The Substance

Ask someone do they like tripe and most often the answer is no. They’ll say no if they haven’t tried it too. What puts people off? Some squirm at the mention of it. One of my dishwashers hated the smell so much he would leave the kitchen when I was pouring away the blanching water. Some say it smells like wet dog. Some can’t get past the barnyard scent and taste .If you could get past the smell you’d be rewarded with callos or gras double or soups like menudo or the Turkish işkembe çorbası, After its been simmered and cooked in a sauce the strong scent dissipates, the stomach sucks up the sauce and if this is your first time you’ll wonder why didn’t I have this before and when can I try it again.

In last twenty years I’ve read articles in newspapers and magazines mentioning the tripe comeback but did it ever need a comeback? Go to Roma, Barcelona, Athens, in old and new restaurants you’ll find this is a constant and loved part of the cow. Where I’ve lived: Dublin, London, Paris its seldom featured on menus but if you hunt it down you’ll find it at Le Baratin, Amarante and Chez Denise, you will find it at these Chinese restaurants: Fleurs de Mai, Le Lac de l’Ouest and Aux Mandarins de Belleville. In Dublin: Asassination Custard, Rosa Madre, Lee’s Charming Noodles. London: St John, Boca di Lupo, Polentina, not forgetting Londons Sichuan scene: Silk Road, Chillicool, Sichuan Folk. I now live in Lisbon where a dish called Dobrada, stewed tripe, cured sausages and white beans can be found at almost any tasca. One place, Tasca do Gordo, prides themselves on theirs but each time I’ve been I don’t see families or couples sharing pots of stewed stomach, instead they order the beef skewers or grilled pork. There will be an old man or woman enjoying the stew. There will be a business man in a suit. A chef on their day off. A tourist following sound advice trying something different.

Before starting this I considered contacting chefs in countries where its popular for stories on what’s its like to serve trip. That could be a follow up piece but as I have put it on the menu of every restaurant I’ve worked as chef I will tell recount my experience.

The last job I had we prepared 15 kg each week so it would never be off the menu. Customers came, locals, tourists and first timers, curious to try or as dedicated fans. A dish like this often comes with the phrase you either love it or hate it. Food that divides people often creates conflicts at the table. Years back someone at a table we were sharing once complained that I ordered it to be different. I was ordering for enjoyment. When at dinner or lunch, whether alone or with others I don’t think about what you order or what you think about mine. I don’t judge. Order tripe a la mode Caen, pork tripe and peppers or an andouillette and someone will say something. If you like offal people will tell you how much they don’t like offal. Inexperienced waiters will ask do you know it is even though you’ve ordered it. In Japan; one owner tried to tell me I wouldn’t like what was in in the pot, he pointed at his stomach and repeated the word insides and I pointed at mine and gave a thumbs up.

In the last five years people have invited me to cook tripe at wine tastings in the Czech Repubique, France, Spain and I’ve served it in restaurants and wine bars in Monoco, Palma, Zurich, Gothenberg, Dublin, Ibiza, Paris, Lisbon. I started a book with no plan but to cook and eat as many different styles of tripe and write about these experiences. A diary with recipes. Earlier this year my wife and I watched The Substance, have you seen it? When Demi Moore gets a book on French cooking she flicks through the recipes and gags when she sees the recipe for tripe. That was tripe’s big moment in a mainstream movie and her retch is how most of the world react whether they smell, hear or see it on a menu or at the butchers display.