Taste for LIFE

The dietician tells us about an inedible tofu curry, a failed Mother’s Day breakfast and the simple enjoyment of tea and toast after giving birth

The joy of post-partum tea and toast

“The food served at the Rotunda Hospital is so incredibly tasty”

What was your favourite childhood meal?

Christmas dinner. It’s a perfect example of when food is so much more than fuel.

What’s the meal you will always remember?

The toast and tea I was given after my son was born. The food served at the Rotunda Hospital is so incredibly tasty, but that meal stood out.

What was your defining food experience?

My brother-in-law Rob cooked a roast beef for my family once and I can honestly say it was gorgeous Irish beef at its very, very best.

What’s the first dish you ever cooked?

I cooked my mum scrambled eggs for

Mother’s Day when

I was younger. I’m not sure why, but I thought the yolks had to be removed. She didn’t eat them, and I don’t blame her.

What is your comfort food?

My mum’s roast lamb, with rosemary roasties.

What is your hangover cure?

Ice-cold milk and fruit.

What do you drink?

Day to day — water, milk and coffee. On occasion — red wine or a G&T.

If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Potatoes, eggs and fruit.

What is the most appetising smell in the world?

Chocolate brownies cooking in the oven.

How important is food to you?

It’s so important to me that I dedicated my professional life to it — and perhaps my personal life, too.

You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who?

Irish strawberries on the top of Djouce Mountain in summer, with my son. My husband can come too, if he wants!

What’s always in your kitchen?

The majority of the food I buy is Irish, and I try to buy from local businesses when possible. In my kitchen, you will always find seasonal fruit and vegetables, milk, yoghurt, cheese, and the makings of brown bread.

What’s your favourite restaurant in Ireland?

I struggle to choose between Linnane’s Lobster Bar in

New Quay, Co Clare or The Butcher Grill in Ranelagh, Dublin.

What’s your sweet treat?

Chocolate! Unless my cravings are super strong, I tend to satisfy them with things like apple slices spread with peanut butter; grapes and cheese; or strawberries with cream cheese on oatcakes.

What do you refuse to eat?

Nothing. I eat everything.

Worst meal ever?

I made a tofu curry recently that was inedible. I still don’t know where I went wrong.

Are you careful about what you eat?

I eat everything, but mindfully. My focus is on nourishing my body with food, but also enjoying food as much as it should be enjoyed.

Orla Walsh, registered dietician, is working with Bord Bia on this year’s Celebrate Strawberry Season campaign. For further information, see bordbia.ie/strawberry-season or #CelebrateStrawberrySeason