If you’ve been on Cook Street in Cork, then you’ve seen the sign with the old-style bicycle for Oscar’s Restaurant, run by Daragh Fitzgerald. Daragh has a background in retail and got restaurant experience by working for some years at a franchise. But he didn’t like all the pre-packaging of bacon and other products, and decided to make his own, more personalized establishment. A little over three years ago, he began shopping for suppliers with less processed products and more of a unique ‘edge’ to food.
”In the past few years, customers have been more picky, asking more questions about dietary issues.”
Daragh is a real meat lover and somewhat picky in his own way, in that he prefers a solid piece of meat of recognizable origin rather than exploring processed meats or unknown meat substitutes.With their free range wild boar products, Ballinwillin Farm seems to be a good match for his own interest in taste and quality, and Oscar’s uses their wild boar in the breakfast menu and several luncheon dishes.
Our participants have been through their first week of living their pledges, and it sounds like Anne would have enjoyed eating at Oscar’s. She has earlier voiced concerns about how her pledge might affect people around her:
Socially it would be difficult to be vegetarian because I know it would be hard on my host if they invite me to dinner but the animal welfare issue is the main reason that I don’t like to eat meat. Plus I have a busy schedule and often forget to soak beans in time to cook them for supper.
On the other hand, Jake has made some cooking strategies, and he writes that his first week has not been difficult at all:
One night I had guests, so I made a Spanish dish with scallops and organic ham, which was a big success! It was no problem finding an organic alternative which was in the same price range as conventional meat. On Sunday I bought organic minced meat in order to make a large pot of pasta sauce that I could warm up during the next few evenings, so I’d have a quick-and-easy dinner.
Will our participants be able to keep their pledges the following weeks? Would you find a vegetarian diet to be socially inhibiting? Send us your comments and your own stories here on Meaty Matters!