NUDE FOOD'S LOUISE CLARK TALKS TO LUCINDA
Tuesday 29 December 2009
From an early age I was entranced with the works of W. Somerset Maugham who wrote about the intrigues, romances, and dramas of British Colonial life in the tropics, and so I was all the more interested and fascinated listening to the colourful background and heritage of Louise Clark. I first came across Louise at a Farmer’s Market in Kinsale a couple of years ago, where she had a stall selling preserves and all sorts of interesting food. However, since then, Louise has taken more than a step or two forward for she now has a lovely Café Bakery Deli Restaurant called Nude Food in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
Louise was born in London – she is a real Londoner - but has a heritage that would make any Somerset Maugham novel look dull. Her grandmother was born in Egypt whilst her English father, a Civil Engineer, was working on the Tutankhamun Trail. When she reached the age of ‘coming out’ she was sent home to England for the Debutante Season. This was de rigueur in those days for young ladies of a certain standing. Wearing white ballgowns, they were presented to the Queen at a “Coming Out Ball” and after that it was a round of such Balls and social occasions for ‘the season’ where hopefully the debutantes would meet suitable husbands. It worked for Louise’s grandmother for she met her young man, who was also a Civil Engineer, home on leave from India. Within three months she was on a boat to India and living the colonial life at a Hill Station. Her grandmother absolutely loved the glamorous colonial life and when she and her husband came to London to live after the war they found it very difficult to adapt to ordinary life. In fact, Louise says, her grandfather and grandmother eventually lived in separate houses in Mayfair, behind the Dorchester Hotel, just a few doors away from one another! Louise’s mother was their daughter, her father was Nigerian, and she spent her young life moving between the grandparents’ two homes.
Louise went to a Catholic Benedictine School in Ealing where she made many Irish, Italian and Polish friends. Moving forward, Louise, married and divorced with three children, came to Ireland fourteen years ago to visit friends outside Dungarvan. Walking on the beach, she says she experienced blazing heat, wind and snow, and she felt Ireland showed her everything in one short trip. She loved it. She spotted a cottage in need of renovation and bought it, initially as a holiday home, but found her trips to Ireland were becoming longer and her stays in London shorter.
She always liked to cook for friends and for parties. Now Louise does the baking at Nude Food which openes Monday to Wednesday during the daytime, but extends into the evening on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s a really atmospheric buzzy spot with all sorts of foodie treasures all over the place. There is a deli counter to the fore on which stand Louise’s own rage of chutney and preserves – Carrot Relish, Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, Butternut Apricot and Almond Chutney. Cakes are on pretty stemmed cake stands, and colourful aprons hang from the walls. Irish Artisan food producers feature widely and you can have anything from an Antipasta Platter, to Irish Stew served with brown soda bread, to a spicy lamb burger from the Griddle. She also does a great slow roasted pork belly sandwich with baby leaf spinach and hummus.
With a great garden area to the rear of the restaurant Louise’s is planning a number of Barbecue events – her last one included a whole side of beef cooked over a beech and oak fire, and she also organises Classical Suppers and other surprises. Is there no end to this woman’s ingenuity in recessionary times.
This articles was first published in the Sunday Independent on 20th December 2009.