Oliver McCabe – Fuelling Food Choices with Calor

For those in the know when it comes to food, Oliver McCabe is causing a stir. The author of Fuel Food Cookbook is on a mission to bring healthy eating to the mainstream of Irish life.  Calor, who partner with Oliver on this cookery demonstrations, caught up with him to talk about food, collapsible kitchens and his plans for the months ahead.

Hi Oliver, tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Oliver McCabe and I look after all things sales, marketing and events at Independent Irish Health Foods, Ireland’s leading distribution company of health food to Ireland’s food sector. I have a passion for healthy living, and I am also a wholefood chef and nutritional advisor, I try my best to be an ambassador and spokesperson for the health food sector in Ireland.

For 16 years I ran an independent health food store, called Select Stores, based in the coastal village of Dalkey in County Dublin. Over that period of time, we saw a rise in the popularity of health food, as Irish people became more and more conscious of the importance of fuelling your body with nutritious food. Our store transformed alongside this, and developed from its beginnings as a green grocer to include a juice bar and café.

How did you become involved with / working with Calor?

My parents set up Select Stores in 1959, my four siblings have all been involved with the store. Select Stores have been a Calor retailer as far back as I can remember, selling gas cylinders. As a result, I had always been familiar with Calor, and when I released my cook book ‘Fuel Food’, the title really connected us. Supported by Calor, I am able to travel all around the country, in a collapsible kitchen, spreading the word of the importance of healthy eating, through food demonstrations and talks.

Can you tell us a bit more about this collapsible kitchen?

The mobile kitchen and I go on the road to present cookery demonstrations across the country. I also use the kitchen as a platform to give talks on the importance of healthy food choices, and to talk to people about cooking as a life skill. Healthy eating is not a difficult choice, and to support this we talk a lot about meal preparation and easy recipes with those people that come to our talks and demos. A lot of what we do is about education, we want to educate and empower parents, kids, teenagers, communities, those faced with certain illnesses and companies across the country to make the right food choices for themselves.

I believe you will be demonstrating at Taste of West Cork this year with Calor?

Yes! Calor are sponsoring Taste of West Cork this year, and it is, year after year, always a fantastic event. The festival runs from the 8^th to the 17^th of September and celebrates the food and producers of West Cork and everyone who is passionate about food. It really is a perfect backdrop for our cooking demonstrations and talks, and I am delighted to be going to the event this year.

Do you enjoy cooking with gas?

I have always enjoyed cooking with gas. It is efficient, reliable and gives me the control over temperature that I need when cooking to produce the best results. I can honestly say I feel confident when I am cooking with gas, and that is no bad thing, especially when you are cooking in front of a crowd of onlookers!

For more information on Oliver and his upcoming events visit his website: www.olivermccabe.ie