In the words of Lady Eve Balfour “Food is my subject so it concerns everyone”. Even those people who profess to have absolutely no interest in food have to eat.  Food is the fuel that nourishes our bodies, gives us strength and keeps us well. So the quality of the food ought to be of [...]

Florence is hot in the summer, in fact on one day during a recent visit it was the hottest place in the whole of Europe, 39 degrees centigrade.  That sort of temperature renders most of us unable to function. Sight seeing becomes hard labour, even shopping seems too much of an effort.  Nothing for it [...]

I haven’t counted for quite some time but I would guess that the cookbook library here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School must now contain in excess of 2000 books – mostly cookbooks, but also books on wine and other food related topics.   The library has grown gradually from a base of my own personal collection [...]

Blackcurrants   Such a joy to have been able to feast on berries in season for the past few weeks.  If you were fortunate enough to have managed to source fruit from small producers who are growing varieties for flavour you will have had a real taste of summer.  Sadly, most commercial strawberry growers have [...]