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A WEEK AGO, I caused a bit of a stir when pointing out that we have reached a saturation point in Ireland’s spice bag market. Available everywhere from petrol stations to burrito shops, the meal is quickly becoming recognised as our national dish, having captured the imagination of tourists on social media.

This opinion landed me on Oliver Callan’s show and Newstalk’s Moncrieff, where I went back to basics to explain what a spice bag was (a strange thing to do, in the year 2026). As I reflected on it, I realised that spice bags are a glorified reinvention of chicken goujons and chips.

Source: Alamy Stock Photo

I began to wonder if the success of the spice bag was down to Ireland’s accommodation of picky eaters. To be clear, this is something I support, as an ally of picky eaters. While I’ve evaded the confines of a limited palate, my siblings’ diets consist largely of nuggets, chips and crisp sandwiches. I’ve seen their stress in restaurants and social settings, where even hamburgers and pizza are a step too far.

Yet, still they are happy to pick at a spice bag. Once it’s not too spicy.

Old Ireland tried to beat picky eating out of many kids via enforced hunger, but we know today that there is a complex range of factors that result in food aversions. Often, the discomfort of picky eaters can be caused by sensory processing disorders (SPDs), which impact up to 16% of the population. This can be heightened in people with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

Additionally, the eating habits of kids today are hugely influenced by commercial interests. Additive-laden, high sugar and high salt foods that many fussy eaters gravitate towards are heavily promoted to children.

Foods are often branded with beloved cartoon characters and colourful packaging that immediately catches the eyes of children and activates their relentless pestering power. Examples range from Bear in the Big Blue House crisps (gone, but never forgotten) to frozen dishes like Peppa Pig Potato Faces.

New entrants to the Irish fast food market suggest that we truly are a people who enjoy chicken and chips. Wingstop, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Slim Chickens and the soon-to-open Popeyes and Chick-fil-A suggest there’s a generation of young people who are chicken-and-chip-pilled.

Our native fast casual restaurants underscore this commitment to chicken and chips: Wishbone, Mad Egg, Chimac and the Eddie Rockets-owned Tender Hooks. It’s no surprise that spice bags have gripped the nation in the past decade – with two dedicated factions. Those who think the veg is the best part and those who avoid it at all costs.

The above had me wondering if fussy eaters are more common in Ireland than abroad. This theory was only fuelled by the fact that two of Ireland’s three national dishes on Wikipedia are bread and butter. You couldn’t make it up.

The third is, of course, stew.

The national dishes of our neighbours to the left and right suggest that fussy eating is potentially an issue of the English-speaking world.

The national dishes attributed to the United States are quite predictable. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, apple pies, fried chicken. In the UK, there’s fish and chips, fry-ups and Yorkshire puddings. These are all equally popular in Ireland, so it’s easy to see how our increasing cultural alignment with the US is influencing the palates of young people, who yearn for the dishes they see on their iPads.

On mainland Europe, things are different. While France’s croissants and baguettes are innocuous to the most fussy of eaters, the country’s other national dishes include veal, escargot and a range of stinky cheeses that most young people in Ireland would baulk at.

The further east that you go in Europe, the greater the chance is that a picky eater will go hungry.

Czechia’s national dish, svíčková na smetaně, features tenderloin with veg and spices served with gravy, dumplings, whipped cream and lingonberry sauce. Poland’s bigos (or “hunter’s stew”) would strike fear into the hearts of the spice bag generation. It consists of sauerkraut, fresh white cabbage, chopped meats, dried mushrooms and prunes.

There are clearly a range of factors at play across cultures; food trends and traditions are almost always entrenched in a bigger economic picture. England’s obsession with meat pies grew from the convenience of having a pocket-sized, hearty lunch that could be brought to work. It’s thought that the Irish breakfast was a practical measure to load farmers up on protein to get them through the day’s labour. Instant coffee was created during wartime. Convenience foods were ushered in by women’s entry to the workplace.

Exposure to foods in Ireland is hugely influenced by class and income. More money doesn’t guarantee a better diet, but it expands access to foods and dietary education. Busy parents who are already stretched thin cannot sacrifice the time and planning that goes into seeking out new foods for kids to try.

Some kids grow up on hummus, pesto and smoked almonds, while others eat goujons for lunch and cereal for dinner. Research shows that low-income parents tend to offer their kids a narrow range of foods to avoid food and economic waste, inadvertently limiting exposure to healthier foods.

Bord Bia notes that freezer aisles have been booming as a result of the cost of living crisis. You can see this in disadvantaged parts of Dublin, where frozen sections have a massive footprint in supermarkets, offering competitive prices and long shelf lives.

Frozen foods typically aren’t very adventurous. There’s an array of nuggets, goujons, pizza, garlic bread, burgers, chips, wedges, hash browns and battered fish (not to mention desserts). Luckily, there’s also an abundance of frozen vegetable options which are nutritionally very similar to fresh veg.

Overall, there’s a huge number of factors that are informing our diets and preferences, including economic, cultural, traditional, societal and philosophical trends. All of this has created an environment where fussy eaters are well served in Ireland. Our culture is reflected back at us from fast food to the freezer aisle.

So, it’ll come as little surprise that you’ll find frozen spice bags in your local supermarket’s freezer.

Kelly Earley is a writer and podcaster from Coolock, who has a deep interest in culture, technology, community and social justice. She writes for The Journal every week.

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