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Blasta Books #16: Messy

Aoife McElwain is a messy cook who has managed to go from chaos to craic in the kitchen, and that’s what her book, MESSY, will help you do too. With simple recipes interspersed with gentle coaching tools, this book is for anyone who wants to harness the joy of cooking and use food as a tool for a life well lived.

From those times when you can’t cope or need a bit of comfort to ideas for how to cook for a crowd or in the great outdoors, MESSY is a companion cookbook for recovering perfectionists and recuperating people-pleasers whose inner critics tend to follow them into the kitchen. 

Most of all, MESSY is a celebration of creativity and of learning from our mistakes. Messiness can marinate into joy, and Aoife will show you how.

COMING OCTOBER 2025

  • ISBN: 9781738479597
  • Format: Hardcover, 72 pages
  • Dimensions: 21.7 x 1.2 x 15.4 cm
  • Publication date: 23 October 2025
€17.00
€17.00
This book will ship in October 2025

About the author

Aoife McElwain is a messy cook who lives in Connemara, in the West of Ireland, where the wild beauty of the landscape helps balance her work as a food writer, food stylist, wedding DJ, events planner and creativity coach.

She is Chief Craic Mechanic at Sing Along Social, a singing party for people who can't sing, and pops up at weddings and festivals in Ireland, Europe, the US or wherever the craic calls.

She started a food blog in 2009 to learn how to cook and wrote a weekly food column for the Sunday Times Ireland in 2021. Her words about food have also been featured in the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, Totally Dublin Magazine, the Financial Times and the Guardian. She published a book about burnout, Slow at Work, in 2018.

In her free time, she volunteers with Connemara Ponies and is passionate about the therapeutic benefits of being mindful with animals and in nature.

@aoifemcelwain

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