Darina told us about a book by Michael Pollan called, “Food Rules an Eater’s Manual,” early on in the course, I bought it, and only just managed to read it. It takes about thirty minutes to read, and is so worth reading. He goes through 64 rules in 3 different...
Rather than going back and putting photos into the appropriate post, I thought I would just put them all in one post together. On Thursday when we were in Durrus, Chris took us to see his in laws place (his home, and where he will be working when he finishes the...
Friday morning we were all warned that pasta day equals chaos in the kitchen, and that we were all to stay focused. I had a moment of panic thinking to myself… I haven’t packed, I need to shower, and I HAVE to be ready to leave the school at 2:00. Right to it, I...
How beautiful Ireland is? I know it may sound like I am repeating myself, but the countryside here is stunning, and everyday I notice something new. Today was no exception, I saw more of the countryside, the green, the hills, the water, it is all so beautiful. What a...
Tomorrow is the big day… A school outing, we leave the school at 8:45 and are heading to Mahon Point Farmers Market, then to Durrus Farmhouse Cheese, followed by Good Things Café, and finally Urrus Atrisan Foodstore. We are heading back to the school in time for an...
Today’s demo was all about pasta. Gillian Hegarty, head chef at Ballymaloe House popped in to teach us how to make the perfect pasta dough for noodles and stuffed pasta. Rory was along side, and made lots of lovely sauces, from very hearty, to the simplest of sauces...
The weather has changed so drastically over the last few days, the wind, and the rain are both back. It is too bad mum and dad missed out on the mild Irish winter that I have been experiencing, but I think they enjoyed their time in Ireland regardless. I had a great...
A whirlwind few days it’s been, but it’s been a lovely weekend. Can’t believe I haven’t blogged since Thursday night! Hopefully I don’t miss anything! I had a great morning in the kitchen on Friday, made what we would call salad rolls with a dipping sauce, and...
Last week at this time I was sitting writing that tomorrow would be the end of week six… Tomorrow is the end of week seven, and I honestly don’t know how that’s happened! Had a great morning in the kitchen, even if my short crust pastry did decide to crack while blind...
Today was another lecture day with Blethnaid, The Restaurant Advisor. We talked about menu costing in quite a bit of detail, as well as different aspects of catering. Both topics were very informative, and although it was a long day, I do feel that I got quite a bit...
This will be a very short post because it’s half past twelve! Just in from The Blackbird after a great evening. After demo, a few of us made sour dough with wine, cheese, onion chutney and bread – as you do! Making sour dough is quite the process, you have to feed...
What a lovely day it’s been! I had a productive morning in the kitchen, smoked mackerel pate with melba toast, black current fool, melted leeks, homemade pasta with sage butter, a black current parfait, and stripy cat (white soda bread with chocolate chips). The black...
