The person behind Blarney Foods
Thank you for taking a look at the person behind Blarney Foods
The experienced cook steering this endeavor.
And now that our four children,
who I also used to cook for, have grown, and moved out – a couple having gotten married, I am my wife’s personal chef (after an 8-hour workday) and love the job, as so does she. To create variety and fun in the meals I plan for my wife and myself, our meals are sometimes based on National and International Food “Holidays”. Finding creative ways to combine “holidays” when there is more than one in a day, into a single dish is an enjoyable challenge. I do that because I love finding new recipes, often refining, combining, and re-designing them using Plan to Eat. It is the planning of food events, creating recipes for them, and cooking and presenting that food – having people join me in my “party” – that brings me joy.
Why Blarney Foods?
I am 2nd generation of one quarter Irish and one quarter each Swedish and Finnish with other European countries mixed in.
My journey into my ethnic heritage through food started when my sister and I took over for our mother in making our traditional Swedish Smorgasbord every Christmas Eve. My love for finding new recipes started me researching traditional smorgasbords and authentic Swedish recipes—expanding our menu through what I learned of Swedish food and traditions.
However, I didn’t feel I was giving my Irish heritage equal time, so I started making a St. Patrick’s Day dinner, where I now serve authentic Irish recipes, like my own cured Irish Boiling Bacon with a softer cabbage, alongside an Irish/American favorite; Corn Beef with green cabbage, using the corn beef I corn with my own recipe. The meal also includes such dishes as Leek and Potato Soup, two authentic Soda Breads (no sugar on top), as well as proper Irish Coffee (with Kilbeggan, not Bailey’s), and Salted Caramel Stout and Chocolate Cheesecake (the stout makes it “Irish”?).
One day, admiring online what is billed as the largest Irish festival in the world – Irish Fest in Milwaukee – I noticed that, at the time, there was no Irish food offered. Upon further investigation, I found the same at most other Irish/Celtic festivals. I felt something had to be done. Pondering over how people have responded very favorably to the corn beef I corn, I desired to bring that to festivals. That is how my flagship dish—the Corn Beef Dinner Kabob—came about and launched Blarney Foods; known at festivals as Irish Eats (sometimes with Scottish too).
I am not a chef; however, I am a very experienced cook and have studied Irish (and a little Scottish) ingredients, cooking techniques, and dishes and incorporate this knowledge in developing the Festival Menu of Irish Eats. Because of my experience in creating vegetarian and gluten-free meals when volunteering and having a daughter-in-law who is allergic to dairy and soy, I have become sensitive to the plight of those with dietary restrictions. That is why I have created some meals for those who may otherwise not have anything to eat at these festivals, including kids.
I sell at these festivals because every dish is an invitation to celebrate our Celtic roots together. At each festival, I hope my food brings forth the spirit of Ireland in every bite. For me, cooking is more than just serving food—it’s sharing the warmth of our heritage, one dish at a time with one person at a time.
Please drop by our Irish Eats tent at one of the festivals listed on this website; say hello, share some blarney, enjoy good Irish-themed food (maybe Scottish too), and let’s celebrate our Celtic roots together.
Chun Glóire Dé
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Irish for “All the Glory to God”