Boland - Biamath Good Food Made Simple

BiaMaith GOOD FOOD MADE SIMPLE BY LIAM BOLAND Editors: Aine Bonner and Maureen Gill-Emerson BiaMaith Good Food Made Simple
by Liam Boland Copyright 2015 Liam Boland. All rights reserved. First paperback edition printed 2015 in Italy.
First digital edition printed 2015 in Ireland. A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Irish Library. Digitial edition 978-0-9934622-2-1 No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system without written permission of the publisher. Published by BiaMaith Design by Audrey Kane
Photography by Michael ONeill
For Mum...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are so many people I would like to thank for helping me turn my dream of writing a recipe book into a reality. I have some absolutely fantastic suppliers who came on board and went out of their way to support me with this project. They were Behans Fruit and Veg and Sams Seafood in Athlone, Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil in Co. Louth and Quarrymount Freerange Meats in Co. Offaly. These producers and suppliers are at the top of their game and Im so proud to have them associated with the book.

The likes of these are what makes Ireland great when it comes to food. I would also like to thank the Athlone branch of Allens (www.allens.ie) for loaning me a multitude of gorgeous accessories and props for use in the photo shoot. I loved all their products so much that I will be adding them to my wish-list of things to buy in the near future. I had a fantastic team who I need to thank - a wonderful photographer, Mick ONeill, our talented graphic designer Audrey Kane, and my patient editors, Maureen Gill-Emerson and Aine Bonner. My kitchen porters were my cousin, Sean Ryan, and Anthony Henehan. Nicole Sendell was my brilliant kitchen assistant, cleaning up after every whirlwind cooking day.

Everybody went above and beyond to ensure the book was finished on time. We had so many people tell us that it wasnt possible to achieve what we have achieved but we all really worked hard to finish the book and Im delighted with the final product. My aunt, Joan, was also a huge help in offering support and advice, as was my good friend, Garbhan. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and followers on Facebook and those who visit the BiaMaith page every day. None of this would have been possible without your support, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. BiaMaith THE STORY SO FAR I cant quite believe Im here writing an introduction to my very own cook book.

This time last year BiaMaith didnt exist, and as I type, nearly 17,000 people follow my Facebook page. Hundreds of thousands of people read my recipes every week and Ive got an online community of people that I truly consider to be part of the BiaMaith family. I feel so blessed to have such a great bunch of inspirational and warm-hearted individuals who take time out of their busy lives to read, comment and share my recipes on a daily basis. Ive come from such a dark place over the past 12 months and honestly couldnt have done it without the support of each and every one of you. For those of you who have stumbled upon this book without having seen my page, this is the BiaMaith story so far Ive been a chef for most of my life. A few years ago, I unfortunately suffered a heart attack and I had to give up working in professional kitchens.

I went from travelling all over the world as a chef and restaurant consultant - even working as a chef for ACDC at their gigs in Wembley Stadium - to being unemployed, on the dole and struggling to get out of bed due to depression. BiaMaith was born after I started posting recipes for my friends on Facebook. They were amazed at how I managed to pull together delicious meals on such a tight budget. Theyd come over to see me and I always had some grub on the go, despite the fact that I had very little disposable income after paying my rent in Dublin. They wanted to know how it was possible to have such high quality meals, having paid so little for my ingredients. I managed because I would shop the special offers and get the best deals from local suppliers whenever possible.

I cook with ingredients that are readily available in supermarkets across the country and I have taken the skills I learned in professional kitchens all over the world and brought them to the home kitchen so that I can cook great food at low prices. My recipes started quickly being shared online and before I knew it, the BiaMaith family was growing and growing. I do everything for the BiaMaith page myself from a 200-year-old cottage in the Midlands. I had to move there after almost becoming homeless due to spiralling rents in the city. I create all my own recipes, I cook them and I take pictures of the dishes with my phone before sharing everything online. It really is a labour of love and Ive managed to continue because I know so many people look to the site for inspiration.

Being a fan of the BiaMaith page doesnt necessarily mean that youre on the dole or even that youre struggling to make ends meet. It means that you love great food and that you want to cook healthy and delicious meals for yourself and your family. The recipes are all really easy and quick to make and generally cost less than a fiver. I also make delicious desserts that always prove to be extremely popular. BiaMaith is about giving back instead of taking. Im so delighted to be able to share my knowledge about cooking with people.

I get thousands of messages every single week from people who need advice or guidance in the kitchen. People have told me that theyve started eating together as a family, have turned away from relying on takeaways and processed food and are saving money as a result. Its such a great feeling to know that I have helped these people in some little way. And of course there are also plenty of foodies on my page who love experimenting in the kitchen but may be tired of making the same dinners week in, week out. They love coming onto my page and trying new dishes and creating new family favourites. Creating this book was the natural next step for me on whats been a whirlwind journey thats seen me going from near-homelessness to being interviewed by Ryan Tubridy and featured in national as well as local newspapers.

It was a huge challenge and, more than once, we wondered if wed manage to pull it off. Apart from a few generous sponsors who provided some of the ingredients for the recipes, I bought everything for the book with money from my dole. A few days during the photoshoot, the electricity in my cottage cut out so I had to cook by candlelight on my gas hob. On top of this, the poor drainage system caused my sink to flood the kitchen a few times. It was hugely frustrating, exhausting and soul-de-stroying at times. But we got through it.

And here we are, just about to send it off to the printers so that you can add a BiaMaith cookbook to your kitchen shelves. I am so proud and ecstatic. Thank you for sharing this journey with me.