Sir, I am replying to John McKenna's request for amateurs with taste buds. Here are some of, `my reasons for wishing to join up with the intrepid and the epicurean!
Having been raised on the wholesome, delicious fare of Maura Laverty's Full and Plenty abhor the lacklustre, polyfilla, and anaemic dishes, so often couched by elaborate descriptions of exotic fare, in restaurants. Myself and my husband, although amateurs and with no connection in the food business, are real hedonists, loving nothing more than to spend hours over a nice meal and a bottle of wine.
Whilst I am adventurous, having sampled everything from bear in Russia to Zulu in Kenya, to me the taste is the essence of good eating, no matter how plain the fare. Once the ingredients are good this is half the battle. However, if the ingredients are not the best, then flair, cooking and juggling with the herbs will help to raise the dish out of its plat of boredom.
Temple Bar is a throbbing mecca for gourmets, where one can delight all senses, from the rich and spicy belly dancing evenings in the Omar Kliayyam, to the hot and seething atmosphere of an Indonesian restaurant.
I enjoy reading John McKenna's food articles. He has that gift of arousing the Roman emperor in all of us, by exciting our palates, through creative and expressive writing on food. I feel that he would be a delightful companion, whose conversation would enliven the most mediocre of meals! Yours, etc Rathdown Park, Greystones, Co Wicklow.