Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage. Lettuce Pray.

University of Limerick students are in a very privileged position.  When it comes to food on campus we are spoiled for choice these days.  Every guilty pleasure is catered for in the University’s many eateries.  

However, we have to face the facts that we are unable to continue to devour fillet steak medallions and half lobsters as we did when we went food crazy during the days of the “Boom”.

When the “Celtic Tiger” roared at its loudest Irish people started to look past their bacon and cabbage dinner plates in the search for something more continental and adventurous.  I’d harbour the guess that only a small percentage of Irish people had heard of the prized “Michelin Guide” before we all went food crazy at the beginning of the millennium. 

In recent years we have had to revert to type, monotonously peeling our own potatoes and waiting anxiously for the microwave to beep, signalling that the bowl of Homestead baked beans is at its optimum level.  Not really as glamorous as preparing your silk napkin as you wait for the waiter to arrive with your Pork Belly, is it?

Those days have passed us by and I think we are better off.  Acting like elites doesn’t suit us anyway.  We will always be a nation where eating the food you produce domestically will be preferred.  Many of us don’t have the money to sustain ourselves on a foot long from Subway on a daily basis, washed down by a large Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks.

Students must be able to find a bargain when it comes to preparing their daily lunch.  Even the cheapest chicken rolls can leave your wallet empty in a hurry so alternative measures must be taken.  For many that means preparing a sandwich at home before going into college.  For the same price as a typical Subway roll, one could purchase a week’s worth of bread rolls, butter, meat and any other sandwich filler in the supermarket. 

Of course you can treat yourself to a snack while in University and there are some tasty bargains to be found.  For example the soup in Starbucks is exquisite.  Unusual recipes such as tomato and orange may turn those less adventurous with their food but I can promise you it is worth a try.  It is the cheapest of all fresh soup available on campus and it is the most flavoursome also.  It will compliment your ham sandwich very well!

O’Donnells hand cooked crisps are another bargain buster. They are produced in County Tipperary and present a fabulous blend of crunch and flavour, especially their Irish Cheese and Red Onion offering.   They make Mighty Munch and Meanies look like degenerate crisps eaten by yobs.  O’Donnells are a connoisseur’s crisps choice and can be found in many of the shops and restaurants on campus for under a euro.

That’s my bit done for the taste buds of the nation anyway.  And remember the words of an old Jewish proverb, “Worries go down better with soup”.