EPISODE FIVE OF TWELVE – RTÉ ONE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 8.30pm
Rachel Allen travels to the popular peninsula of Dingle and the fishing village of Ballydavid – home to a very special potato competition, The Spud Off.
Rachel meets Aengus Murphy, one of the organisers, and he tells her how the event is a battle of pride for locals whose gardens and allotments overlook the Atlantic. And he sets up a mini-Spud Off for Rachel to judge – pitting his own potatoes against those of neighbours Jim Bill and Seanie.
Rachel tastes and smells the three varieties before reaching her tough decision. And then she takes some of the prize-winning potatoes down to the beach to prepare a potato soup with hazelnut pesto, plus a handful of rock samphire found on the beach.
Rachel then heads around Slea Head to a little foraging spot near to Dún Chaoin, in sight of the Blasket Islands. There she meets Breege Granville and Darach Ó Murchú, who have both been collecting and cooking with wild plants since childhood.
Rachel collects some watercress to make a butter. And then she prepares a dish of John Dory with the butter on the beach – all served with more of those prize winning spuds.
Back in Dingle Harbour, Rachel goes on a boat trip to see Fungie, the world-famous bottlenose dolphin. And she chats to TP O Conchuir who has a knack of predicting the weather. Rachel wants to know what’s in store for the rest of her coastal cooking adventure.
Series Overview
Ireland’s gourmet goddess Rachel Allen is back with a new show that sees her travel along the southern and western coast in search of the best local produce.
In this new series Rachel takes to the road visiting the south and west coasts, hunting down the very best of the abundant local produce; foraging and, at times, battling wind and rain. Rachel cooks as she goes, for her crew and participants, usually outside in the elements and subject to the vagaries of the Irish weather. Taken away from the relative comforts of the kitchen, Rachel’s Coastal Cooking plays to her natural curiosity and sense of fun while showcasing some of the best of Ireland’s produce and the people behind it.
This food and travelogue series marks a real departure for Rachel, as she challenges herself to explore landscape, culture, social and culinary history in a way she has never tried before. The series also sees Rachel immersed in local communities, meeting incredible characters and exploring a mix of traditional and contemporary approaches to food production, from a state of the art Abalone farm to foraging for Woodruff in ancient woodland.