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‘A mini scandal’ – Leo Varadkar reflects on viral food fails and why he felt ‘very sorry’ for other world leaders

The former Fine Gael leader, who stepped down from the role and announced his departure from politics earlier this year, spoke to chef Mark Moriarty on his food-focused podcast Roasted.

He joked that it was “amazing” that a picture of a Battenburg cake he posted went viral.

Leo Varadkar shared this picture of his meal prep back in 2022

After his 45th birthday, social media users poked fun at his birthday cake, which he shared a photo of to Instagram, with one going so far as to set up a online fundraiser for “a proper birthday cake” instead of the “tragic” Battenburg.

Asked by Mr Moriarty whether he would post anything similar for the “craic” now, he laughed: “Not really, no. I’m not looking for attention anymore. It was a birthday, I was on the way home and I stopped in a Spar. Apparently Battenburg sales went up for a while after that.

“That was kind of fun. I think then for years after that everywhere I went there were Battenburgs. The thing that went the wrong way now was meal prep.”

He sparked some debate online after he posted a picture of his fridge showing his 16 meals for the week ahead, all pre-prepared in plastic storage containers.

“I don’t really do meal prep – Matt does it – I took a photo of Matt having done the meal prep but the lids weren’t on the little boxes. This became a bit of a mini scandal because it got to the point where after seven hours, the Food Safety Authority (FSAI) issued a tweet or statement reminding people to cover their lunchboxes.”

Replying to a photo on X of the Fine Gael leader’s fridge, the FSAI shared advice about storing cooked food and said it recommends that people put lids on their containers when meal prepping food.

He said it was “part of the fun thing about politics that you never know when you wake up what’s going to happen that day or how it’s going to end”.

Inside Leo Varadkar’s fridge, as he confirmed back in 2022 that he does use lids on his containers.

Speaking to chef Mark Moriarty, he described his day-to-day routine as leader, adding that being Taoiseach is a “great gig” but he always knew it “was never going to be a thing for life”.

“I think I famously said in an interview a long time ago that I would be out of politics by the time I was 50, which was always my intention – and I intend to be out of it now by the time I’m 46 – but my press officer reprimanded me, said that it would be interpreted as a lack of commitment, that you don’t have the staying power or whatever, so I had to stop saying it but it’s always what I had in mind,” he said.

On his decision to enter politics, he said: “I had to see what I could change for the better and in some cases I’ve been able to do that and in other cases I haven’t.

“But I’m kind of happy I tried because even when you’re not successful at solving a problem, just understanding it better and understanding it in the way it is is helpful in it’s own right.”

Todays News in 90 Seconds – October 30 2024

He said a lot of politics is “right time, right place” and it was not his life-long ambition to become party leader and the Taoiseach, he described it as a “privilege” but that it was “really tough” appointing a Cabinet.

“It’s personal and it’s difficult. You’re hurting a lot of feelings. You’re bruising egos as well and you’re, in some cases, potentially turning friends into future enemies,” he said.

On his trips to Washington as Taoiseach, he admitted he was nervous the first time he was in the Oval Office, adding: “President Trump being unpredictable you never knew what he was going to say, it was a little more to plan with President Biden.”

He also revealed that leaders in the UK or US often may not eat during events due to safety concerns, adding: “I always felt very sorry for them that the food would arrive and get taken away again… When you’re a politician or head of Government in a small country, you do have a level of freedom that others don’t have and you can live a relatively normal life.

“I remember Boris Johnson saying to me that he couldn’t get Deliveroo into Downing Street when he wanted to order his favourite takeaway. Seemingly that couldn’t be done.

“I remember Vice President (Kamala) Harris saying going to restaurant was almost impossible because they’d have to shut down the block.”

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