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Today it's my pleasure to welcome Caroline James to the blog as we're taking part in the Irish Leg of the Around the World Blog Tour.
So, You Think You're a Celebrity… Chef? is set partly in Ireland, what inspired you to set the story there as opposed to one of the culinary capitals around the world?
The town of Kinsale lies a short drive away from Cork on the southern coast of Ireland and plays host to the annual Kinsale Gourmet Food Festival - a renowned culinary event. My background is from the world of hospitality and I have worked with many chefs over the years. A hero of mine was the infamous Keith Floyd.
Floyd was invited to the Kinsale Gourmet Food Festival in the 90s and the residents of Kinsale took him to their hearts; he was so taken with Kinsale that he bought a property there and spent many glorious years in the delightful foodie town. I wanted to follow his footsteps and find out why he was so entranced. My first visit to the festival convinced me that the riotous goings on over the course of the festival weekend would provide the perfect setting for a novel.
Kinsale is unique - like no other foodie capital, a place where you will find Irish hospitality at its best.
Is your fictional town of Kindale , where the food festival is being held, based on an actual town or village in Ireland?
Kindale is of course Kinsale - the beautiful little port where part of the book is set. Kinsale has a thriving restaurant scene with a plethora of fine dining establishments as well as some gorgeous pubs and eateries - perfect for the make-believe world of the chefs in So, You Think You're A Celebrity… Chef?
How much research did you need to do about Southern Ireland before you started writing SYTYACC? Had you visited Ireland in the past?
I had never been to Southern Ireland and I spent some time trawling the internet to be sure that all my facts and figures were correct before putting pen to paper. I combined this with a trip to the Gourmet Food Festival in Kinsale; which is a story waiting to be written as every hour unfolds over the course of the weekend.
The festival has many events, including The Mad Hatters Food Trail, where large groups of guests, wearing an entertaining display of headgear, are escorted by Alice in Wonderland characters, around the town to venues hosting a plethora of local delicacies and drinks. The weekend is an incredible amount of fun and having survived the mayhem and madness, I felt that the festival deserved to be included in the book as a tribute to the wonderful people of Kinsale.
