I'm obsessed with Matt. Let me rephrase that, I'm obsessed with Matt's sandwiches. Recent excursions with William & Mary students required us to pack lunch and we packed Matt's.
Ireland is a lesson in good food. We've enjoyed delicious meals with very few exceptions - even in touristy places. Looking back, it's gotta be due to the use of local food.
Every home chef knows - it's all about the ingredients. You can buy your lemon juiced and your garlic chopped, but it ain't the same. If you start with fresh ingredients, you demonstrate cooking prowess by how you put them all together. Take Matt's sandwiches as an example. Each ingredient in any of his sandwiches can stand alone. The tasty pesto that makes an appearance in the Italian Job is perfect with the salami but it's a pesto that's wonderfully flavorful all on its own. And knowing that The Ploughman sandwich's "fully mature Irish cheddar" could use some pickled red onion and apple makes you a food genius.
I try to model what I've learned about good food over the years. Take my version of the Irish Breakfast :) Slice your own banana, stir seasonal, fresh berries into plain Greek yogurt. You'll get a better result and you'll reduce the amount of sugar and potentially weeks-old fruit puree you'd get otherwise.
Now you know why this blog has a "Taste" category - there are a lot of food-related posts to enjoy or endure.