New series to put spotlight on hidden creators of Cork

The name Leviathan conjures up images of ancient myths; of an enormous sea creature symbolising a ferocious creative spirit.

But what has that got to do with food?

The genesis of James Gabriel Martin’s multidisciplinary food project, also named Leviathan, was born during the first wave of covid lockdowns. At a time when people everywhere baked banana bread, coddled sourdough starters, and generally cooked as though collective kitchen labour was the path to salvation, that spirit of ferocious creativity was well placed.

A freelance travel writer and photojournalist, musician and chef, Martin’s journeys often gravitated to the food and food cultures of the countries he visited.

The pandemic put a stop to that, and in its place came time to fill and a kitchen to work in.

Far from roaring its way into the stream of quick-clip online food content, Leviathan is a study in slow food and slow curation. Recipes can take weeks to perfect, photograph, and be transformed into digital recipe cards by his sister, collaborator and Leviathan co-founder, Ellen Martin. That attention to detail and professional polish to his content quickly gained a healthy following on Instagram, followed by an accompanying website.

This past year, a new project has been the fire in Leviathan’s belly.

Drawing on a creative vision honed through photography, writing and cookery, Martin is set to release a new video series called Leviathan – Ireland’s Hidden Creators, exploring craft, music, and culinary culture across Ireland.

Entirely self-funded and working with a small team, including boutique film production company BYOC Films, the series documents the crafts and cultures of nine different artisans from across Ireland.

Five of the nine stories feature creatives from Cork: Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery, Joe O’Leary and Caroline O’Donnell of legendary music bar Levis’ Pub, Kevin O’Connell of Ballincollig-based Forage & Find, food conservationist Max Jones of Up There The Last, and natural wines expert Brian O’Connor of Brian’s Wines.

“Food has always been an incredibly important part of my life,” says Martin.

“From a young age, I was cooking at home in a way that went way beyond just being a home cook. I was obsessed with cookbooks and cooking documentaries, watching my mother and grandmother in the kitchen.

“Travelling for work, I made food culture a big part of what I sought out.”

As lockdowns lifted, Martin found that what started as a project to fill time had evolved into something in which he felt much more invested.

“I decided to retrain as a chef and went to Ballymaloe Cookery School and was immersed in the food culture there. While there, I met Kelly Keogh. Her family own Whitestown House in county Dublin, and we began The Dining Club where we host long table supper clubs and bespoke events, each with its own unique theme.

“I now think of Leviathan as a multi-disciplinary food project because I am cooking, writing and making documentaries about food. My hope is that it continues to evolve because really, for the first time in my life, it feels like a culmination of all my interests.”

Film-making marks a new departure for Martin.

“I wanted to tell these stories in a different way. Long form video journalism was something I hadn’t done before but it was another palette to paint with. It offers so much. It was a daunting thing for me to undertake. I didn’t have the skills when I started out, and as an independent project I didn’t have the funding for a huge production team.

“I’m very specific about how I like things to look; I obsess over it. To find a production company to do this project with me and I could trust was a big thing. BYOC Films have incredible vision and production prowess, and they immediately understood what I wanted from the project.

“The four of us were running around Ireland scouting locations as we went, setting up on the spot. That’s not an easy task, so to come out with something that looks great and feels natural is a miracle. It was all down to the team, and I’m delighted with what we ended up with.”

With five of the nine documentaries filmed in Cork, I’m keen to know what keeps drawing Martin back to the Rebel County from his base in Sutton, Co Dublin.

“Ireland is such a treasure trove of people doing incredibly inspiring things, but I’ve spent a lot of time playing music in Cork,” he says. “When you’re doing something creative there’s a spirit that resonates, a kind of unspoken energy that comes from people in different places. That feeling was always the most potent any time I was playing in Cork.

“Just spend two minutes in the company of Sally Barnes and you’ll be completely enamoured by her wit and ion for the sustainable work she does and the traditional methods she employs. She exclusively works with wild fish, but she has this amazing balance of showing the craft while also having great respect for these creatures.

“I met Brian O’Connor of Brian’s Wines via Ballymaloe, and I met Max Jones through Sally. The ion these people have stood out to me. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence they are all based in West Cork - if there’s something in the air there or if people are drawn to the place, but I keep ending up there, West Cork in particular. It’s a magical place that pulls creatives in.”

Kevin O’Connell is one of Cork’s leading professional foragers, running workshops and foraging tours throughout the year, with Ballincollig Regional Park a favoured spot to hunt for wild food.

“I wanted to feature foraging because, as a chef, I love the idea of natural wild food. Kevin is a quiet creative; there wasn’t much available online about him which intrigued me. I reached out to him, and he said he was interested.

“It turned out to be fantastic,” says Martin. “He dove straight in, picking herbs and flowers. He’s a wealth of information and a fascinating character. He took me around Ballincollig Regional Park explaining all these wild plants, herbs and flowers to me.

“Kevin set up this outdoor spread, made me a wild omelette, brewed a wild tea and made me a wild cocktail which we captured on film. Everything tasted incredible!”

The use of long form video journalism speaks to the depth of stories the people featured hold. Segments aired on traditional broadcast media often don’t have the time to do a deep dive into these fascinating stories. As result, Martin has chosen to release the series on YouTube.

“These people have stories that are really worth telling in detail, and I’m really happy to be able to give that time to them by releasing on YouTube.”

The platform is becoming increasingly relevant – and democratic – for creators who are interested in publishing work that doesn’t have to abide by limitations around time and space. It has a ready audience that is savvy in seeking out the kind of slower curated niche content that Martin and Leviathan have a ion for.

“Releasing the series independently was my preferred route because anyone can access it,” says Martin.

“Sally was really happy when I told her we were releasing on YouTube. She believes this information shouldn’t be cut down and shoved into a two-minute segment because this is information that is dying in some cases. She was so generous with her knowledge; she doesn’t gate-keep anything. She showed me on camera how to fillet a wild salmon and how to salt cure it. She wants that to be accessible for everyone to see.”

The other side of the appeal is retention of creative control; something Martin mentions often throughout our conversation.

“I’ve always released things independently and I believe that gives me more of a voice. I’m not at the mercy of someone else’s vision or time slots, and I’m very particular in how I create things.

“I also have this hopeful independent spirit that if you have the ion for a project and work hard at it, it could lead to being financially sustainable in a way that doesn’t sell out my vision and enables me to work on the things I love.

“Integrity is important because otherwise there’s no point in doing something. I had a specific vision around what I wanted to make,” says Martin. “I’ve never tried to make something for other people; I try to create things I’m interested because if I’m interested, others will be too. It might be a smaller audience, but that’s fine. It resonates with people, so I just carry on.”

The Leviathan video series is expected to launch on April 17 - the first of which features Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery.

Martin is already looking ahead to a busy year of creative projects celebrating his ion for where food, craft and music merge.

“When I think about doing something creative, it’s like a muscle - the more I do it, the more ideas I get,” he says.

“I’ve just launched a free Substack where I share bonus material from the video series, and it looks like I’ll be writing more this year, too. The Dining Club, which takes place at Whitestown House twice a month, is becoming more popular – tickets sell out fast.

“My hopes are to release more in the video series. I have a long list of places I would like to document, so I hope it will grow so I can continue with it. The people featured were so generous with their time and knowledge, it wouldn’t have been possible to get to this point without them.

“I’m really energised for the year ahead, and I feel really excited about creating more.”

Leviathan – Ireland’s Hidden Creators will be available to view via www.youtube.com/@leviathanfood or visit www.leviathanfood.com.