Do you remember a while back….?

I worked on a cook book? Neven Maguires Cook book to be exact. It seems like such a long time ago, but it was only 1 month gone. I can't believe it.
During my time with them, I took the opportunity to do some little interviews with the talented people in charge of every stage of the book so that you can have a little sneak inside peak at what it's really like to work in this seemingly glamorous world!

Who'd a thunk that 12+ hour days in a kitchen would be made seem so sexy and fanciful. It's actually bloody hard graft and all the work and energy that goes into creating a cook book is extreme. We worked from 8am to 6 pm non stop, churning out dish after dish, photo after photo all to make beautiful images and tasty food for you, the people to try and get excited about.

My first interview comes from  Joanne Murphy, the food photographer…oh hurry the day when I have a book and I can have Jo working on it!
She is freelance photographer but specialises in food. And how did she get into photography? An old boyfriend gave her a Nikon after seeing Jane Fonda with one and she thought 'why not give it a whirl, it's seems a romantic career'. The rest, is history. Please have a look at her work, she really is an amazing photographer and a lovely lovely person.
Her work can be seen in these books….
McNean Cookbook - Neven Maguire 2012
Sophie Cooks - Sophie Morris 2012
Blazing Salads Cookbook 2013
ICA Cookbook 2012…
and many more!




1. What type of equipment do you use?

 I use a Canon 5d mark ii and a Hasselblad.

2. When and how did you get into food photography?

 Whilst working as Art Director/staff photographer for The Dubliner I met Domini Kemp who was the restaurant critic and I started to photograph restaurants and food for her column, the rest is history...

3. What are your 3 top tips for us instagramers/bloggers who try to make our pictures beautiful?

 Use natural light, get a piece of white card to reflect light back onto your food and think about what you put the food on. Textures are key!

4. What is your favourite food to photograph and why?

 Cakes, buns, all things sweet for obvious reasons.


5. Any tips on how to get into being a photographer?

 Assist a photographer. Its the best way to figure out if its for you. And keep taking photos, even if it's just going on instagram you'll start to see your own style emerging.



6. Any exciting future projects we can know about?

 I'm really excited about a project that will be published for Christmas 2014, thats all I can say for the moment... Also I have a couple of personal projects including one with Terry (Two Wooden Horses)

7. Favourite project you've worked on and why?

 Oh thats a tough one. I've loved all of the cookbooks I've worked on. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some of the best people in the business. I love the feeling of being part of a team and its such a lovely feeling to hold the final book in your hands. 

8. Is there another photographer you really admire and why?

Ditte Isager is an amazing Danish photographer also Michael Graydon a Canadian photographer.

9. One person you haven't worked with but would love to photograph or do the photography for?

 In Ireland I'd love to work with Racheal Allen, in the Uk Jamie Oliver. 


10. If you weren't a photographer what would you do?

 If I wasn't a photographer I'd love to be a painter or an archeologist!

11. Can I come and work with you?

 Yes please!

Ballymaloe LitFest

If you are not aware of the Ballymaloe LitFest where have you been living?!?

What a weekend. The sun shone, the atmosphere buzzed and I met my food hero. Yes, I met the incredible Madhur Jaffrey. She is a legend that brought Indian food to the Western World some would say.

She is a petite, beautiful 80year old woman who learnt to cook through her Mother and the other women in her family and continues that tradition of teaching others to cook.

The weekend was a conglomerate of chefs, authors, foodies, non foodies, stall holders, local producers. The list goes on and on. Over three days there were cooking demos, panel discussions, dancing, lots of eating and drinking, pop up wine shops, pop up bands and much much more.

I met some brilliant and world renowned chefs, David Thompson, Stevie Parle, Thomassina Miers, Stehpanie Alexander, Claudia Rhoden and many more. 

It was literally a who's who of the cooking world and what was fantastic to me as a young woman chef was how many more female cooks where speaking than men. A push in the right direction where, in todays world head chef posts are male dominated.

Sandor Katz the fermentation guru speaking over the weekend and showing us the art of fermentation.

There was the big shed, where drinking and eating activities where part of the weekends events. The pop up bar was a creative explosion with books hanging from the ceiling, old beer kegs as lights and a chandler made from an old whiskey barrel. All adding to the atmospherical aromas of food.

There were gardeners and foragers, dogs running around with children, laughter and ideas. Lots of them. New friends were made, old friends were introduced and it was just a melting pot of cultures. A beautiful melting pot that had all of us who attended in awe once again at the power of Ballymaloe.

It's been nothing but tears, long drawn out goodbyes and lots of revision this week. Week 12. The end of Ballymaloe January Course 2013.

We had our practical exams (mine not so good considering I dropped my chicken on the floor and cut myself. I can laugh, now!) then our three theory exams (better than the practical!) and now we have left. Before we left however, there was dancing, food (how could we not) and lots of laughter. Our final supper as we called it with the inspirational Rory O'Connell cooking. What a meal.

I have learnt so many things over these last 12 weeks, met some inspirational people and most important to me, is that I have finally found something that I know I want to do, in any context, for ever. I have found my thing. And that makes me so happy.

I could not though, have learnt as much about myself or cooking, succeeded in so many ways without the help and support from the fabulous and talented team of teachers who work at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Unfortunately they weren't all at our farewell supper but I want to say Thank you. Thank you so much.

Finally to Tim and Darina Allen, Rory O'Connell and Rachel Allen. This journey, my fun, wonderful, sometimes heartbreaking journey could not have happened without you all. I can't wait to pass the message on, teach more people how to cook and make you proud. Thank you.

So what next you, those lovely people who have been along on this 12 week journey with me, ask? I have a job! I'll actually be working in Ireland for a family but before that, I am off to work with the talented Sharon Hearne-Smith and Neven Maguire. I am so excited and grateful for this next great opportunity. So keep reading to find out the next chapter. 

See you later Ballymaloe, I'll be back.

Penultimate Week

Last week was our penultimate week at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Nobody can believe it, we've started thinking about our futures (even more seriously), I've started applying for jobs (yeah, crazy!) and I've also started revising. Can't quite believe it.

Sunday was a special family dinner with the girls. Lots of chat about our final menu, what we've learnt and where we are going.

On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have a guided tour around Ballymaloe House and speak to the legend that is Myrtle Allen. Lucky us! We saw some fantastic stuff, the wine cellar with Colm, the Grainstore which is an event space and also these bad boys below!

These are two of my friends here at Ballymaloe Cookery School. I love this image!

Wednesday we also had sushi class and was lucky enough to try this fellow. The Oyster Plant which actually tastes like oysters!

And this beautiful plant is the Wasabi plant.

The atmosphere has changed too, everyone is a little more serious, practise for our practical exam is being sneaked around our daily menus and the are some heart to hearts going on.

It seems every time we have Rachel Allen for demo there is some wonderful animal she has to hold up! This time it was the stunning Thornback Ray.

We finished Fridays demo with an iced lolly. YUM!

Cake competitions and foraging.

This week at Ballymaloe Cookery School two hugely significant things happened. First, we had ourselves a cake competition. Ok, so maybe it wasn't that serious and second, we only had the choice of three cakes but still. A little Ballymaloe/Rachel Allen inspiration did not go astray! We had crisp rolled dark chocolate mounds, sparkling iced primroses covering bases, mugs of steaming coffee decorating others etc, etc. (I'm hoping you get the picture)

Wednesday was Rachel Allen's, along with Pam who is definitely a fountain of cake wisdom, turn to show us all how to make/ice/decorate a cake. The choices (not made by us!) where coffee cake, chocolate cake and lemon cake. I got coffee cake. For someone who doesn't drink coffee or has never liked coffee cake this was definitely one to help me not lick the bowl! Obviously not forgetting how unhygienic that would be….

Second myself and Pam, who as Darina Allen says 'once seen never forgotten', had been doing some recipe testing with left over marzipan and sour cherries.  It's a delightful mix of fluffy rich cloud with hint of almond with random red sour cherry bursts topped off with crunchy marzipan. Today was the day I got it right. 1 hour of cooking (and worrying) and 1 plate of pieces sent to the office later I received two fantastic compliments. 1 from Rory Allen (I'm still happy as Larry over this one) and 1 from Darina who then said, 'yes we'll put it in the book as Jette's marzipan and sour cherry bake'. Yep. That'll do me thank you very much.

After our cakelunch but before demo foraging was next on our schedule.  Off we tootled down the country lanes off to Garryvoe Beach with Darina. Perrywinkles, horse winkles, sea spinach, urchins and the list goes on and on of our salty treasures. Not long enough on my opinion as I am utterly into foraging. I've found a new obsession reading any foraging blogs (a fave is this one).

And so now it's Friday night, as a little treat for all of you who read this (thank you by the way) here is the fantastic Marzipan and Sour Cherry Bake. Enjoy this over the weekend.

6oz salted butter
6oz self raising flour
60z caster sugar
3 eggs
roughly 2oz of homemade marzipan (a little kept behind to sprinkle on top)
100g of dry sour cherries.

Mix butter, flour, eggs and sugar in a food processor. Fold in the most of the  marzipan and the cherries. Put in a low tray/tins and sprinkle with remaining marzipan. 180degrees in the oven for about 15 minutes. Nom nom nom.

Is it me, or are we moving at warp speed?

This week has been so jam packed full of goodness. I had my meeting with Darina, it was insightful and great to speak to someone who knows so many people within the food industry, whether it's producers, restauranteurs, entrepreneurs or stylists . Literally she must know at least 100 people in each country in the world. Lots of great ideas and challenges came out of my meeting, as well as her loving my biscuits, asking if she could have the rest to take home plus lots more. Lots lots more of great little secrets and future things in the pipeline that I hope you come back and read all about!

We've learnt to make a new type of bread, brown yeast bread which is, by far the best so far. Tim Allen has been patiently walking or kneading us through sourdough starters and sponges. We are still waiting to actually get it proved but it's all exciting. I've named mine Bernie. He's lovely!

We've had Rachel Allen and Rory O'Connell for most of demos this week which we are all loving. And I mean loving. Rory brings a huge recipe encyclopaedic knowledge of exciting techniques and ideas for ingredients with a far more professional approach. Rachel is fun and vibrant and just makes three hours very fun, full of giggles and great tips. Today we learnt all about shrimps, prawns, crayfish all from 10minutes down the road.

We've had wine tasting with Maurice O'mahony from Wine Alliance and had a fun hour of swirling, sniffing and spitting. Ok, who am I kidding, we all drank our tasters!

Spring has started, buds are on the trees and as we learn more and more, the talk of what our future holds is boiling over and it seems quite symbolic coinciding with this time of the year. 

I cannot believe next week is week 4. Week 4! That means we only have 8 weeks left of the course and 2 weeks till our fist set of exams! Wow. I've left the 'oh my god I'm so excited to be here' stage and I've moved to the stage of loving it and soaking everything this place has to offer but thinking to the future and what that holds.

Knives at the ready!