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I swirled the wine in my glass and moved my nose towards the aroma. I’ve come a long way from Sauvignon Blanc. With the brightness of day sneaking in the window, I was early for stock duty, which is done every morning by two students. Feeling jittery at the thought of my rather tedious workload, …

Waking up after a bad dream is never easy, and starting off with a feeling of gloom is not a good start! Perhaps reflected in the weather, I woke up today in slightly low spirits. Still in Knockadoon, and slightly confused by the clocks going back, I hauled myself out of bed and forced myself …

Following the highs of getting through exams, I was excited to spend the bank holiday away from campus and somewhere less intense! And so here I am in Knockadoon camp, cooking and helping feed nearly 60 people – I must have caught kitchen fever. Situated near Ballymacoda in Cork, Knockadoon Camp hosts weeks of fun …

I tossed and turned all night, waking up at stupid hours. Even though I didn’t feel too nervous about my mid-terms, there was still exam fever in the air. Last night I had gone through a few techniques to keep them fresh in mind but there were definitely a few that I wasn’t 100% comfortable …

Muttering mild expletives under my breath, I sliced the apple into thin slivers and placed them onto my tart. Back in the kitchen for the start of week six, I felt quite drained and my energy levels were far from their peak. I’m back in Kitchen 2 for the week and though tired, I was …

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 …

Opening an eye slowly to take in the early morning rays, I completely forgot that I wasn’t at home in Kerry. Last night we had a communal feast where people made dishes and brought them along to the courtyard. Along with generous glasses of wine and beer, the partying went on well into the night …

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 gardens with Tim, Darina’s husband, and we learned more about the many plants he had growing on the …