From his early days as a musician with Stockton's Wing to his time as a trainee at Ballymaloe Cookery School, food and music have been parallel lines that have kept Mike Hanrahan on track his entire life.
Mike Hanrahan, cook and teacher, songwriter and musician, takes us backstage and into the kitchens of a bohemian, international and surprisingly foodie group of Irish household names, including Ronnie Drew, Finbar Furey, Maura O'Connell, Leslie Dowdall, Pat Shortt, Eleanor Shanley and Sharon Shannon.
Mike penned hit singles 'Beautiful Affair' and 'Walk Away' for Stockton's Wing, from which a world of touring and behind-the-scenes escapades began. With affectionate portraits of the legendary personalities he came to know along the way, Beautiful Affair rings with the sheer graft, dedication and serious sense of humour of a life well spent onstage - and in the kitchen.
Mike's time training with Ballymaloe's Darina Allen would see his hobby become a second career. Here, he shares favourite recipes from home, friends and professional kitchens across the country - from family recipes cooked on country hearths to vegetarian folk-club grub and tour-bus pressure-cooker stews. Beautiful Affair tells tales of the Irish music scene from the 1970s through to today and wends its way through a lifelong love affair with Irish food.
"Milli Hill is one of our very favourite birth writers. Birth has been overlooked by feminists for too long, in spite of the injustices happening in the labour ward. This book is a rallying cry for women everywhere to take charge of their births and recognise their own autonomy at this pivotal moment in their lives. Everyone should read it and look at the experience of childbirth through a feminis
Ricki Lake, Producer and Abby Epstein, Director: The Business of Being Born
