Ballymaloe Day 6: No rest for the wicked

Jealous of my housemates’ lie in, I pulled myself out of bed at 6am to prepare for a day at the Farmers Market in Midleton.

Each week two students have the opportunity to volunteer at the market on the Ballymaloe Cookery School stall and I chose to give it a lash – despite my slight inability to work with numbers.

It was overall a quiet enough day, between regulars and the small crowd we didn’t sell too much but I did enjoy the experience.

Igor and Julija who work for Ballymaloe on the stall are originally from Lithuania and have been in Ireland for the best part of a decade. They’re incredibly lovely to work with and make you feel less silly when you’re unsure of what you’re doing (by the way, if you ever want a decent cake, Julija’s your woman).

(Myself and Igor, rocking the orange)

If you ever are planning to sell a product, I’d recommend checking out any market and see how they operate. Oftentimes they’re experts in selling because it’s completely their living. From simple things like the layout of the stall to pricing, to pitching, running a successful stand can take a lot of work.

I made it back to the school at about 3pm where I met my housemate, also called Julia, who was in the kitchens making wood-fired pizza. She kindly offered me a full one that she had going spare, and despite being completely wrecked, I ate the whole thing. DON’T JUDGE ME!

It’s been a bit strange today though – I feel like I have so much time when usually we just get about four hours to chill before bed.

Tomorrow there’s only one thing on the agenda: the All-Ireland Football final, and with my Kerry jersey happily sitting in my suitcase, I know where my priorities lie.

Go n-éirí go geal leis an Ríocht – Go on the Kingdom!