Christiane O’Mahony

The comedian, writer and actor on serving up frozen food, her devotion to a Tunnock Tea Cake and the comfort of bread

What did your mother make you?

A minced beef and carrot mash that she’d pile high on the plate and call the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks. I believe a mountain range was named after that dinner.

The meal you will always remember?

The food in Ballyvolane House in Cork was delicious. They grow a lot of their own vegetables and have a farm there.

Your defining food experience?

Chateaubriand at FXB’s.

The first dish you ever cooked?

I used to be put in charge of watching the food on the grill, long before I had the sense to really know if it was cooked properly. I once remember my younger brother turning to me halfway through eating a burger I had cooked for him and saying, ‘This is frozen’. I told him not to worry and just to eat around the frozen bits.

What is your comfort food?

Fresh bread and real butter.

What is your hangover cure?

Cappuccino. Eggs Benedict from Liberty Grill, Cork.

What do you drink?

Red wine and gin, long before it came in fish bowls.

You can only eat three things for the rest of your life, what are they?

Eggs, smoked salmon and bagels.

What’s the nicest smell in the world?

Fresh coffee brewing. A Sunday roast. Fresh bread.

How important is food to you?

Very important. I get excited about eating three times a day at least. Amazes me the novelty doesn’t wear off.

You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person.

38 | LIFE | Sunday Independent | 7 October 2018

Where, what and who?

Fresh mackerel on the Whitsunday Islands with my partner Brian.

What’s always in your kitchen?

Coffee.

Favourite restaurant in Ireland?

Jacobs on the Mall in Cork.

And abroad?

Flurry’s, a 1930s-style tearoom in Calcutta.

What’s your sweet treat?

Tunnock’s tea cakes.

What do you refuse to eat?

Battery eggs and foie gras.

Worst meal ever?

Pizza in Rome airport. The mozzarella was like chewing gum.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Chocolate. Or cake, if I am feeling really sorry for myself.

What’s your signature dish?

Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

Are you careful about what you eat?

I am trying to be. I like fruit and veg.

Are there any foods you have had to cut down on that you miss?

No. If I miss them I can just go back to the shop and get them.

What’s your perfect family meal?

Roast turkey with all the trimmings. Christiane O’Mahony is an award-winning comedian, writer, actor and budding film-maker. Her latest play ‘Seahorse’ debuted at Dublin Fringe Festival 2018, and will be at the Everyman, Cork, in March 2019. Her short film ‘Meitherhood’ premieres today at the Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival In conversation with Sophie White

“I get excited about eating three times a day. Amazes me the novelty doesn’t wear off ”