Eating Tales

Jo very kindly dropped me off at Bristol airport. My plane turned out to be the smallest i’ve ever seen, only 2 seats either side of the aisle! I was sitting next to an Irish girl who was so terrified of flying that she said her Hail Marys all the way there!

Mark picked me up from the airport having arrived the day before by boat. The weather was beautiful, blue skys, blue seas and fresh air. ( Apparently this isn’t nornal for Ireland, although hard to believe from todays weather!) We drove to the holiday village via Tesco,  and stocking up on the basics cost us a mere 250 euros! It is nearly one pound to the euro and looking at supermarket prices everything is nearly double the cost of what it is in the UK, hence the extremely hefty shopping bill.

All Sunday evening we spent fishing at Ballybranigan beach- No catch!

Monday- First day at school. All 64 students gathered in the dining room for Darinas introductory chat.She started with the importance of locally grown produce, and supporting local producers. (I’ll keep my big shop in Tescos a

secret!) She then began telling us about the tour she was going to take us on around the farm, mid-flow she stops and i heard her say ‘Oh darling haven’t you got anything else you can put on??’ Surely she wasn’t speaking to me! Well, I realised she was, as she announced to my embarassment ‘This girl is wearing gold slippers!!’ (My £15 New Look pumps)…I told her i had nothing better to put on but not to worry as they were cheap! ‘Oh well’ she says, ‘At least they’re not Prada’! I made it off the farm with spotless shoes.

Tuesday- First day in the kitchen. I didn’t realise making soup and cookies would cause so much mayhem! The first day was slightly stressful not knowing what to do, when, where and how! The whole of the first week pretty much followed in the same fashion. Making the

basics is one thing- but its all about the technique.

A few dishes i cooked in the first week:

Potato and Herb Soup

Fork Biscuits

Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart

Black-Eyed Beans with Mushrooms

Creme Caramel with Caramel Shards

[googlemap lat="51.858365" lng="-8.017272" width="500px" height="300px" zoom="9" type="G_NORMAL_MAP"]Ireland[/googlemap]

I have decided to keep notes and photos of all things food and drink to answer all of your questions as to what i am up to everyday in Ireland….and potentially beyond!