Interest in food and culinary matters is at an all-time high as Ireland develops a more considered relationship with Irish food culture. Recent and ongoing research reports by government food agencies and industry identify trends that impact and direct food business; production; product development; food tourism; media focus, and food-based community initiatives. Prominent findings highlight the importance of local connections and the development of local food cultures: ‘authenticity’ of food, place and product story; food systems transparency; sustainable food practices, and social responsibility; ethical and responsible production practices and purchase and consumption choices; product and economic development based on heritage of place, nostalgia, regionality, and seasonality. Yet despite these developments, there has been no corresponding academic programme of study that examines the complexities, the intricacies, and the fascinating elements in the development and evolution of Irish food culture and its connection to global food developments.

 

The Postgraduate Diploma in Food Studies and Irish Foodways is designed to redress this imbalance. It is the first university programme of study that has a dedicated focus on Irish food and culinary culture. It examines food and culinary systems of the past and the present from the perspectives of production, processing, preservation, preparation, and consumption. It will guide students through popular discourses such as farm to fork, ocean to plate, factory to plate, exploring what these mean in the present day and what they meant in the past. It will also explore concepts like identity, tradition, gender, memory, and ethics and discuss how these apply to the study of food. Areas of study include food and culinary history, food and folklore, food and creative practice, food and literature, nutrition and health, food and the environment, sustainability, food policy, the contemporary Irish food system, and research methods in foodways.

 

This course offers candidates a unique opportunity to study Irish food culture in a holistic matter. It will enable students to distinguish between food facts and food myths and it will foster from candidates a respect and a love for research in the area of food studies and Irish foodways.

 

The core aim of the Postgraduate Diploma is to strengthen students’ food fluency in these growth areas through the development of critical, creative, and transferable skills and to augment graduate employment prospects in industry growth areas.