Beautiful Affair: A Journey in Music, Food and Friendship Audiobook (Free)

From his early days being a musician with Stockton’s Wing to his time being a trainee at Ballymaloe Cookery School, food and music have already been parallel lines which have kept Mike Hanrahan on the right track his entire life.

Mike Hanrahan, make and instructor, songwriter and musician, calls for us back again stage and into the kitchens of the bohemian, international and surprisingly foodie band of Irish household brands, including Ronnie Drew, Finbar Furey, Maura O’Connell, Leslie Dowdall, Pat Shortt, Eleanor Shanley about Beautiful Affair: A Journey in Music, Food and Friendship and Sharon Shannon.

Mike penned strike 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 famous personalities he came to know along the way, Beautiful Affair rings with the sheer graft, dedication and serious sense of humour of the life well spent on stage – and in your kitchen.

Mike’s time teaching with Ballymaloe’s Darina Allen would see his hobby turn into a second career. Here, he shares favourite recipes from your home, friends and professional kitchen areas across the country – from family members recipes cooked on nation hearths to vegetarian folk-club grub and tour-bus pressure-cooker stews. Gorgeous Affair tells tales of the Irish music picture in the 1970s to today, and wends its method through a lifelong romance with Irish meals.

‘This is a lot a lot more than my story. In Beautiful Affair I expose you to my close friends – who talk about memories, meals and a number of amusing anecdotes that add a lot sparkle to my life.’ – Mike Hanrahan