Conspicuous consumption

One of the few consolations of a truly wretched year has been enjoying (and indeed often discovering) the gastronomic goodness available a short distance from our front door. Everywhere you look, there are local food heroes who have kept us fed and watered in fine style and, in doing so, kept spirits up too.

In the last three weeks, we've made an overdue return visit to Uisce for an impromptu and utterly stunning weekday lunch, had an entire Sunday fuelled by baked goodness from Pettigrew, popped across the road (literally) to stock up on fresh beer from the Lansdowne, been transported to Vietnam courtesy of the Oasis Home Supper Club, taken delivery of booze orders from Pop'n'Hops and Wine Fiend, and had a first taste of Milkwood's fare in the form of padron peppers, crispy calamari, a selection of pizzas and a pair of plump apple and cinnamon doughnuts.

Not for the first time, the latter takeaway feast on Saturday prompted a Twitter post - and not for the first time, I felt a sense of discomfort and unease about pressing send. In a nutshell, broadcasting what delights I've been eating and drinking feels somewhat insensitive in the midst of a global pandemic and at a time when - as Marcus Rashford has so brilliantly highlighted - there are thousands of people who are unsure of where the next meal of any description is coming from. Put bluntly, I worry about coming across as an insufferably smug I'm-all-right-Jack wanker.

And yet on the flip side, there's a simultaneous desire, a compulsion, to not only support these businesses but to actively promote them, to give greater visibility to good people doing wonderful things in exceptionally difficult circumstances. In this, reassuringly, I'm not alone. Indeed, as The Plate Licked Clean put it today, it's a responsibility: "If you've enjoyed food from a small business this year, tell them. BUT don't forget to tell family, friends (you know, real people) & make sure you share your positive reviews on here, Insta, FB, whatever. Many are hanging by a thread."

On balance - and as you can probably guess from the very existence of this post - I think it's ultimately better to say something rather than nothing. A ringing endorsement on my blog or in my Twitter feed certainly isn't going to make a big difference to anyone on its own, and risks accusations of ostentatious smugness (at least this post might count as proof of a modicum of self-awareness, right?) - but, in the current climate especially, surely every little helps.

A familiar dilemma? A valid argument? Or self-justificatory nonsense? It'd be interesting to know the thoughts of foodie bloggers in particular.