Columns - Irish Examiner

Joe McNamee

A former chef, Joe McNamee is Senior Food Writer at the Irish Examiner. Holding a BA in Culinary Arts, he writes about food and reviews restaurants for Weekend.

Joe McNamee: Cork film fest is a feast for the imagination

Before food entered my life, I was gorging on music and film

Sat, 07 Nov, 2026

S Restaurant review: A streamlined menu would add to the other reasons I’d happily return here

Pine Lodge was reborn as the Lodge Bar & Kitchen in Myrtleville, Co Cork, having been purchased by the O’Brien family who owned now-closed Bunny’s.

Fri, 06 Nov, 2026

Joe McNamee: I dream of the good ol' days of the local farming co-op

It is time to revive Horace Plunkett’s vision

Sun, 01 Nov, 2026

Joe McNamee: My first taste of ‘smelly cheese’ in West Cork

Cheese is probably my favourite food. Good cheese, bread, and wine would be my final death row meal.

Sun, 25 Oct, 2026

S Restaurant review: Picture-perfect Kinsale pub nails its seafood but shortcuts hurt it elsewhere

Donal Crosbie obviously knows how to cook and, when he nails it, he does so with aplomb

Sun, 25 Oct, 2026

Joe McNamee: Small producers are the bedrock on which real Irish food is built

Without small producers, there would be no Dingle Food Festival, and no Blás na hÉireann

Sat, 17 Oct, 2026

S Restaurant review: I'm baffled by this Indian eatery in Cork that treads cautiously on spices

The relative blandness of the exterior of Namak in Emmet Place in Cork City hides newly revamped interior

Sun, 11 Oct, 2026

Joe McNamee: Growing up, chicken was a treat for the wealthy

If ever a foodstuff most clearly illustrates the humongous socio-economic changes in Ireland and the world over the last 40 or 50 years, it is chicken.

Sun, 04 Oct, 2026

S Restaurant review: Salty Dog's new Cork spot almost top tier despite some menu dissonance

The restaurant, located on MacCurtain Street in Cork, has reasonable prices and a family-friendly menu.

Sun, 27 Sep, 2026

Joe McNamee: There is much more to cheffing than macho stereotypes

Joe McNamee shares his view on Anthony Bourdain's book 'Kitchen Confidential', following the release of 'Tony', a biopic on Bourdain

Sat, 26 Sep, 2026