A crack of bone, a shimmy of the knife. Sometimes I often muse about the amount of knives here at the cookery school. Since the start of the course, many students have become “members of the lost knives club” (as Rachel calls it), but bizarrely they end up finding their way back home – be…
Tag: Colm McCan
Ballymaloe Day 52: a “toolbox of flavours”
The top layer of cheese on the flan was bubbling silently like a golden orb of oozing joy. It was inviting me to eat it. Today was all about vegetarian food and with a list of rather intriguing dishes in front of her, Darina went through what she planned to showcase for the day. “If…
Ballymaloe Day 38: “Give sherry a chance!”
Finishing up the day by eating tapas with a smooth sherry was one of the highlights so far, and it was definitely one of those moments where I was so glad to be on this course. With just two days before our mid-term exams, a group of us were up bright and early at 7am…
Ballymaloe Day 21: Back on the ranch!
The bottle is a murky shade of green, it looks like it’s been hiding in the dark for quite a long time and in truth it has. Back in 1999 and donning my Holy Communion dress, I was giving a rather special present of bottles of champagne with my name on them. Sitting in a…
Ballymaloe Day 10: Wine after wine
I shovelled the food into me like I hadn’t eaten in days, and as bizarre as it sounds – I hadn’t fed myself properly since I came here. We were out of the kitchens today and started off our theory day with a few quick demonstrations on how to make quick and sweet tray bake…
Ballymaloe Day 4: “It’s a moment in a glass”
As I stared at the limp body in my lap, with my fingers plucking away at its torso, I realised that everyday some kind-of randomness happens here at Ballymaloe. I had an early start today and got up at 7am to head off to our optional gardening class. About 14 of us trudged around the…
