The Darina Allen Column - Ballymaloe Cookery Courses

Darina takes a break from her column this month, but Georgina Campbell has been browsing the 2013 Ballymaloe Cookery School Course Schedule...

It may seem like no time at all to many of its longterm fans, but Ballymaloe Cookery School has been in business since 1983 - and, to celebrate the 30th anniversary this year, there are over 60 short courses on offer in addition to the renowned 12-week certificate course that’s been the career springboard for so many of our brightest and best kitchen professionals. And, highlighting the broad range of interests that the school encompasses, Ballymaloe House and Cookery School will be hosting the first Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine in May this year.

The range of courses offered at Ballymaloe Cookery School just keeps on growing and, while cookery is of course central to the schedule, it’s developed over the years to include life skills of every kind with garden workshops, foraging and re-learning forgotten skills all popular topics alongside both traditional and modern cookery.

Every countrywoman used to be adept in the dairy and today’s curious cooks can find out what it's all about at half day courses on ‘Homemade Butter, Yoghurt And Several Cheeses’ which are offered on various dates (the first is on 16th January), while the adventurous can learn from fourth generation butcher Philip Dennhardt how to Cure a Pig in a Day (and use every morsel), and the romantic gardener can learn about Building a Willow Structure with West Cork willow wizard Norbert Platz.

There are courses on cooking for special diets including vegetarian and gluten free, cooking for baby, and every kind of party…courses on breakfasts and brunches and all manner of baking, kids in the kitchen, barbecues, food writing and blogging.

Authentic teaching of world cuisines is a speciality - Sushi Made Simple, perhaps, Discovering Tapas and Sherry, or Middle Eastern - and this is often where the high profile special guests that the school is so famous for come in. One that everyone at Ballymaloe is especially excited about is Jacob Kenedy of the Soho restaurant Bocca di Lupo which he founded with partner Victor Hugo in 2008 and has won much praise for its specialisation “in the obscure and the delicious highlights of food and wine from all across Italy's twenty regions”; he’ll be there on Saturday 2nd March (9.30-5, €265), while Chad Robertson from the celebrated Tartine Bakery in California is doing a similar session on 1st August, and popular guest Antony Worrall-Thompson does a return visit on 29th July.

New courses this year include Exciting Affordable Food (half day €95) Cake with Rachel Allen (21/2 days €595), An Afternoon of Knife Skills (half day, €165) and Spring Foraging with Darina Allen (Sat 27th April,1 day €195) - and there are daily afternoon demonstrations (€70, check details online) that it’s usually possible to join, although booking is essential.

The range offered is fantastic - Ballymaloe Cookery School & Gardens has become nothing short of a national institution and Darina and the team deserve huge credit for everything that they do so well. Full details of the 2013 courses are available in the Course Schedule, available online (www.cookingisfun.ie) or in hard copy on request.

RECIPE: Rosemary and Raisin Soda Bread and Scones

Baking is all the rage now and soda bread takes only 2 or 3 minutes to make. It's great to experiment with variations - try it with olives, sun dried tomatoes or caramelised onions added - the possibilities are endless. The amount of buttermilk given here works exactly with the Odlums Flour used at Ballymaloe Cookery School; however, other flours may absorb more or less liquid. Makes one round loaf.

1 lb/450g, firmly packed plain white flour, preferably unbleached
1 level tsp salt
1 level tsp bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
3oz/75g raisins
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
Sour milk or buttermilk to mix - 14 fl oz/400ml approx.

Soda bread must be baked as soon as it is mixed, so before you begin pre-heat a very hot oven to 230’C/ 450’F/gas mark 8.

Sieve the flour, salt and bread soda into a large bowl, then add the raisins and rosemary. Make a well in the centre. Pour all of the milk in at once. Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be soft, and not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well floured work surface. Tidy up the shape and flip over gently. Pat the dough into a circle about 11/4 inch /3cm deep It is traditional to cut a cross on the top, to help the loaf to cook evenly.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6 and continue baking for a further 20-30 minutes, or until done. To test, tap the bottom of the bread: if it is fully cooked it will sound hollow.

Variation: Rosemary and Raisin Scones

Make the dough as above but flatten the dough into a circle about 1 inch (2.5cm) deep. Cut into scones. Scones take about 20 minutes to bake.

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Once again this year, the Ballymaloe Cookery School in East Cork has a great programme of cookery courses for all interests and abilities running throughout 2013. Ranging from a relaxing visit to sit in on an afternoon cookery demonstration to a week long ‘Intensive Introductory Course’.

The Ballymaloe Cookery School intensive 12 Week Certificate Course - designed to teach students the skills they need to earn their living from their cooking is particularly well known – watch a short video about the course

Sitting in the middle of a 100 acre organic farm the Ballymaloe Cookery School provides its students not only with a life skill learnt under the expert tutelage of their very capable teachers but also a place to relax and unwind from the stresses and strains of normal everyday life. The cottage accommodation available onsite for residential courses consists of a collection of delightful converted outbuildings which have been transformed over the years by the Allens, and other accommodation is available locally for the short courses.?

www.cookingisfun.ie