Valerie Twomey, a kidney transplant recipient has spent the last year or more bringing together chefs from across Ireland to create over 100 special recipes for adults living with kidney disease. Valerie is passionate about people with kidney disease being able to live their lives to the full. We met a few years ago when we were both speaking in the European Parliament and at that time Valerie mentioned this project to me. I am delighted to see it come to fuitition. For your next celebratory dinner how about an elegant courgette carpaccio with rocket & parmesan, the creation of chef and cookery teacher Rory O’Connell, followed by mouth-watering poached salmon pancakes with chive cream cheese from the kitchen of Kevin Dundon at Dunbrody House ; and, to finish, either a pear and apple crumble or for the truly traditional bread and butter pudding a la Domini Kemp who with her sister runs Itsabagel. Eating well and enjoying eating is one of life’s great pleasures but is not quite such an easy task for those with long term kidney problems where diet is an important aspect of care. Knowing “what is in that dish” is not something that comes easily. Preparation of a meal suitable for adults with kidney disease is one step; preparation of a kidney friendly meal that’s also delicious may be a considerably harder step to master. Valerie Twomey has assembled some mouth watering recipes from Ireland’s top chefs, each recipe has been expertly analysed by renal dietitians to ensure that they can be easily incorporated into a renal diet. Of course one size does not fit all and it’s important to fit these recipes into the overall diet and before using the book kidney patients are advised to discuss recipes with their dietitian. The chefs in this book have proven that you can enjoy great food whilst on a renal diet.

‘Truly Tasty is a beautiful cookbook. It is a tale of passion from top Irish chefs: it’s a real cookbook for real cooks and it’s so much more than a ray of culinary hope for those accustomed to the restricted renal diet. But most importantly, it’s a powerful reminder to us all of the importance of carrying an organ donor card!’

‘Truly Tasty makes real the vital injunction that one must “let food be your medicine”, and does so in a manner that unites the practical needs of kidney patients with the culinary aesthetic of a battalion of Ireland’s leading chefs. It is a book to inspire not just a sense of good eating, but a sense of true well-being. Brian Moore’s interviews with the chef-contributors reveal not just their passion for wonderful food but also their passion to reveal the centrality of good food in a life well-lived.’

This is a remarkable book. Remarkable not just in its concept but in the way that it contains the thoughts and hard work of so many of our best chefs. And also in the way that it underlines how dietary restrictions can amount to an exciting challenge rather than a negative hurdle. The people whose recipes appear here have one thing in common. They see good food as something to be celebrated, as an integral part of living life to the full. I am hugely impressed, as I am sure you will be too, by the way in which they have responded to the dietary challenges that face people for whom kidney disease is part of daily life. This is a book that will bring joy into the lives of people who may have felt deprived of some familiar comforts in the kitchen – because it underlines how much pleasure there can be in a diet low in salt, phosphates and potassium. It’s also a beautiful book and not just because of the delicious images it contains. The beauty lies also in the generosity of the people who have put so much time and thought into its production. Truly Tasty is truly a remarkable achievement.

From the Bookseller 12 February 2010 The last thing the sick need is a collection of drab underseasoned-dishes presented in a dull pictureless paperback. This book then is a novelty for this category in that it is a real cookbook. Twomey has approached leading Irish chefs and challenged them to provide recipes which are suitable for those suffering from chronic kidney disease. The result is a production profiling the chef and presenting attractive, enticing pictures of recipes which anyone would be happy to eat.