Style: "Irish trad" Style: "Irish trad"
Terri Dunbar-Curran
THE most important thing for young chefs to grasp early on is the importance of the quality of ingredients they use, says Darina Allen, founder of the iconic Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland.
“That way it’s so easy to get things to taste delicious, you don’t have to do much,” she says. “But if you start with mass-produced ingredients, you need to be a magician.”
She adds that obviously chefs need to put effort into honing their techniques as well, but it’s vital to never start with poor quality ingredients.
Allen visited Cape Town to meet with and inspire the young chefs participating in Show Cook’s annual Reaching for Young Stars competition, which saw student chefs and wine stewards from six hospitality schools showcase their skills.
“I just think it’s such a brilliant competition. It’s awe inspiring, it promotes excellence and gives them something to strive for,” says Allen. “Really, the standard is so high.”
She urged the young chefs to always remember to serve local food proudly and take an interest in the food history of wherever they may find themselves.
“One of the things that worries me is the deterioration of food in general – the mass production. It can be quite difficult finding fresh, nourishing food.”
To that end, she teaches her students to start good relationships with farmers, fishermen and cheese mongers, and stresses the importance of biodiversity, sustainability and supporting small producers.
Ballymaloe has students from across the world enrolled in a variety of courses. From Forgotten Skills classes which teach students to make butter and cheese, grow vegetables and ferment and pickle things; to How to Cure a Pig in Day; and Cooking for a Farmers Market Stall, the school offers a wide range of courses for all skill levels.
As a teenager, Allen had no desire to become a career woman, all she wanted to do was cook, or grow something. “The only thing I can do is cook, and with that I’ve had a wonderful life. It’s the easiest way to win friends and influence people. You can travel anywhere in the world and get a job.”
She opted for a degree in hotel management, since at the time, men were chefs and women couldn’t get into the kitchen. Getting into the top restaurants in the world to learn to cook soufflés and tureens was an impossible task, so when she heard of Myrtle Allen’s country house restaurant she decided it would be the perfect place to start. On her first day there she met Myrtle’s son Timmy and before long they fell in love.
Allen opened Ballymaloe in 1983, continuing Myrtle’s mission of working with fresh, naturally produced local food in season. The cookery school is also an organically, certified farm.
“The first thing I do is introduce my students to the gardeners and the farm manager. These are the people who are going to produce all the food they will be working with,” she says. “And the first recipe they get is how to make compost. I show them how to sow a vegetable seed. Then they watch that seed growing for the next three months.”
The idea is to get aspiring chefs to stop thinking about food as something that comes wrapped in plastic from a supermarket, and a fosters a gratitude to the farmers and fishermen who grow and catch the food they cook with,
In addition to building relationships, she urges young chefs to, one day when they run their own kitchens invite those farmers and producers to dine with them . “Let them see what you do with their food.”
It’s all about perfecting the “farm to fork” experience – teach diners about where their food comes from, and show producers where their ingredients go. Allen is passionate about sharing her love of food with others. “When you teach someone how to cook it’s like giving them a gift for life.”
And her final advice for young chefs starting out in the industry: “Somebody has to be the best – so it might as well be you.”
* For more, see www.cookingisfun.ie and www.showcook.com