16/03/2026
First ever published work. Full article below.....
Thank you to West Cork Irish Foodie magazine for the chance.
My name is Frank Corbett, and I am the founder of Corbett’s Traditional Irish Food Experience. I created this experience out of a deep concern that authentic Irish cuisine was slowly fading from many restaurants across Ireland. Of course, there are wonderful chefs, such as Darina Allen, for example, who continue to celebrate and preserve our culinary traditions, and some restaurants that cater to visitors also showcase traditional Irish dishes. But across much of the country, Irish food has gradually been replaced by global cuisine.
In many places, you might find one or two Irish dishes—perhaps stew or bacon and cabbage—but our cuisine is far richer. Irish food carries centuries of history, culture, and tradition. It tells the story of our people. This is why I created Corbett’s Traditional Irish Food Experience based on my father’s memories and Irish food history—to educate and let people taste dishes that represent our true culinary heritage.
The Story of Corned Beef
When I first began researching the history of corned beef, I believed, like many Irish people today, that it was primarily an Irish-American tradition. After all, many of us grew up eating bacon and cabbage as our staple. But as I looked deeper into the history, I discovered that corned beef actually has a much longer and richer story in Ireland than I imagined. I researched this as best I could, but then I was guided to a remarkable academic paper, "Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History," by Dr. Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, an award-winning chef, culinary historian, lecturer, PhD supervisor, broadcaster, and ballad singer. He is senior lecturer in the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology and co-PI at Technological University Dublin’s Centre of Irish Studies. And Pádraic Óg Gallagher, an award-winning Irish chef, restaurateur, and author, best known as the proprietor of Gallagher's Boxty House in Dublin’s Temple Bar since 1988. He is a champion of traditional Irish cuisine, particularly Leitrim-style boxty.
I read their paper countless times; their exhaustive research reshaped everything I thought I knew. In Celtic times, cattle held a deeply symbolic and economic role in Irish life. Archaeological evidence and place names show that cows were not just livestock but measures of wealth and status. As early as the reign of the High Kings, the Irish salted both beef and pork to preserve the meat, extending its shelf life for feasts and long journeys. This culinary practice even appears in early Irish poetry. A 12th-century poem, Aislinge Meic Con Glinne, vividly references salted beef as a prized dish, linking it to both everyday sustenance and ceremonial feasts. This rich legacy of salting meat, tied to cattle and poetry, shows that corned beef has been part of Ireland’s culture for millennia.
In the late 17th century, the rise of Ireland’s salted beef industry was driven by the Cattle Acts of the 1660s, which stopped live cattle exports to England. This shift forced Irish farmers to cure beef for trade. Coupled with lower salt taxes in Ireland, this made curing meat cheaper.
Cork became the hub of this industry, supplying beef to the British navy and colonial markets for generations. Ironically, the Irish themselves did not widely consume corned beef; it was considered a luxury export. During the Great Famine of the 1840s, over a million Irish emigrated to America, fleeing starvation and economic collapse. Upon arrival, many settled in urban neighborhoods, where they encountered kosher butchers—often Jewish immigrants—selling corned beef. This was a luxury they could now afford, having never had access to it in Ireland. As these Irish immigrants gathered in community, corned beef became a staple of their festive meals. Over time, it became intertwined with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America, so that today, corned beef and cabbage is widely perceived as the quintessential Irish-American dish tied to the holiday.
I shared this document with my father, and he confirmed that he did eat thick slices of corned beef with colcannon and parsley sauce, along with vegetables. While it wasn’t an everyday meal, he ate it regularly enough, and he especially loved his mother’s—my grandmother’s—corned beef. I was shocked, though, because I didn’t know he had corned beef. I grew up thinking it was just an Irish-American dish. In my household, we had bacon and cabbage, with potatoes and white sauce, so corned beef wasn’t on our table.
Out of curiosity, I went to my local shop, and lo and behold, it was there. This piece of our culinary heritage was closer than I realized, and it made me reflect on how these traditions, even when forgotten, remain just beneath the surface, waiting to be rediscovered.
I believe corned beef is one of the most misunderstood stories in Irish cuisine. It has a beginning—a story largely forgotten, lost over time; a middle—a tale somewhat known, of Irish immigrants in America adopting it; and an ending—a story widely recognized, where Irish Americans now celebrate it on St. Patrick’s Day. This dish has deep roots, going back to the High Kings. It holds stories of famine, British colonialism, and is a vital part of Irish history and culture—a dish we should be proud of and recognize as a national treasure.
Corned beef is one of the 10 items we serve on Corbett’s Traditional Irish Food Experience. Now operating in Dublin and Tipperary, we offer a 10-item taster menu that is authentic and deeply rooted in tradition. Each dish tells a story, and we invite you to experience it firsthand—10-item menu, four paired drinks, an old money demonstration, and live Irish singing at your table.
Unfortunately, my father passed away in 2019. May he rest in peace. I will forever be grateful to him for passing down the knowledge and memories of his childhood—stories that would have been lost to time. If we, as a people, do not see Irish cuisine as important as Irish music, dance, or history, it will unfortunately be lost to time. Every time you cook or celebrate Irish cuisine, you keep it alive.
Thank you.
Frank Corbett.
