Please Don't Eat The Herbaceous Border

 
Hello, reader. It's been quite some time I know but I have good reason.

For those of you who don't know what I've been up to via facebook, twitter or my excitable chatterings, I've been working furiously in the run up to the 12 week certificate course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in East Cork. That's in Ireland, if the 'Bally' bit didn't give the destination away. Under the extremely watchful eye of the legend Darina Allen I've already spent a week in this amazing corner of the world.

If, like me, you're in to self-sufficiency, sustainable farming and produce that really tastes of something, this is the equivalent of a yoga fan training intensively in and Indian institute. I'm in my temple for the first time and I'm still in awe. Alongside demonstrations and cooking students have tasks like making bread, churning butter, picking salad leave and fresh herbs from the many acres of gardens and glasshouses. A morning's furious (though hopefully successful) work in the kitchens creates lunch for the school, accompanied by the famous lemonade and salad.

The Ballymaloe way of life is as important as the recipes, so day one began with a blustery, wet walk of the farm, where everythingwas and what it did. I was almost overwhelmed by that alone. The following day and a half touring the kitchens, learning the Ballymaloe story sent us, minds reeling, into the first demonstration. Chopping and slicing, making soda bread, making soup and rubarb crumble. Wednesday morning we bowled into the kitchen, were corraled into groups of six and set to learning to chop. This may not have been larks for the few with chef training but for me it was a blessed relief to realise I'm perfectly capable of dicing an onion, when told how!The results of the morning's cooking were brought nervously to the dining room, to be eaten by students, teachers and guests alike.

It's been one week but already we've have talks from Giana of Gubbeen cheese (fabulous semi hard, goes as nutty and sweet as anything you'll get on the continent when smoked), Clarissa Hyman of The Guild of Food Writers and last but anything but least Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. The gasp at the mention of her name was more than audible- it almost pulled the windows closed! My head spins as I go through lecture notes, file recipes and do work orders for the coming day but I'm still excited and will bound into the kitchen come eight tomorrow morning, for black bean stew and basmati rice.

Will keep you all posted, naturally.

TTFN