A TALENTED group of Kerry women will serve up a delicious slice of Kerry life this week at the 2009 Listowel Food Fair.
The group, made up of nine traveller ladies from Kerry, is launching a new cookbook, entitled Bonar: Wild and Delicious, at the prestigious event this Thursday.
The word bonar means good in Cant - the traditional language of the Irish traveller community - and it is an apt title for the new cookbook which marks the culmination of months of hard work by everyone involved in the project.
The innovative publication features traditional ingredients in old and new recipes and also contains fascinating information about time-honoured cooking methods and a glossary of Cant terms, demonstrating the strong links between the culture with food.
The book grew out of a cookery class started a year ago by the Kerry Travellers Development Project.
The women enjoyed the first course so much they enquired about the possibility of a follow-on class and that was where chef Alice Virmond came on board.
Alice, originally from Germany, is a chef and author of several books and she was appointed by the Kerry Education Service to host an organic and healthy cooking course last year. Alice and the team of women immediately clicked and gradually the idea of the book evolved.
The women who worked with Alice Virmond writing "Bonar - Wild and Delicious were Molly McCarthy, Ann McCarthy, Mary O'Brien, Winifred McDonagh, Noreen McCarthy and Noreen Evans, all from Listowel; Margaret O'Brien and Kathleen Doherty from Ballyduff and Margaret O'Mahony who lives between Listowel and Tarbert.
It has taken the women the best part of a year to write the book which contains around 40 recipes.
The project was funded by the Kerry Education Service and the Traveller Health Unit in Cork with additional support from Listowel Community College. It has also garnered great support from the Listowel Food Fair
"This book is a fantastic achievement for all the women involved and it is also an important document in terms of recording information on a central part of the culture of the traveller way of life in Ireland," said Food Fair chairman, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan.
The book will be launched on Thursday afternoon in the Lis-towel Family Resource Centre and anyone who is interested in purchasing a copy of the book can do so purchase direct from Kerry Travellers Development Project, St Anthony's House, Mitchel's Road, Tralee or by calling 066-7120054. The book costs ¤10 (plus p&p).
The launch is one of the big events of this year’s Listowel Food Fair which runs from Thursday until Sunday with a range of seminars, food workshops, special menus in local restaurants and competitions.
Kevin Dundon of Dunbrody House Hotel is the special guest at the opening ceremony this Friday evening which will be followed by a cookery demonstration. Full details of the festival programme are available on www.listowelfoodfair.com.
