Christmas this year is for many people something to be dreaded rather than looked forward to with the usual joy and anticipation. Everywhere one turns, there are a myriad of reminders of out of reach temptations. [...]
I’ve just had an ‘oh my god’ moment where the penny has dropped that Christmas day is a mere 28 days away. It’s seems to have crept up [...]
Meat Free Monday – The whole idea continues to garner approval – there’s a million good reasons why this is a brilliantly good idea. Between 1961 and 2007 the world population [...]
Every year the Georgina Campbell Awards are eagerly awaited by the restaurant industry. Awards are always fun, they lift the spirits and generate extra buzz at any time [...]
The whole artisan beer scene is going into orbit in Ireland. At present there are 14 or 15 craft brewers and the public, bored with the usual offerings, can’t get enough of it. These beers are incredibly diverse, some with citrus notes, [...]
My daughter-in-law Rachel knows more than most what is like to try and juggle work, family and friends. I don’t know how she does it but she is certainly not alone, all over the country there are [...]
There’s a frenzy of preserving going on here these days, despite the weather we still have lots of ripe tomato, beets, marrows and over grown courgettes… in the garden plus we are surrounded by wild food. Most of the blackberries have ripened at [...]
I’ve had Barrafina Tapas Bar on my London list for ages, but somehow didn’t manage to make it until recently. Everyone I know tells me it’s possibly the best in London – Giles Coran, not given to unbridled praise, wrote in The Times [...]
Congratulations to Ballymaloe House who have won a number of Georgina Campbell Awards for 2012. Good Housekeeping Award. Good Cooking Award Country House Breakfast Award Irish Breakfast Award We are delighted that Ballymaloe won these awards which reflects the dedication and hard work of all those involved.
We had another terrific guest chef at the cookery school recently, Sunil Ghai is a tall handsome chef from Gwalior but he is firmly established on the Irish Restaurant scene. He was chosen as Chef of the Year in Ireland in August 2009 by Food and Wine Magazine– no easy task at the best of [...]