Conspicuous consumption, it would appear, is out. Belt-tightening becomes much easier when goodies are rationed. But the perception that luxury should equate to expense is perhaps a little misguided. Epicurus, the godfather of gourmandise, recognised this well when he said, ‘bring me some cheese, that I may have a fest when I please’. Whether it was a block of Calvita or a finely ripened Stinking Bishop was not the question. Rather he was commenting on how we maximise our pleasure in life in the ways that we think about, relate to and socialise through food. Not that this should preclude the occasional indulgence for indulgence sake. The secret these days is finding the balance.
1. Hotel Breakfasts
As they say, ‘eat breakfast like a king’. For those not dwelling in a palace, a good hotel is the next best place. Do it properly and wake up in the Ritz to Eggs Benedict with your morning papers. (www.theritzlondon.com; 0044 20 7493 8181)
2. L’Ortolan
The last meal of Francois Mitterand, Ortolan makes fois gras look like spam. The bird is caged and force-fed oats and figs before being drowned in Armagnac, roasted and eaten whole.
3. Cod and Chips
Once the food of the common man, cod's increasing scarcity has made it something of an environmental luxury. Some say other white fish will fill the batter just as good but it’s debatable. Eating an animal into extinction? That’s decadent.
4. Someone to do the washing up
You just cooked up a storm, and consequently your kitchen looks like Hurricane Nigella just hit. Enter the kitchen-cleaning fairy, everybody's favourite dinner party guest. Failing that, call in the pros. (www.pristine.ie)
5. Dinner in El Bulli
At E250 a head, dinner in the 'best restaurant in the world' represents something of an investment. If the cost seems a little exorbitant take solace in the fact that, by the time you can get a reservation, the recession will probably have passed. (www.elbulli.com)
6. Chef's Knife
Japan’s GLOBAL brand of knives brings centuries of samurai sword-making expertise into the kitchen. At E100 each they are certainly not cut-price but will last a life-time. (http://www.yoshikin.co.jp/w/)
7. Kitchen Bible
For all their slick production and lifestyle appeal most modern cookery books see little time in the kitchen trenches. Not so Nicholas Clee’s Don’t Sweat the Aubergine, an indispensible and humorous source of counsel in a foodie’s darkest moments.
8. Kids in the Kitchen
Without coming over all Jamie Oliver there is a great pleasure in sewing a few foodie seeds. If you don’t have a kid, borrow one. Baking will never be as much fun again.
9. Home comforts
We all have them; those meals that aren’t the same unless eaten at home with the seasoning of comfort and nostalgia. My own is my mother’s scrambled eggs, with plenty of butter and cream, taken off the heat just before fully set.
10. Going Native
Sick of Croque Monsieur in Paris and Spag Bol in Italy? A little local knowledge can make all the difference in avoiding the tourist fodder. In the absence of a local guide, take to the blogosphere. (www.hungryinparis.com)
11. Hidden gems
There’s something tantalising in stumbling upon an unexpectedly good eating house; a sense of privilege from being in the know about the shabby Trattoria with the best tiramisu this side of the Apennines. I have mine, and I’m not telling.
12. Cooking Holidays
As you were told when sent to the Gaeltact, the best way to learn a language is by total immersion. It’s the same with food. The luxury here is time, giving it over totally to food, its preparation and its consumption. (www.ballymaloe.ie or www.atasteofrome.ie )
13. Pig Out
We’ve had our differences of late. Time to heal the rift. What better way than to eat a whole one? Try a roast
suckling pig, a cross-cultural totem of luxury and celebration for millennia. (www.brasseriesixty6.com; 01 4005878)
14. Saucing it up
With a large collection of ramekins, I have sometimes struggled for ideas to fill them. They are empty no more thanks to Janet’s Country Fayre, a range of artisan condiments produced in Co. Wicklow and stocked nationwide; a lustrous accompaniment to any meal. (www.janetscountryfayre.ie)
15. Thirst Quenching
Luxury is relative. Trekking in hills in 40 degree Tanzanian heat, the juice of a fresh coconut, cut from the tree and drank from the shell was the nectar of the gods.
16. Chocolate
Such are the psychological benefits of eating a good bar of chocolate that far from being a luxury in days of recession, it should be available on the medical card. I prescribe J.D. Gross Amazonian (60% Cocoa) available in Lidl, taken daily with a glass of red wine.
17. Scavenging
There is a primal pleasure in gathering your own food; mushrooms from damp August fields, plump inky berries from the hedgerows.
18. Love at first bite
Each new flavour and ingredient promises a sensual revelation and even when it disappoints it’s a notch on the bed-post of the gastronome that wants to taste it all.
19. Food al fresco
During the good times we sank millions into patio heaters, timber decking and patio furniture. And still we wait...
20. Home-brew
The oenophile can spend untold sums on the finest vintages. What about something more unique and personal – home-brewed apple and elderflower wine? Get those creative juices flowing and fermenting. (www.thehomebrewcompany.ie)
*A version of this post appeared in the March issue of Food and Wine Magazine
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