German bockwurst, boiled and sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice. Polish pickled red cabbage, some sugarsnaps and baby corn, and potato wedges, and a good blob of Polish deli mustard.

Pickled red cabbage is a very nostalgic comfort food for me. I was an adventurous eater as a kid, which was a bit bizarre in 1980s small town Ireland ( and another thing for kids to be jerks to me about. Kids can be hella mean). I became obsessed with pickled red cabbage, which my mother used to buy for me from the single deli that stocked it in the nearest city to us when we visited.

That deli was like an Aladdin’s cave to me. Filled with jars of olives, fancy oils and vinegars in beautiful bottles, giant wheels of cheese, salamis strung from the ceiling – it was the most exotic place in the world to a small child. Boil in the bag frozen spaghetti Bolognese just couldn’t compare to a wall of pasta in all different shapes and sizes

Other kids wanted to go to the toy shop. I wanted a new book and a jar of pickles.

Let’s be honest, I still want a new book and a jar of pickles…thankfully they’re a little easier to come by these days.