So after spending 83 days at Ballymaloe Cookery School, I’ve taken in a phenomenal amount of information and have created things that I never imagined I could do. On reflection there are definitely things that I think students should know before heading on this intensive journey, so I’ve put together a list of things I…
Tag: 12 Week Cert
Ballymaloe Day 82: The final blogpost
Well it’s over, that’s it, c’est fini. 83 posts altogether including day zero – it’s been a roller coaster of a ride. It’s hard to describe what how I’m feeling about the written exams right now, but the definite overall feeling that’s running through my veins is exhaustion. I barely slept last night, and with…
Ballymaloe Day 78: “That absolute slap-across-the-face flavour”
The alarm went off at 7.30am, but I didn’t haul myself out of bed until 8am… After a turbulent night’s sleep, I eventually managed to drag myself out into humanity with my chef whites on and knife bag under my arm. Though shattered, it was actually a lovely morning in the kitchen, with an air…
Ballymaloe Day 74: At the quack of dawn
Last night I managed to smash a pavlova on the floor, slip on a carpet and skid across the dining room and a dog grabbed one of my bread rolls and ran away (thankfully this was all in my dreams). My dreams seem to be getting stranger and stranger and with the end in sight,…
Ballymaloe Day 63: Hitting the books
My surfboard hit the water and I pulled my arms through the waves to bring me forward into the ocean. The sun was shining down and all was clear – it was the perfect scene. Sadly the above paragraph is a complete lie – if only my day was as tranquil and exciting as that!…
Ballymaloe Day 56: Sunday morning, no rain pouring
A bright and sunny day, the brisk air whipped my face as I brought the recycling out of the Coach House. I spied two feral cats sauntering through the bushes, and my wellies crunched through some of the last of the autumn leaves. Cleaning up the house with Sophie, we tucked into an early breakfast…
Ballymaloe Day 35: Oh sweet cicely!
Oh sweet cicely! I lovage the herbs but I feel like a butterhead beCos I can’t remember them. Lettuce not get too distracted though – we need to dill with it. It doesn’t take a sage to mustard up a recipe list but ain’t nobody got thyme for that! I’d love to tell you that…
Ballymaloe Day 26: “Here at Buttermaloe”
With a long wooden spoon in one hand and a spatula in the other, I started today’s cooking with determination in mind. The end of week four was just in my grasp and I wanted to go out of Kitchen 2 on a high note. I had a blackberry, apple and sweet geranium tart, strawberry…
Ballymaloe Day 22: “Much ado about Mutton”
The rain pelted down and I jumped out the door to rescue my bread from turning into a soggy gloop. This was my first time in Kitchen 2 and I was like a rabbit in the headlights. Though a breath of fresh air from my run in Kitchen 3, getting myself orientated in a new…
Ballymaloe Day 20: “As long as it’s not my blood, I’m happy”
Rolling over in my bed this morning after a rather busy dream that saw me in an intense argument with a fish, I was glad to wake up and face a new day! Strictly speaking I wasn’t actually in Ballymaloe but in the comfort of my home in Kerry, but despite that I still very…
