**SUNDAY APRIL 27th : 1:45pm**

Whilst I am writing this, I am seated in the aisle row of a Ryanair plane, flying over the seas towards a small corner of Ireland I am about to call home for the next 3 months. Departing London Stansted and arriving at Cork airport in about an hours time. The next 12 weeks begin today.
It’s today that I start the 12 week Ballymaloe Cookery School course, a school set on 100 acres of organic farmland, in a small village, with a mighty reputation. A group of approximately 66 students will be arriving today with me from all corners of the globe, we will be living on-site in small cottages and be cooking & learning together over the next few months.

From what I gather, this is what we can expect:

Each week we will be partnered up with a fellow student, and together will prepare a variety of dishes from the previous days demonstration. These cooking sessions will be in the morning 9am-12pm
After a lunch break we head into a demo. where our lead teachers will be showcasing a variety of techniques, with all sorts of wisdom sharing. These will be in the afternoon 2pm-5:30ish on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays.
This leaves Wednesday, which is a full day of lectures, including experts and special guests to talk all things Wine, Cheese, Business, Growing, etc etc etc….
There are also optional activities (of which I will try to sign up to as many as possible!) including: Dairy duty ( milking the beautiful jersey cows!) , the Sourdough shed, on the farm with salad duty, helping out at the farmers market, making charcuterie, butchery…. The list goes on !

I’ve been waiting for this day for about a year now, since I signed up to the waitlist and received confirmation of my place, I cannot believe it’s finally here ! Since starting Communi.table I seemed to be coming across Ballymaloe School ( pronounced Bally-ma-loo) this institution that has taught some of the chefs and cooks I admire most. I was listening to podcasts and hearing guests reference their own journeys at the cookery school that seems to scoop you up in complete immersion. Here we go….

**MONDAY: ON FERTILE GROUND**

Our first day begins with a proper feast. (you’ll begin to see a theme forming here…) A “non-continental breakfast” spread as Darina likes to say.
Darina Allen is the Founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School, the proper matriarch of this whole operation. In fact the whole institution is quite the family affair. Read a bit more about the school here ; *HISTORY OF BALLYMALOE*
Ohh no, no cornflakes or dry baguettes here, We begin with a feast for both the eyes and the senses. Our breakfast was composed of no less than : ( I can’t quite remember everything here…)
Ballymaloe Raspberry & Vanilla Water Kefir
3 types of Granola : a Nutty puffed rice one, a Spiced & toasted Granola and a more simple muesli style.
Slow cooked porridge, with local stone rolled oats
Ballymaloe Labneh yogurt with pistachio and saffron & honey
Apple Bircher Muesli
Fruit compotes galore: Apricot & almond, Plum compote, Berry compote, Rhubarb compote, Mangos in lime syrup, Banana in lime syrup, Pears in saffron.
5 types of bread : Irish soda bread : white, brown & fruited, Sourdough & Focaccia. A few versions made with 100% Ballymaloe grown wheat flour !
Fresh Eggs ( Ballymaloe hens of course)
Chocolate Croissants
Freshly squeezed Orange Juice ( and I mean FRESH)
Charcuterie plate of local salami
Ballymaloe Butter
Local Cheese board with some Ballymaloe Camembert…
Now… I think that’s all….
And don’t worry, this was a first day treat, from tomorrow onwards, we prepare our own breakfasts & suppers in our well supplied cottage kitchens…. Phew, I won’t be rolling out of Cork by the end of these 3 months.

What follows this glorious start to the day, is a glorious tour of the grounds.

Darina begins with a welcoming speech, to tell us all about the course and what to expect over the next 12 weeks. And most importantly, she drills into us: “ The secret to all good food, is in the shopping” … i.e WHERE you get your food from is so much more important than what you end up doing with it. You will come to realise that the ethos here is to use the best possible ingredients, as fresh as possible ( in SEASON), and you’ll find that you’ll will need to do very little with it. “We need to actively take back control , over food , over our life” Darina spells out to us. That this notion of cooking is one of the most fundamental human rights, the source of good health and pleasure. I like her rebellious nature, she speaks so clearly of a revolution of sorts, a revolution in food. To actively rally against the status quo in food policy and to generate a new way forward in food.

Ballymaloe, as mentioned before, is set on an 100 acre Farm that has been registered organic for over 30 years. They grow a range of 60 different crops, have a heritage apple orchard, 9 Jersey cows , A couple Pigs, Bees and 650 Chickens! We take a whisltestop tour of the farm with so much to offer, and leave with the most important notion: “ ALL GOOD FOOD STARTS IN GOOD SOIL” and by soil I mean dirt that is rich in composted material or HUMUS. ( interestingly a word of latin origin stemming from HUMAN & HUMILITY- one and the same it seems…)

Then comes another special treat: LUNCH… ( it’s school policy to taste EVERYTHING… well most things)

This time a beautiful meal of :

Cream of Tomato soup with Basil oil & fresh bread
Glazed Irish Bacon with Parsley Sauce
Potato & herb mash
Pepperonata
Black eyed bean stew

And of course , with every meal is the all important GREEN SALAD; the most delightful mix of wild and cultivated leaves & greens & edible flowers.

OUR FINAL STOP ON DAY ONE: to the DEMO ROOM!

This is where we were introduced to the Rory O’Connell, the director at Ballymaloe , and one of our teachers. We Weill be gathering here every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday to watch a carefully orchestrated circus show of performances. With Rory at the helm and Richard, the sous chef, at hand they perform a magic show of dish after dish of deliciousness. And I’m sure things are about to get a whole lot more complicated.

We watched as they prepared:

Irish Brown Soda Bread
Oatmeal Flapjacks
Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding
Roast Rhubarb
Mushrooms A la creme
Carrot & Cumin soup
Roux
Homemade Lemonade

It was delightful to watch and learn and listen. Even just the simplicity of ‘soup’ was punctuated with enough flare and a beautifully smooth Irish accent to keep us all captivated to the very end of a 3 hour demonstration.

I leave you with a list of no-context quotable quotes from Rory : I just couldn’t resist documenting these : All said with a smile…

“Measuring honey is a bit like chasing cats”
“Bamboozle”
“Who’s right? Well i’m right obviously “
“You’ve got the best of No worlds there “
“Sorry about your cold fingies “
“Suddenly you’re not in Shanagarry, You’re in the Shangri-la !”
“If the sugar is being shy, You’ve got to encourage it to be Sociable !”
“A little roast hazelnut has been administered here….”
“A little Voddy or G-I-N“
“Its a different sort of punctuation mark”
-—
“Katherine, you’re on thin ice here…” ( Katherine seemed to question Rorys salt intake, haha)

Anyhow, Now its time to go, Thank you for keeping up- now i’ve got to do the same… Send me a message if you have any questions !

Lots of love !

India

RECIPE: Basic Brown Soda Bread

This is the FIRST recipe we are introduced to at Ballymaloe. NEVER BUY BREAD AGAIN!

This is a more modern version of Soda Bread, couldn’t be simpler, just mix and pour into a well-greased tin. This bread keeps very well for several days and is also great toasted.

Makes 1 loaf or 3 small loaves

400g (14ozs/2 1/2 cups) stone ground wholemeal flour

75g (3ozs/3/4 cup) white flour, preferably unbleached

1 teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon (1/2 American teaspoon) bread soda, sieved (Bicarbonate of Soda/Baking Soda)

1 egg, preferably free range

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) sunflower oil, unscented

1 teaspoon honey or treacle

425ml (15fl ozs/scant 2 cups) buttermilk or sourmilk approx.

sunflower or sesame seeds (optional)

Loaf tin 23x12.5x5cm (9x5x2in) OR 3 small loaf tins 5.75 inches (14.6cm) x 3 inches (7.62cm)

Preheat oven to 200ºC / 400ºF / Gas Mark 6.

Put all the dry ingredients including the sieved bread soda into a large bowl, mix well. Whisk the egg, add the oil and honey and buttermilk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in all the liquid, mix well and add more buttermilk if necessary. The mixture should be soft and slightly sloppy, pour into an oiled tin or tins using a butter knife, draw a slit down the middle. Sprinkle some sunflower or sesame seeds on the top. Bake for 60 minutes approximately (45-50 minutes for small loaf tins), or until the bread is nice and crusty and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.