Manx Cuisine

Manx cuisine is the hearty, wholesome food of a small island in the Irish Sea, built on the bounty of its clean waters and green farmland. Its most famous product is the Manx kipper, herring split and gently oak-smoked, above all at the traditional smokehouses of Peel, a breakfast delicacy renowned far beyond the island. From the sea also come the prized queenies, small sweet queen scallops that are a genuine local speciality, along with crab and other seafood. On land, hearty dishes such as Manx broth, a thick meat and vegetable soup, spuds and herrin, and the dense, homely soda bread called bonnag reflect a resourceful farming past. Fresh, simple and satisfying, it is honest island fare.

History

For centuries most Manx families both crofted the land and fished the sea, and the traditional national dish, "spuds and herrin" - boiled potatoes and herring - comes from that subsistence life. Seafood long made up a large part of the diet, and although commercial fishing has declined, Peel's smokeries still turn herring into kippers. Beer has its own history here: Okells Brewery was founded in 1850, and the island has had a beer purity law, much like Germany's Reinheitsgebot, since 1874. The newer claimant to the title of national dish is chips, cheese and gravy, sold in most of the island's takeaways (Wikipedia, Culture of the Isle of Man).

What you'll find

• The Manx kipper - the oak-smoked herring of Peel.
• The queenies - the sweet local queen scallops.
• Manx broth - the hearty meat and vegetable soup.
• The bonnag - the dense, homely Manx soda bread.

When to go

Year-round; Manx food is enjoyed across the island, with the smokehouses of Peel a highlight for kippers and the local queenies celebrated in a dedicated festival. Smoked kippers, sweet queen scallops and hearty Manx broth are the signatures to seek out.

Things to know

Manx cooking is simple, hearty island fare rather than an elaborate cuisine, so its charm lies in fresh, local produce, above all its superb smoked kippers and sweet queenies, more than variety. As the honest food of the Irish Sea and green Manx farmland, though, Manx cuisine is a genuinely satisfying and characterful tradition.

Nearby

The smokehouses of Peel and the eateries of Douglas serve it.