{"id":537031,"date":"2026-07-07T06:53:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T06:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/537031\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T06:53:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T06:53:26","slug":"summer-soap-part-2-a-challenge-for-claire-to-recreate-a-lost-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/537031\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Soap, Part 2: A challenge for Claire to recreate a lost recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year’s summer soap, The Lost Recipe, is a summer mystery with a romantic subplot and an underlying theme of food – and involves a search for a long-lost recipe. It was written by Emma Tirlot from the MA in Creative Writing Programme at UCC. In the second episode, Claire meets the Cork chef she is writing about<\/p>\n

You can catch up with the first episode here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Episode 2: Gran\u2019s Lemonade<\/p>\n

Being late for my first meeting with Margaret Kelly was not the plan. But again, that wouldn\u2019t have happened if I\u2019d been made aware of the nightmarish traffic of Cork city.<\/p>\n

Sure, preparing a batch of Gran\u2019s lemonade at the very last moment didn\u2019t help. No time to gawk at Mrs Kelly\u2019s mansion – a three-storey house nestled on the hill, huge bay windows peering over the city – I\u2019d practically sprinted from my car to the front door.<\/p>\n

Narrow-eyed, chin resting on her wrinkled hand, Mrs Kelly is now scrutinising me as we sit across from each other on two identical scarlet sofas. She is nearing her 90th birthday and looks smaller than in the pictures online.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put you in Douglas,\u201d she sighs, and shakes her head. \u201cThere is no end to the reasons why I didn\u2019t want to agree to this deal. Incompetence is running rampant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the editors are paying for my rental, Lea had gone to the trouble of finding it in the first place. I love my cottage. Lea couldn\u2019t have known about Cork\u2019s 8am traffic issues, she\u2019d never even been to Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Claire. You are one of those vid\u00e9astes,\u201d the word, though uttered in a perfect French accent, seems to leave a bad taste on her palate.<\/p>\n

I fight the urge to spill my argument in defence of my profession. Being a content creator often felt like I was some sort of plague to be wrestled with, even more since they\u2019d slapped the label \u2018influencer\u2019 on it. I wasn\u2019t a world-renowned chef like Mrs Kelly, but I\u2019d had my decent share of success. Well, we did. Gran and me.<\/p>\n

I straighten up. \u201cI started with a blog, and then the YouTube channel with my grandmother. I have been lucky enough to make it my full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n

My socials are still MIA since… But this I won\u2019t tell Mrs. Kelly. No need to feed more fuel to her critique. I can\u2019t imagine her reaction if she finds out that the woman responsible for her biography doesn\u2019t have an ounce of an act together. It\u2019s Mrs Kelly we\u2019re talking about. Mrs Kelly, with the perfect career. The kind of career every single chef in Paris dreams of having.<\/p>\n

Instead, I say: \u201cI recently published a cookbook, Secrets de G\u00e9n\u00e9ration. I am working on the second one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve heard,\u201d she offers a tight smile, \u201cwould you make us some tea? Everything\u2019s on the coffee bar in the kitchen.\u201d Mrs Kelly points to an arch across the room leading to the kitchen.<\/p>\n

******<\/p>\n

\u201cNow. I hear Flammarion has grandiose ideas about my biography.\u201d She says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d I set my cup back in its saucer, \u201cthey did provide a brief to follow. Specific moments of your life, a list of questions…\u201d I pull out the Flammarion brief and hand it to her.<\/p>\n

She skims through the first few pages. \u201cNonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

I frown, \u201cI don\u2019t…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agreed with Flammarion that I would only disclose what I wish, and that we would not follow this…\u201d she waves a hand, \u201cboring structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was fresh news.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I…\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to start with The Burning,\u201d she cuts in.<\/p>\n

I pause just as I\u2019m about to protest. She holds my gaze; I know that I won\u2019t win this fight. After a silent nod, I open my laptop, set the microphone on the table and hit record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u2026 Burning?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother founded Kelly\u2019s bakery in Cork in the late 1800s. She was old when she fell pregnant with my own mother, so her son – my uncle – helped, until he fully took over with his wife. In 1910, they associated with friends, the Gallaghers. The bakery was the talk of the town back then. Didn\u2019t last long. The 1920 Burning destroyed the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s The Burning?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it was horrible. I wasn\u2019t born yet, naturally, but I\u2019ve heard enough stories to feel like I was there. Cork burned down, my family\u2019s bakery along with it. The Kellys and the Gallaghers never found common ground to salvage it. That\u2019s how it went. Gone, overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

I take notes as Mrs Kelly speaks, trying to bury my growing concerns about the biography. It\u2019s only the beginning. Plenty of time to talk about Paris. Mrs Kelly reaches over the coffee table.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was this one recipe…\u201d she picks up a folder sitting next to the tray and hands me a newspaper clipping, tucked in a clear plastic sleeve.<\/p>\n

The 1913 article says \u2018Cork Bakers Win Irish Pastry of the Year Contest\u2019. I raise a questioning look.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cKelly\u2019s currant buns won the contest that year. It was a big deal. My aunt Rosa used to make them often, even after the bakery was gone. I was 14 when she passed; I never figured out the recipe.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\u201cFor… currant buns?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very special. No matter what I tried, they never tasted right. I tried everything, tea, brandy, treacle… Never could get it right,\u201d she shakes her head, \u201cI want you to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

My eyebrows shoot up, \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen you bake with your grandmother, Claire. I\u2019d like you to recreate this recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n

I open my mouth to protest but nothing comes out. This was more than just writing a biography.<\/p>\n

******<\/p>\n

At the cottage, I strain the dried chamomile and lavender flowers out of my batch of gran\u2019s lemonade. I pour myself a tall glass and since it is sunny, step out onto the patio with my laptop.<\/p>\n

On the drive back, I\u2019d called Lea to tell her about Margaret\u2019s request. Not the brightest idea since I\u2019d almost merged into the wrong lane twice. I should have seen in coming; Lea did not come to my rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmit it, Claire. You\u2019d still have taken the job if the recipe had been part of the contract,\u201d Lea argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, come on. You basically forced me to take the job, Lea.\u201d<\/p>\n

After listening to her perfect arguments for most of the drive, I caved, just like I always do with her. So, here I am, sitting at the small garden table, Googling \u2018The Burning\u2019. I discover a gloomy scene: crowds gathering before heaps of rubble, barely any walls left standing.<\/p>\n

In a radio interview, a man in his thirties talks about the attack conducted by British forces and the businesses that suffered from the fires. He mentions it – \u201cKelly\u2019s bakery\u201d.<\/p>\n

I Google the name of the speaker. I am met with a low-quality office selfie and a bio, Dr Fionn McDonough, researcher and professor at University College Cork, specialises in Cork history and economy of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

******<\/p>\n

I julienne my vegetables mindlessly. My mind flies to gran\u2019s kitchen. I\u2019d baked brioche a thousand times with her. I know the recipe by heart. From what I\u2019ve gathered, breakfast buns in Ireland seem to sit somewhere between bread and brioche. The more I think about it, the more confusing it gets. I am going to have to learn a lot about Irish baking if I want the slightest chance of success.<\/p>\n

After dinner, I open my computer to Dr McDonough\u2019s page. I draft an email mentioning Kelly\u2019s bakery and hit send.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year’s summer soap, The Lost Recipe, is a summer mystery with a romantic subplot and an underlying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-537031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}