Taste for LIFE
The GastroGays describe an amazing meal in the mountains of Taiwan, and how finding each other was a missing piece of the puzzle
The GastroGays on favourite childhood meals and meeting one another
What was your favourite childhood meal?
Russell: This is still a favourite of mine. A chicken Kiev with buttery mash and some simple greens or peas on the side was a regular meal in my house, and I still treat myself to it from time to time.
Patrick: I was a picky eater, which is mad because I’m so adventurous now, but my mam used to make a creamy-prawns-inrice dish that I still dream of.
What is the meal you will always remember?
R: On a trip to Taiwan, we explored the central Alishan mountain range, and stopped for lunch at a restaurant run by the indigenous people of the area. Everything cooked for us was made by the owner’s mother — she served us authentic Taiwanese food which blew our minds. As we left, we felt upset because it was unlikely we’d ever be able to visit again, due to the obscure location, but what a memory.
What was your defining food experience?
P: Honestly, it was when we met each other. We started our website, GastroGays, about two years into our relationship, and seven years later we’re still going, but we often wonder, what would we talk about if either of us wasn’t into food? Finding each other was like the missing puzzle piece, and we spur one another on.
What’s the first dish you ever cooked?
R: Ten years ago, when we first met, Patrick was vegetarian and used to cook a mushroom stroganoff quite regularly. I still crave that to this day.
P: And Russell once cooked me the most amazing veggie moussaka completely from scratch. Both of these dishes, meatless or otherwise, bring back lovely memories! The first thing we both cooked single-handedly as kids was probably packet pasta and sauce from a jar.
What is your comfort food?
R: This will come as no shock to those who know us — chips! Either home-made or from our local chip shop; it’s the smell, the flavour, and the texture. It’s very obviously Irish to pick something potatoey, but chips are irresistible to us, and we’ve perfected making them at home. One of our favourite places to visit is Brussels, where we often eat from the famous fritkots three times a day!
P: Some people assume if you’ve made a career for yourself in food and drink, and are surrounded by it daily like we are, that you’re probably a snob, but food snobbery has no place in our lives. Crisp sandwiches, takeaways and home-made chips are regular sources of comforting pleasure.
What is your hangover cure?
P: It depends on the level of hangover, but probably a sausage sandwich on batch bread. If we were still feeling a bit off by the evening, we’d go to Mala Asian Street Food in Drogheda for one of the best spice bags we’ve ever had –– and we’ve done a lot of research on this subject!
What do you drink?
R: We’re shockingly fond of gin. Our collection is bursting at the moment, with about 100 different bottles, mostly from across Ireland, but with great choices from across the world, too. Our favourites are Listoke from our home area in the Boyne Valley, as well as Bertha’s Revenge — a real gin-lover’s gin!
“Food snobbery has no place in our lives. Crisp sandwiches are a regular source of pleasure”