Have you ever connected with someone over food?

The other day, ‘The Opinion Line’ on 96FM asked me about how food connects people – as you can imagine, I had a lot to say on the subject.

Among all the food memories I have, some stand out for the connections made over a plate of food. Take, for example, the time I was dining in a French restaurant in Berlin with my grandmother. Now, this wasn't just any dinner; it was one of those meals where you expect the waiter to bring you a bill that includes a small mortgage.

But what really made the night memorable was the manager-owner, an Indian gentleman with a flair for conversation as spicy as the dishes he described. What started as a polite inquiry about the menu soon spiralled into a passionate discussion about Indian spices. This was back in the day when turmeric was just a fancy way of saying ‘yellow stuff’, so you can imagine our fascination.

We were hooked, he was thrilled, and by the end of the night, we were practically ready to book flights to Mumbai. Who knew a plate of coq au vin could spark such a cultural exchange?

When I started my food events in Cork, I could see how people connected who have never met before – there was even a match made at one of our events. One of the regular guests, Imelda even became a friend of mine and we met outside of the events. Then there was that time at London’s V&A museum. I was enjoying a lunch in the member’s room, feeling very sophisticated with my fancy sweet potato and cinnamon soup, when a woman at the next table leaned over and asked what I was having.

Now, most people would answer with a simple ‘oh, it's the sweet potato soup’, but not me. Oh no, we ended up chatting like old friends for over an hour. What started as a simple question ended up with us talking like old friends for over an hour and we exchanged contact details and we will meet up again on my next visit.

But the pièce de résistance of my food adventures has to be the time I was 19 and found myself in the Dominican Republic. It was my first solo holiday, and I was so shy, I might as well have been a turtle.

So, there I was, head down, trying to order a pizza in my best Spanish (which, at the time, was limited to what I could glean from a dictionary). I asked for a pizza, and the waitress gave me a look that clearly said ‘you have no idea what you’re doing, do you’? I nodded confidently as she walked away. A few minutes later, she returned with a pizza the size of a satellite dish. Apparently, in this place, pizza was sold by the slice—not by the table-sized wheel.

Within moments, a crowd of curious kids pressed their faces against the window, giggling at the silly tourist. Instead of hiding under the table, I invited them in, and we had an impromptu pizza party. By the end of it, I’d learned a few Spanish phrases, made some new friends, and probably scared off any hopes of a quiet dinner for the locals!

So, yes, food connects people. Whether it’s over a fancy dinner in Berlin, a casual event in Cork, or a pizza the size of a small country, food has a magical way of turning strangers into friends, and sometimes, into much more.