So here it is, the first post of a brand new year. It’s lean and it’s mean, in line with the convention that dictates an end to seasonal silliness and a return to more subdued, slimline selves. Under normal circumstances, this entry would have been preceded by one of those big annual review type posts, bridging the gap between Christmas roastiness and January resolve, but the turn of the year brought a turn of events that dictated otherwise, so I will briefly summarise 2013 thus: I wrote, I spoke, I travelled, I judged, I cooked, I ate, I pickled, I fermented – and all in the name of the spud.
As seen at the Spud-Off Mór in Ballydavid on the Dingle Peninsula
The pursuit of the potato took me from Comber and Mash Direct in the northeast, to the Dingle Peninsula and An Spud Off Mór in the southwest; and from the rooftop heights of the Dublin Urban Farm to the decidedly ground-level harvesting of Sárpo Axonas in a Wicklow field. Potato-based winter buttermilk was my most favourite discovery – with pickled potatoes a close second – while Tayto chocolate was grim to say the least.
In between spuds, there was Great Taste Awards judging, London FBC speaking, Irish Blog Awards finalisting and Irish Food Writers Guild membershipping. And while National Potato Day in August generated plenty of print, the spud story of the year was undoubtedly the return of the famine-era Lumper potato. Suffice to say that the spud year that was, was a busy old thing. Meanwhile, however, a new year beckons, so once more unto the breach and let the spud games begin.
Lumper potatoes: last year’s celebrity spuds
Happy 2014 & here’s to a tasty years of taters :)
Janie x
Thanks Janie! Lovely to meet you last year & hope 2014 is a good one for you too x
It sounds like such an amazing year. I’m so happy for you! Wishing you continued success and plenty of potatoes in 2014!
Thanks Lori, it was a busy year, that’s for sure! Let’s hope that the coming year is a good one all ’round x
Another fruitful year of spud chasing, thanks for your talent in sharing the spudnificents of 2013 and wish you the best in 2014,
Brian.
Many thanks for your company in the comments section during 2013 Brian, you brightened up many’s the post. I hope that I can continue to entertain and inform throughout 2014.
Spudtastic all round! Here’s to many more food (and potato)- meetups in 2014. Cx
I’ll toast to that Caroline! I hope (and rather suspect) that we’ll be seeing each other both soon and (I hope) often x
it sounds like you had a great year, filled with spuds. Here’s to another one in 2014
Thanks Jane, not a bad year at all I’d have to say – hopefully 2014 will measure up too!