We’re wading into new territory this week on Dyed Green, featuring a conversation with writer, editor, public speaker, and world traveler Laurie Woolever. Laurie’s debut memoir, Care & Feeding, which came out last year, covers her life in food and hospitality, her struggles with addition, and her writing life. The book also delves into her relationships with two of the most prominent chef personalities of the past few decades: Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain, both of whom she collaborated with on writing projects.

It’s true—Laurie has not been to Ireland since she was 23! However, this only makes us more excited to be able to feature her as the host of our first memoir writing retreat in West Cork this September.

On this week’s show, we speak with Laurie about how the food journalism landscape has changed over the last twenty years; toxic restaurant culture; finding yourself on the page through the craft of memoir; and the lessons she’s learned—and passes on—from the mentorship of Anthony Bourdain. We also discuss what our upcoming retreat will be like, so snag one of the few remaining seats while you can! We can’t wait to show her how much Ireland has changed, and to create new stories with you this autumn.

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com

As foodies, we’re all so enamored by the stories behind what’s on our plate—from where each ingredient was sourced (Who grew this? Who picked this?) to where it fits in the narrative of the place where we are eating. But what about the parts of the animals and vegetables that get left behind? Reducing food waste is not a novel concept, and it feels quite trendy right now. But how practical is it, and how much is it really being done?

Our guest on today’s show is Conor Spacey, a chef, author, and activist whose work revolves around how to reduce the noise created by our industrial food system so chefs and consumers have the practical knowledge they need to make informed food choices. Spacey is the culinary director of Food Space, a catering business that helps companies create healthy and sustainable food programs for their employees, and the author of a Blasta Books cookbook called Wasted, whose recipes focus on the most wasted food products in the common kitchen.

On this week’s show, we speak with Conor about policy solutions to problems in the food system; developing relationships with the people who grow your food; and our experiences being vegan and vegetarian. We also talk about how to meet people where they are at when discussing critical issues like the scourge of food waste at restaurants and at home; why we should all eat more plant-based foods; and—Kate’s favorite—the horrors of salmon farming.

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at bogandthunder.com.

adrienne and Autumn are joined by Kate McCabe (Founder and Executive Director of Bog & Thunder), Max Sussman (Culinary Director of Bog & Thunder) and Dwight Dunston (facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist) to chronicle and celebrate their majestic time on a private island in the wilds of West Cork for a writing workshop unlike any other.

Writing the Next World is a space to ideate, experiment with genre, and find a writing voice that creates more possibilities for our collective future, all while exploring the beautiful Connemara countryside and eating outstanding food.

The event is rooted in the lineages of visionary and speculative fiction and Black Feminist Praxis.

The next one is coming up JULY 5TH - JULY 10TH. APPLY HERE!

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Listen to WRITING THE NEXT WORLD: the album by duns

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Max's Egg Salad Recipe!

6 eggs

40 gm celery, diced

20 gm pickles, diced

60 gm mayo

30 gm red onion, diced

2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

2 scallions, sliced

Pinch MSG

plenty of salt and pepper

1. Bring pot of water to a boil. Add eggs and start a 10 minute timer, keep eggs at a low boil the entire time.

2. After 10 minute timer goes off, place eggs in ice bath until cool.

3. Chop eggs or break up with gloved hands.

4. Mix with remaining ingredients, adjust seasoning to taste.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TRANSCRIPT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

What if we were to focus our efforts towards environmental protection on moving forward, rather than looking back to an idealized past that is impossible to attain? Our guest on this week’s show, writer and ecologist Richard Nairn, centers his most recent book, Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland, on this very question.

When Richard first started working on a nature reserve in the 1970s, awareness of conservation in Ireland was very poor. The passage of the Wildlife Act in 1976 marked a turning point, but despite having to comply with environmental laws and regulations as part of joining the European Union, Ireland had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the environmental world of Europe. Thankfully, things began to improve at a bit of a faster pace in the 1990s.

Richard went on to become the first Director of BirdWatch Ireland, ran an environmental consultancy business for over 30 years, is an Irish Times columnist, and has published seven books. On this week’s show, we speak with Richard about Future Wild and his thoughts on the state of nature restoration in Ireland. Beginning with an overview of Irish conservation history, we discuss greenwashing and paying lip service to environmental protection; the need for Ireland to address whole landscapes rather than isolated patches of land; and the tendency of the environmental movement to focus on loss.

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Known throughout Ireland and well beyond as the matriarch of Irish cuisine, Darina Allen is a powerhouse in the Irish food community. Since opening the first farm-to-table culinary education program at Ballymaloe Cookery School with her brother Rory O’Connell in 1983, Darina has gone on to publish more than twenty cookbooks and has presented nine seasons of the television show Simply Delicious (as well as other programs). Rather than take a retirement when she turned 75 two years ago, Darina decided to open a Farm School to teach students about sustainable food production and consumption.

On this week’s show, we speak with Darina about creating the holistic curriculum at the cookery school; how the typical Irish diet has changed since 1983; and her involvement in reinvigorating Irish farmer’s markets. We also discuss the dangers of ultra processed foods and their relationship to our growing health crisis, as well as how we might continue to influence people to eat healthier, environmentally safe foods. We are beyond thrilled to welcome the one and only Darina Allen to this week’s show.

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media.

Max Jones is a traditional food preservationist and the founder of Up There the Last, a project based in West Cork. Max’s work revolves around practices that turn the landscape into food. He believes that within each of us is an inherent superhero ability to know what’s going on in our immediate surroundings and seeks to encourage people to allow that intuition to guide our choices—particularly concerning the food we eat.

It seems like there’s not much Max can’t do: he’s a teacher, a writer, a photographer, a builder, and a craftsman—in addition to being the father of two. When we recently learned he also plays a mean guitar, we almost lost it! On this episode, we speak with Max about the true provenance of food; how a customer complaint about food cost put him on an unexpected trajectory; building the Keep with Sally Barnes; and the impact of excessive food regulations on artisanal practices.

We really get in there with our guest on this week’s show, Cormac McGinley. Cormac runs walking tours along the Cliffs of Moher and all over the Burren in County Clare, one of our favorite places in Ireland. Name an -ology and Cormac probably studied it, and he brings his love of science to his love of Ireland with him on every walk he leads.

On this episode, we speak with Cormac about really getting to know a place deeply; ecological wrong turns and the unnatural Irish landscape; the impact of consumer culture and how to separate needs from wants; and how he is working on building a life so that if tourism vanishes, he can still live in his favorite place. Much like our previous guests, Cormac also imparts some valuable life advice: “Time is all we have, so retain a sense of humor and try not to be a dick.”

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com

**We made it to 50!** We’re celebrating the fiftieth episode of Dyed Green with Anne & Orla O’Carroll, the women behind Valentia Island Vermouth, a spirit made with twenty botanicals on a small island off the coast of Kerry. Anne & Orla originally met at art school in Bristol before moving back to Ireland to create the first ever Irish vermouth.

On this week’s episode, we speak with Anne & Orla about the inspiration for their incredible drink; building a vermouth business from the ground up; how they developed their recipe; breaking into the US market; and how they work to attain a work/life balance as a couple in business together. The O’Carrolls even give Max & Kate some marriage advice!

To mark the occasion of our 50th episode, we’re giving away a free bottle of Valentia Island Vermouth. Follow @bogandthunder, tag a friend in the comments, & share this post for a chance to win!

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com