Declaration I hereby certify that the material which is submitted in this thesis towards the award of the MSc in Culinary Innovation and Food Product Development is entirely my own work and all sources have been acknowledged. This work has not been submitted for any academic assessment other than part-fulfilment of the award named above. Signed: ________________________ Date: _________________________ iii Acknowledgements • To my supervisor, Margaret Connolly, for her support, advice,

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... and knowledge which were given so freely whilst guiding me through this process. • To my family without whose support and patience I could not have completed this work. • To the faculty members of Dublin Institute of Technology at Cathal Brugha Street who have been so supportive of me. • To all of those who participated in the research process, without whom this study could not have been completed. iv Abstract The current global recession has affected almost all countries whose economies adhere to free-market principles and are involved in international money markets. Ireland, along with the majority of its European trading partners both inside and outside the eurozone has seen a sharp fall in the standard of living of its citizens in the years since the financial crisis emerged (2007 to present). In common with the almost universal international paradigm, Irish citizens have had drastic austerity measures imposed upon them. In Ireland's case, the underwriting of private banking debt and its subsequent conversion to sovereign debt served to contract the economy and to send the country into recession. This has left many households to manage on a severely reduced budget. As food is one of the pre-requisites for life, its nutritional value cannot be reduced by much or for long without affecting the health of the household so this means that when prioritising the household budget, decisions regarding food are fundamental to the process. This study examines how the current recession has affected the domestic food purchasing and cooking habits of people living in Dublin. The main research question is: Austerity in 21 st century Dublin: has recession altered our relationship with food purchasing and preparation?