This will definitely cure what ails you…
Food is my passion.
I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef and the host of Bigger Bolder Baking, so that
means great food is part of my everyday life.
You’ve seen me Boldly Bake over-the-top recipes.
Now travel with me on my Culinary Adventures around the world.
In this episode of Gemma Eats…
I have my work cut out for me with a Full Irish Breakfast.
. .
seeking out the BEST Fish & Chips…
and a good alternative to an oven…
All right now on Gemma Eats.
So, you know you’re in Ireland when it’s raining in the summertime.
I’m here in Bridgetown, a little small village outside of Wexford town very close to Kilmore
Quay.
Bridgetown is also known as Baile an Droichid which means Bridgetown in Gaielge…I am here
because I want to show you what we are known for here in Ireland which is our Irish Breakfast.
This place, Button and Spoon in Bridgetown does an amazing one so come with me…
Button and Spoon is such a lovely example of what Irish Tea Time is all about.
This place has only been around for 3 years but the building has always been the center
of the town.
Button & Spoon’s baked goods are made right here on the premises.
And I must say they are definitely Big & BOLD.
One of the reasons why I love this place is if you look around they have beautiful china
plates and china cups all over the walls and they serve your tea and coffee in them.
They are absolutely gorgeous.
They’re beautifully patterns.
Similar to what I use on Bigger Bolder Baking.
That’s why I’m drawn to this so much.
It has the vibe of an old school tea room.
You know, which is really unique.
You don’t see many places like this any more.
And that’s because, Nuala, the owner of button and spoon, along with her husband,
Nigel, set out to create more than just a cafe…this place is all about food bringing
people together.
It’s funny because nowadays farm to table is such a big thing all around the world.
In Ireland, most out our food is farm to table.
We’re such a small island that we have everything close by: meat, fish, dairy.
Some of the best in the world in my opinion so essentially we’ve always had farm to
table and it doesn’t cost the earth.
So I’m going to have a Full Irish Breakfast, and what is involved in a Full Irish is a
lot of pork and fried food.
Lovely, Thanks a million!
Beautiful.
So let me talk you through what we have here.
We have rashers, which is Irish bacon.
We have mushrooms.
We have black pudding, white pudding, fried potatoes with onions.
Grilled tomatoes.
Irish sausages, which are my favorite things in the world.
And some baked beans.
And of course a fried egg.
Ok, so I know this looks like a lot of food but the thing about it is.
Say for instance, you went out last night and you had a few too many pints of Guinness
or Gin & Tonics.
And you woke up feeling a little worse for wear.
Well, this will cure what ails you for sure.
This is what’s called soakage.
Mmmmm.
Ok, black pudding also known as blood sausage is absolutely delicious.
It’s a mixture of some spices, bread crumbs, some oats, a little bit of barley.
The thing about it is it’s a little bit minerally because it has blood in it but it
makes it really good.
The soft pudding is my favorite type of pudding because it’s kind of soft and squishy like
this.
Beautiful.
It kind of mushes into everything else.
So there’s one thing I definitely miss being far away from home and that’s Irish sausages.
Irish sausages are really soft.
They’re probably fattier than normal sausages which doesn’t make them better but it makes
them taste really good.
They are just absolutely delicious.
There’s something about them.
They’re really salty.
They have a soft texture.
I don’t find sausages like these in the States so when I’m home I try to have as
many as I can.
Every time I come home to Ireland, I have to have a Full Irish Breakfast because I don’t
get anything like this in Santa Monica.
It’s just not the same.
The sausages taste different.
The bacon isn’t the same.
They have different baked beans.
You have to have a traditional legit Irish Breakfast.
And the only place you’re going to get that is in Ireland.
Ok, so I admit I needed a break from eating so fortunately Nuala came by to chat…
We have a culture of…we’re tea drinkers and coffee drinkers.
And talking.
And having the chat.
And a slice of cake.
And this fills that hole.
Button and Spoon is very unique.
The heart of Button and Spoon really here in Bridgetown is about conversation and meeting
people.
And coming in and having a cup of tea.
And sitting down.
We have groups of moms who come in after school.
It’s a community.
It’s very personal.
Everyone knows everybody.
Everyone cares about everybody.
We care about everybody’s ailments.
Doctors appointments.
Deaths.
Births.
Marriages.
All the news, the gossip and the scandal.
All the important stuff.
But it is the heart of the community which is fabulous.
I’m definitely not eating for at least another two hours.
Well, that was a lot of food.
But it was absolutely delicious.
And it’s all gone.
And I don’t regret a thing!
So after that breakfast, what I really need was a nap…
but I still had more Eats to show you!
So here we are driving into Kilmore Quay, a little rural fishing village around 30 minutes
outside of Wexford town where I’m from.
There’s only a population of around 700 people in this little village.
Kilmore Quay is Cé na Cille Móire, which means Quay of the Big Church.
So this is quite a traditional Irish village.
As you can see when you drive into the village, you can see all of the fishing trawlers lined
up over there.
A huge amount of fishing is done here and the fish is sent all over the world.
So of course I was here for the FISH!
And not just any fish.
Battered, flaky, lovely FISH.
And chips (or fries), of course!
And there’s only one place I could go…
So I cannot come to Wexford in the summertime without getting traditional fish and chips
in Kilmore Quay.
There is no better place than the Saltee Chipper because they get fresh fish every single day
right from the water so I’m really excited to try them.
Even if it weren’t located next to a harbor, the Saltee Chipper makes you feel like you’re
at sea.
Local chippers are usually small operations that have a cozy feel to them.
Oh, my gosh.
This smells so good.
This is a lot of fish and chips.
One of the best things about fish and chips as well is that you come and get food to feed
an army and it costs around 10 Euros.
It’s kind of incredible and it hasn’t changed since I was young.
So how often do the boats go out in the summertime?
Do they go out every day?
Yeah, they’ll be gone for a week or more, though.
yeah.
There’s a boat that leaves her now and goes over to the Saltee Islands every day.
Once again, fresh and local is what Ireland does best.
Ok, so if it looks like I’m freezing then... you’re right...
but even that crazy wind couldn’t keep me from this place…
Oh, my gosh.
And it weighs around 2 lbs.
Oh, that’s the fish.
You know when you get legit fish and chips because it comes in this lovely paper.
Check that out.
Local Kilmore Quay fish.
I know it’s very blustery and it might not look like summer here in Wexford but this
is what our summers are like.
When we were kids, the evenings would be really long and we’d come down to Kilmore Quay
and get fish and chips, eat them outside.
They were absolutely divine.
When you get fish and chips in a chipper, generally you get something meaty and thick
like a cod or a haddock.
This is haddock here.
It’s nice, thick flaky bits of fish.
Once misconception about chippers or chippees is that fish and chips are really fatty.
The thing about it is good fish and chips shouldn’t really be fatty and greasy.
They should just have a little bit of it.
They are cooked in such a high fat that they cook really fast and it shouldn’t soak in.
Mmmmm.
One of the reasons why I love chips from a chipper is just look at how chunky and big
these guys are.
They’re not thin and crispy.
They’re nice big meaty guys.
Oh, and she loaded on the salt.
Good woman.
I have some extra vinegar here.
Oh my god they’re so good.
One of the great things about getting fish and chips in Wexford is not only does the
fish come straight from that water out there but the potatoes are locally grown Wexford
potatoes.
And in the summertime we grow summer potatoes, they’re also called new potatoes, and they
sell them for around 8 weeks or so.
It’s a very short period but when they have them out they make really great chips.
They’re kind of sweet to eat.
Mmmm.
Yummm.
I love my chips with loads of salt and vinegar.
You can never have too much.
What I did have too much of was the cold and wind…but this was another successful find/adventure.
Fortunately, I did have good weather during other parts of my trip.
One of those days was when I visited the Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford.
This gorgeous place brings 9000 years of Irish history to life in a lush forest and wetland.
And I even gate crashed a school field trip, which was funny because I used to come here
on my school tours.
Our guide was delightful telling stories to these kids only like the Irish could…
Of course, a big part of experiencing how the Irish lived had to involve food.
Like this stone for grinding grains to make bread.
BUT the coolest thing was seeing how they baked back then…No Stoves.
No Ovens…No Microwaves…only this…a Fulacht Fiadh…or an ancient Irish cooker.
Stones were heated on a fire and then dropped into this pit of water to slowly cook meat.
On this day, more Irish pork!
I didn’t expect to eat on this stop but I have to say the pork was slow cooked to
perfection: lovely, salty and perfect!
Sometimes you have to travel far away, or even back in time to realize where you came
from.
I’m grateful for my Irish roots but also that my branches extend around the world.
It’s my love of great food that keeps me grounded wherever I go.
Coming up Next week on Gemma Eats…in Barcelona, Spain!!!
I find my new favorite churro!
A Breakfast destination that I’ve been dying to try…
And where I think the Cronut really came from.
All right here… on Gemma Eats.