Eating at Ballymaloe House, Ireland's Chez Panisse
This past weekend I ate well. Now, for those of us who work here at Bon Appétit, that's not entirely unusual. The big difference for me was that I did my eating in Ireland, as a participating editor at the Travel Classics travel writing conference, held at Ballymaloe House. A 400-acre country estate outside Cork, Ballymaloe is a slightly under-the-radar hotbed of excellent food, run by Darina Allen and her family. Allen is known as the Alice Waters of Ireland for her dedication to fresh-from-the-farm ingredients, local suppliers of cheese and meat, and simple-but-delicious preparations, and I (along with a few dozen other writers and editors) got to taste that dedication firsthand, several times a day. Whenever I had the wherewithal to do so, I whipped out my iPhone and snapped these photos, which I hope will give you a sense that Irish food is so much more than potatoes and Guinness.
Matt Gross1/8These radishes and spring onions were pulled from the ground just minutes before they were served at Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Matt Gross2/8An Irish fry-up breakfast can be greasy and uninspiring, but everything here (especially the black pudding) was clean and flavorful.
Matt Gross3/8Two words: Dessert cart. Clockwise from top left: strawberry ice cream; a creamy dessert made from carageenan, a kind of seaweed; sweet rhubarb sauce; mini tarts; ultralight meringue pastry; a big ol' tub of whipped cream. All at Ballymaloe House.
Matt Gross4/8Mimolette, a French cheese hopping with "cheese mites," on sale at the farmers' market in Midleton, Ireland.
Matt Gross5/8A light lunch at Ballymaloe Cookery School: cured meats (beef, duck, pork), deviled egg, locally made mozzarella (produced that morning!), and more.
Matt Gross6/8Rhubarb tart, ultra-flaky on the outside, sweetness and light on the inside, topped with a thick dollop of incredibly rich Jersey cream.
Matt Gross7/8A bit of shortbread in a heavenly strawberry cream, at Ballymaloe House.
Matt Gross8/8A sign of the festivities to come, early on the first day of Travel Classics at Ballymaloe House.
