Maura Laverty

To try and define Irish food for a new generation was my ultimate aim in writing The Irish Cook Book

JP McMahon: Many think that chowder needs a variety of fish and shellfish, but this is not the case

Jennifer O’Connell’s daughter digs out old family recipes for a 1950s baking weekend

‘It isn’t a handout. We’ve earned it,’ say owners of some of Ireland’s best-known houses

JP McMahon: I was six at the time and a far cry from the chef I am today

Jennifer O’Connell: Food is an endlessly rich lexicon of joy, desire, friendship and love

Sometimes the only voice a farmer hears is on the radio in the tractor cab

A look back at the delicious cakes, biscuits, puddings and pies we’ve cooked – and talked about – this year

The cookbook only came out for special occasions. The pages with the most splatters are the ones with the sponge cake recipes: feathery sponge, chocolate sponge, one egg sponge, hot milk sponge.