Podcasts

What is a Spice Bag & why has it replaced the Irish Easter Roast?

This Easter the humble Spice Bag has replaced traditional Roast Lamb as the top dinner on Easter Sunday. But what is a Spice Bag, where did it comes from and how cosmopolitan have we become or have we lost our way? Henry McKean made a Spice Bag from scratch (the new Easter dinner). According to Just East the traditional Easter Sunday roast continues to lose momentum, with customers in Dublin and Cork City now more likely to feast on a Spice Bag than a roast lamb. Just Eat say orders on Easter Sunday last year were up 72% in the capital, and over 67% in Cork with Chinese the cuisine of choice for the seasonal family gathering. Despite this shift on Easter Sunday fish on Good Friday is still the most ordered dish, so some Irish people are keen to hold on to tradition. The 10 Asian spices, onions, peppers, chips and chicken in batter, some people put curry sauce over it too. My understanding the Spice Bag was created in about 2012 in the Templeogue, Tallaght area but there has also been reports of Carlow. Most people are saying the Chinese takeaway The Sunflower invented it but I can’t confirm this. Paul and Alan Cadden, the owners of Saba and Saba to Go, 2 restaurants and 3 takeaways, spoke to Henry McKean in Clarendon Street Dublin.  Just Eat came to them at Electric Picnic and asked them to make one up and it went from there. The Spice Bag is now one of their best sellers. see more