Home-grown is cheap and tasty

The following letter featured in a Sunday newspaper. More and more families are growing their own food and eating at home.

Source

Sir -- I'd like to offer an observation on dining out, as experienced last Sunday (not in my own city, I hasten to add).

The food was very good but sadly, it was as costly as during the boom years. This is particularly the case at weekends.

People should not pay enormous prices for food in these times -- it is damaging for both the economy and tourism.

We have a beautiful country and there is absolutely nowhere like Ireland on summer days.

Irish food is of a very high quality and known widely for its freshness and flavour. Staff are always friendly, well groomed and very helpful.

Nevertheless, it would be wise for the owners of restaurants and hotels to reduce their prices, as many have already done. After all, staff and wages have been cut right across the board.

Perhaps if they do so, tourists will be more inclined to visit this country and savour the unique flavour which belongs to Ireland alone.

Also, people -- even with the tiniest of gardens -- are growing their own vegetables and children are being taught to sow, grow, tend, gather and enjoy.

They learn, as we did in earlier difficult times, to value all things and experience more about our Irish culture from a very early age. This is to be welcomed.

Perhaps the Sunday roast will return in high fashion throughout our land and will again become a special treat.

For many, it never went away and now it comes with home-grown vegetables, including early potatoes, dripping with butter -- a mouth-watering taste of great, healthy eating.

I can almost see, taste and smell that succulent Irish dinner, so I had better stop my writing as ta ocras mor orm.