Our hosts were very environmentally conscious, so they provided only cloth napkins, and instructed us to try a small portion of the food before going back for bigger helpings as a way to prevent excess food waste. All the guests in the hostel sat at large tables lit with candles. It was the perfect autumn meal!
The food was prepared by the owners of the hostel, and left in kettles and pots on the stove for us to serve ourselves. It was very similar to eating at home, and reminded me of a Thanksgiving meal! The bread was freshly made that day, and much of the vegetables were grown by the owners themselves!
One of the staples of the meal was potatoes. This is one of the main crops in Ireland, and is found in many different dishes inlcuding soups, stews and pies. They're also eaten raw as mashed potatoes or made into fries (which are called chips in Ireland). The potato is such an important crop that when it failed in the 1800s, it caused a massive famine in Ireland. The Great Famine greatly decreased the Irish population, an effect that can still be seen today.
