that, as a nation, we tend to knock ourselves and doubt our place on the international stage – unless we’re given a thumbs-up by someone who isn’t a Paddy. Maybe that’s insecurity, but if ever there was a good reason to shout about our food culture, surely the time is now. Andrews’s book is a stunning reminder of why Irish food, and our artisan producers, are so special, and why they are a perfect antidote to the commercial excesses of the past decade.