Get a flavour of Cork's globetrotting food scene with this audio documentary
L-R: Banu Rekha Balaji, foodie and documentary host; a bowl of Masoor Daal; Mallow-based poet Nqobizitha Vella
A new audio documentary, released this week on various streaming platforms, takes a look at the relationship between Irish and international culinary traditions through the eyes of four Cork-based foodies.
'Kitchen Stories', released and co-produced by Leeside media platform Good Day News, sees host Banu Rekha Balaji exploring the very human stories behind food, and the commonalities between Irish food culture and the rest of the world.
Poet Nqobizitha Vella came from Zimbabwe, and now lives in Mallow, having first lived in a Direct Provision centre.
“I got to know about Ireland when I was in the Direct Provision system. In Direct Provision you have the whole world living in one room,” Vella says.
“Where I used to stay we could cook for ourselves, the problem was buying the food. It’s not all the time that we could afford to cook our own food. But they did sometimes. You get to taste food from Albania, from Nigeria, from the Congo - I learnt a lot.”
Rahul & Grainne Sethi recently got married in Cork, and are exploring each other’s cultures through food and photography. "We use lot of potatoes in our food, the amount of potatoes we use is similar to Irish food, which is nice," says Punjab-born Rahul.
French pastry chef Christine Girault explores how cooking allows her to create: "Food connects you so much. When you cook you don’t need any words. I live, breathe food all the time. When I see food... straight away my creativity takes over, and I start to play."
“You show your love through cooking, for your family, and you show how much you love your family with the food that you make,” says Yvonne Pennisi, balancing her grá for Australian fare with her work as an occupational therapist.
