Ómós Digest #53: Who we are.

A newsletter for people who care about food.

Magheramore beach with a handful of our readers. Photo by Tristan Hutchinson

For those of you who aren’t familiar with The Ómós Digest, it is a weekly food newsletter written by chef Cúán Greene. We’re pretty chuffed at some of our testimonials so far:

• “Thought provoking.” Katy McGuinness, Journalist.

• ‘‘Expounds upon topics relevant to food culture, sharing insights, positing questions and meeting people who are adding to the collective pot.” Totally Dublin.

• “A chef who can actually write: Cúán Greene, who used to work at Noma, explores his native Irish cuisine.” Lisa Abend, Journalist.

• “If you want to read and support exceptional food writing, please consider subscribing. I always learn something new.” Proper Food.

• “The desire to create community and to pay tribute to the land, the people and the culture of his birth is at the heart of this new endeavour.” Hugo McCafferty, Fine Dining Lovers.

Want to know more before signing up?

The Ómós story

My name is Cúán Greene. I’m an Irish chef and founder of Ómós. I started writing on Substack in February 2021 and have used this platform to share my views on the food system and hospitality industry. Since our inception as a newsletter, Ómós has grown dramatically. We are now in the process of building a restaurant, guesthouse, and farm in Ireland. Readers can now follow the progress of this project through this newsletter.

I have spent the majority of my career working in Michelin star restaurants around the world, including 3 Michelin star Noma and Geranium in Copenhagen. After 10 years of working and travelling, I returned to Ireland to focus on Ómós. Speaking honestly, I felt disillusioned by the industry. I’m primarily speaking about the leaders who hold our food system and hospitality industry in their hands. This newsletter has acted as a proponent to make a difference and implement change in an industry that so desperately needs it. 

Since writing this newsletter, I have been sent down the most wonderful rabbit holes, gathering a community of readers who believe in a better and more equitable future. But this is only the beginning. We still have so much more to do. As Ómós grows, it’s my desire that people grow with it and become a part of our beliefs and contribute themselves. The Digest is only made possible through your donations and your support has allowed me to work with an editor - the most amazing Aoibhin Quinn, who has been pivotal in ensuring the writing is as strong as possible. As we continue to expand, we hope to bring on more writers, in the form of paid contributors, who can share their own stories and views.

How does the Ómós Digest work?

The Ómós Digest focuses mainly on the study of people and processes. We believe that more can be brought ‘to the table’ by working together through communication, learning, and understanding others' crafts and inspirations. Ómós is a travelling caravan of those ideas; collaborations of food and innovations and investigations surrounding what we eat. The word comes from the Irish language, meaning homage, duty and respect.

Every week, the newsletter shares stories within the context of food. We unearth ancient culinary traditions, travelling deep into Irish culture. We recapture the lost terms and expressions found in our native language. You’ll discover our perspective on where the hospitality industry is at and where we think it needs to be while offering potential solutions. We are keen to share with you novel ideas and introduce you to the extraordinary people from our ever-growing community. We hope to feed you with information and knowledge that you can use time and time again in the form of sustainable practices, community driven initiatives, deep dives into unique ingredients and foraging guides.

Since we rely on donations from our community, we make some of our newsletters subscriber-based to show our thanks for supporting us. For a bit of what we’re all about, you can view our previous newsletters in the archives. Anything underlined is a link. Upon clicking each link, you’ll uncover a pathway into a wonderful new world of makers, crafts, food, arts and much more like…

• Butter. Spread the love.

• Magical Berries - sea buckthorn and fermented honey, who knew? 

• Stories told through our hands.

• Avocados with a clear conscience.

• In search of mangalitza in Ireland.

• Table linen into chef jackets.

• Cow free dairy?

• The dream has forgotten the employee.

• How the coffee industry manifested the disloyalty card.

• The magic of marigold.

• Ukrainian food culture.

• Defining social gastronomy.

• Dive to dine - all about seaweed.

• Mortadella vs Billy Roll: Battle of the Bologna.

If you can’t afford (€5/month or €50/year) please continue to be a free reader. We’ll continue to love you just as much. You can also show your support by sharing the Ómós Digest. If you are in the position to support us, however, below is what you can get in return.

Why become a paid subscriber:

• Unlimited access to all content from The Ómós Digest.

• First dibs on all reservations and product releases.

• First to know about limited products and dinner events. 

• Comment on our threads and become involved in discussions which offer unique insights.

• As part of the Ómós community, you allow us to grow.

One more thing, don’t forget to press the ‘like’ button and leave a comment! All of your support whether it be reading, sharing, contributing, liking, commenting and especially subscribing (paid and unpaid) is helping us grow to the next stage. We hope that we can thank you one day in person as we build our physical space in Ireland. Together, we’re growing our food community one newsletter at a time. Join the journey below and remember, if you are a hospitality student in training, our newsletter is FREE! Just email us with your details at omos@omos.co and we’ll unlock your access. Subscribe to support independent food writing that isn’t beholden to brands, advertisers, algorithms, or affiliate sales.