‘When it comes to food and drink, there are so many stories to tell, I’ve always got a long list of ideas ready to go.’ Ali Dunworth has already told a lot of these stories during her varied career as a freelance food, drink and travel journalist, a hospitality consultant, a food festival curator and host, and now a published author after her book A Compendium of Irish Pints came out in May.

We caught up with her to discuss her writing career so far, advice to aspiring journalists in this sector and the benefits of using Substack.

How did you originally get into journalism and what keeps you writing? 

I studied journalism at University, print journalism at first, but when I struggled to get into writing I went back and did broadcasting. Then I worked in food TV for a decade, which involved a lot of research, writing, and storytelling. About ten years ago I pivoted again and started writing about food online and moving into print. 

What keeps me writing? When it comes to food and drink, there are so many stories to tell, I’ve always got a long list of ideas ready to go. 

You’ve worked as a freelance writer covering food, drinks and travel for nearly ten years now, what are some of your favourite pieces from your journalistic career so far?

My first cover story for The Irish Times Magazine was a special moment – I wrote about the changing pub culture in Ireland and had spent months working on it. I didn’t know until it came out that it would be a magazine cover story, and that was pretty cool to have happen. 

Interviewing people I admire is always a buzz, and every time I publish a travel story it’s a pinch-me moment – I’ve always adored food-focused travel and to get to write about my trips, that’s always a bonus. 

How did you come to write ‘A Compendium of Irish Pints’?

I had written a good bit about the pub culture in Ireland. It’s a subject that was always on my mind, then one evening I was at a book launch along with Kristin Jensen who owns and runs Nine Bean Rows. It was a sort of posh party, champagne and canapes, but I spotted a breakaway crowd at the bar where pints were being poured. I delivered an enthusiastic monologue to Kristin about how pints are the best, how much I loved them and she said, perhaps in a bid to shut me up, ‘Do you think there’s a book in this?’. The next week, I sent her an outline and we went from there. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring journalist in 2024, especially in regards to writing food and drink content?

Learn all you can and do less online research and more in real life. Go to everything you can, events, dinners, pop-ups, ask questions, and make connections. Having a bank of knowledge and contacts will make all the difference. 

You’re a member of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, what are the benefits of being a part of associations such as this?

Being a freelance writer can be isolating, you spend much of your work time alone so to be part of the Guild is incredible. To have a host of people who do similar work to you that you can reach out to, talk to and ask for advice from – everyone is so supportive. 

How do you balance working as a freelance writer alongside being a food consultant, and hosting and curating events and festivals?

They balance themselves out in a way. Writing doesn’t pay very well, but the more I publish, the more likely I am to get other work like consulting, hosting, and curating. Working on these events then improves my creativity, writing, contacts, and knowledge, so it’s sort of symbiotic, I guess. 

You recently launched a Substack which already has over 500 subscribers – what’s the benefit of writing newsletter-style pieces like this over regular blogs? 

I only ever blogged for a short time years ago so I can’t compare it, but so far I love Substack. 

I’d become reliant on Instagram to share weekly news stuff and as it’s gotten harder to use and more video-focused, I got quite bored and frustrated with it. I made the switch to Substack a few months ago and love it. It’s cool to have people who just subscribe to read your stuff, and you get to write on your own terms.

If you want to find out more about the culture, customs, and craic of Irish pints, find out more about Ali’s book here. You can also subscribe to her Substack here and she can be found X (formerly Twitter) too.