RTÉ's Christmas Cooking Guides

"Here are two Christmas cooking guides which were distributed as part of the RTÉ Guide (November 1989 and November 1990). In Ireland, cooking at Christmas has always meant a multiplication in the number of people we entertain, an increase in the amount of things we need to buy and the work that needs to be carried out. Like all modern cookery books these guides portrayed recipes in a simplified manner. As the festive season approached, the cooking guides persuaded the reader that the recipes in them would make life easier on the cook and everyone involved. Not to mention, they were filled with advertisements displaying an array of utensils and ingredients that the Irish household might use. A lot of the recipes used in Ireland during Christmas are traditional ones. As a result, we may not be ever so willing to accommodate very new recipes during this sentimental season. Still, these aids accompanied the RTÉ Guide free-of-charge with instructions readily available should their buyers wish to make use of them. During the 1990s in Ireland, RTÉ gave something of utilitarian value back to its consumers. At the time this would have also encouraged new shoppers to purchase the magazine."