COMPETITION WAS MIGHTY at the first of what we hope will be many quiz nights; this one at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, where Irish Timescolumnists joined readers for a night of good food and wine and rather a lot of vexing questions set by Sudi Pigott, author of How to be a Better Foodie. You had to know your cocoa beans from your field mushrooms, and several pages of photographs of weird and wonderful vintage kitchen implements flummoxed pretty well everyone.
Tom Doorley’s and John Wilson’s tables were neck-and-neck after the first round; Marie-Claire Digby’s table challenged them both. The most serious competition, however, came from the table hosted by property editor Orna Mulcahy, where chef Áine Maguire, who recently organised a food quiz at Fallon Byrne, demanded a recount. And though the Merrion’s general manager, Peter McCann, counted his table out of the race, he ran a very close second.
Watch this space for news of similar events. Tickets sold out within hours, so there is clearly an appetite for nights on the razz.