It seems at this point in my life that if I turn around I have missed a day, maybe two. Life is is so busy and fun and exciting right now that it's so hard for me to take stock and say 'thank you' let alone write blog posts as regularly as I used to!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit Dingle for it's Food Festival and also to be part of the judging team at the Blas na hEireann Awards. This is the second time I've been on a judging team for food awards and I hope it continues. I love seeing all the different produce coming through, see those that make it through with a resounding 'yes' and those that get a resounding 'no' and to be able to identify why.  Not only is it such a fantastic learning experience but it's a great place to meet the most interesting foodies. From business owners to journalists to michelin star chefs and more, the buzz and the crowd that you are involved with is electric and super addictive!

However, there is a down side. The amount of food that was consumed this weekend was sinful. And my waist line can second that. Not only did each judge have to taste over 30products there was also the fabulous food trail as part of the Food Festival and who can resist? Really, could you? Especially with the sun shinning, no rain in sight it was a truly magical weekend and I can't wait to do it all again next year!

So after all that food me and my little red car trekked it all the way over to Scotland {about 8hours!} to go back for a week of being looked after my the rentals. The week is almost over and I've spent my days walking the dog, cooking up lots of food for the blog and taking it easy! It's exciting to be in the first stages of setting up shop as your own boss. I've done it before but this, food styling and home ec is something I love. I just can't explain it. I feel that I'm in my zone. So it was fab to one, get my new logo up and running {designed by the fab @BAR8E7} and rummaging through hundreds of boxes to find some fab props!

And before I sign off, I just want to say a big thank you to all of my virtual friends who read this blog, leave comments and support me on this exciting and new journey. More recipes coming soon!

A great start to the week

It's only Wednesday here at Ballymaloe Cookery School and so far, it's been one of those weeks where interesting people just keep popping up.

Monday happened and we were still reeling (or at least I was) from our Dingle weekend away. Then Tuesday popped up and someone reminded us that the wonderful brewers from Eight Degrees Brewing company were coming in to talk to us about their beers and let us taste some amber nectar as part of a Slow Food event.

Caroline and Cameron (Scott missing unfortunately) rocked up with boxes full of their beautiful brew. Oh how wonderful it was to have an evening of craft beer brewed right here in Cork. If you haven't heard of Eight Degrees Brewing, look them up. They are a fabulous combo of an Aussie and a Kiwi working together after moving to Ireland for the women they love and setting up a craft brewery…..just so you know I'm a teensy weeny bit envious of this romantic tale!

Caroline, (Scotts wife) does lots of food and beer pairings and we were lucky enough to be brought some utterly divine chocolate brownies made with the company's Knockmeal Down Porter. Just so I clarify, when I mean divine. I mean I could eat the whole tray in 10 minutes and no sharing. It's amazing how so many foods go with beers, sometimes better than wine!

Their story is a great one and what they promote is getting  to know your very own local brewery and trying them! Go on, I dare you. (Barefoot Bohemian Pilsner is my fave, what's yours??)

And now it's Wednesday and we had the very interesting Blathnaid Bergin back in to do a costing workshop with us. Food can be so interesting, passionate and let's face it, pretty attractive but you simply can't just be a fantastic cook to succeed if you want to have your own business. You need to understand the business side, learn how to run your business. Not quite so interesting and attractive but very very necessary.

Last Saturday we had decided to have breakie at Idaho Cafe in Cork and guess who popped in to talk to the class? Yep, Richard who owns, with his wife, Idaho Cafe. He and his wife take a very unusual approach, and in my opinion one well worth keeping in mind. They take holidays, they don't work every day of the week, they keep their business small and do what they do excellently. Not a bad plan if after 12 years they are still open and have a massive following.

Exams, Dingle and Ice Cream

On Friday we had our midterm exams. Yes, that's right, I know I've been talking about them but they actually happened. People were worrying whether this leaf is an oak leaf or a butter leaf, a mibuna or mizuna. If it wasn't so serious, it would be funny. Ok, it was a little funny and let's face it, not really worth getting all in a tizz about but, Ballymaloe Cookery School and Darina take lettuce leaves very seriously so we were all revising like mad chefs.

Apart from our exams to look forward to this week, I had set up a nutritional talk with our Ballymaloe Cookery Schools very own nutritionist, Debbie Shaw. A small group of us got together after a long day of lectures and spoke about PCOS (Polyststic Ovarian Syndrome), cholesterol, whole-food diet, blood sugar balancing etc etc. Two hours flew by and we literally could have talked all night. 

As a young woman who has had severe complications with PCOS it was utterly fascinating and a real eye opener. Debbie is a naturopath, not a classic doctor, or a surgeon. She looks at the whole body, the problems AND the symptoms. She looks at what you eat, your lifestyle, the things you worry about. 

It made me take a long hard look at the way I eat. Here at Ballymaloe Cookery School, we are inundated with food. Every day, 3 course meals are put in front of us, then demo tastings then extra work. It's literally food overload and I have to really put my will power in full force to stop myself from tasting all the yummy things. In the coming weeks, I'm going to be looking at PCOS in depth, foods and recipes that help the symptoms. 1 in 15 women have it in the world. That is a big number!

So, because we had worked so hard for our exams, as a little treat to ourselves, some of the girls and I went off to Dingle, stopping off along the way. Have I mentioned how much I'm falling in love with Ireland?! The countryside, the people….We had a great time, walking along Inch Beach, eating Murphy's Ice Cream (twice), enjoying fresh mussles at Ashe's, eating at the Smoke House in Killarney, drinking Guinness in a hardware store (don't ask!) and much more! All in all, a Yummy weekend.

Bring on the next 6 weeks and the future!