Darina Allen, Regina Sexton
Darina Allen, Regina Sexton
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More than 300 traditional dishes, each recipe is complemented by tips, tales, historical insights and common Irish customs, many of which have been passed down from one generation to the next through the greatest of oral traditions.
- GenresCookbooksCookingIrelandFoodNonfictionReferenceFood and Drink
288 pages, Paperback First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Darina Allen
39books9followers
Darina Allen established Ballymaloe Cookery School in 1983 with her brother Rory O'Connell. Author of over 10 books and presenter on 6 Television series, her main passion and her daily task is to impart her knowledge to the students at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. Darina Allen is Ireland’s best known cook and a best-selling author who presented nine series of her cookery programme, *Simply Delicious*, on television in Ireland. She is a passionate and committed teacher, and her awards have included: Good Food Ireland’s Cookery School of the Year 2012/2013 In 2013 she helped launch the Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine which plays host to a stellar line up of chefs and writers and has very quickly become an unmissable event on the international culinary calendar. Dubbed "The Julia Child of Ireland" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Darina has written a number of best-selling, award-winning books including: 30 Years at Ballymaloe (Winner Cookbook of the year for the Irish Book Awards 2013) | Forgotten Skills, winner of the André Simon Food Book of the Year and Listowel Food Fair Book of the Year Award in 2010 | Easy Entertaining, winner of the 2006 Chefs and Restaurants Award from the IACP | Irish Traditional Cooking | Ballymaloe Cookery Course | A Year at Ballymaloe | Healthy Gluten-freeEating* (with Rosemary Kearney) | the Simply Delicious series of books to accompany her TV series of the same name. She holds many positions in leading food organisations including:
José Navarro Foundation Award at the Green Awards 2011
IACP Cooking Teacher of theYear 2005.
A tireless ambassador for Irish food both at home and abroad, Darina has been instrumental in setting up the Farmers’ Market Movement in Ireland. Slow Food is a passion for her, and she is the councillor for Ireland in the Slow Food Movement and President of East Cork Convivium of Slow Food. Through the East Cork Educational Fund, she runs a programme for local primary schools to help local children learn about food from garden to plate.
Member of Taste Council of Irish Food Board
Chair of Artisan Food Forum of FoodSafety Authority of Ireland
Trustee of Irish Organic Centre
Patron ofIrish Seedsavers
Member of Eurotoques (European Association of Chefs
Guild of Foodwriters in UK and Ireland
IACP (International Association ofCulinary Professionals).
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Community Reviews
4.21
273ratings14reviews
5 stars
127 (46%)
4 stars
92 (33%)
3 stars
42 (15%)
2 stars
9 (3%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Wendy Church
Author4 books14 followers
This is the first one of Chef Allen’s cookbooks (she has many) that I’ve used, and it’s outstanding. The easy to follow recipes are accompanied by a fair bit of food history and great photographs. Two standouts were the Guinness Irish stew and the soda bread. Both very simple, and very, very delicious. The recipes are also not fussy; I’m not a baker, and not all that precise with my measurements when cooking, and the soda bread didn’t seem to mind. The food is authentic, according to my friend from Cork. There is an entire chapter on offal, too, so if you want more modern Irish cuisine this may not the book for you.
Cristy
465 reviews11 followers
Found the historical bits informative. Disliked the formatting as everything felt a bit jammed in and pictures were minimal. Not a book I'm apt to cook from but the second half holds more promise than the first.
Hope
814 reviews43 followers
This is my pick for the BookRiot 2020 Read Harder challenge task# 13. Read a book about a cuisine you've never tried before.
- 2020-read-harder non-fiction wake-co-library
Jodi Geever
1,291 reviews5 followers
There is a chapter dedicated to potatoes. I think I'm in love.
- cookbooks
Meg
644 reviews22 followers
I'm not really a fan of this style of cookbook. Saved some recipes to try later!
Carrie
37 reviews
A thorough deep dive into the food of Ireland, pre-famine and post. These recipes can be made in modern kitchens (a few ingredients may be tricky to source) because her directions are detailed; and this food is still being cooked today. The history behind each recipe is fascinating.
Kimberly Ann
1,658 reviews
I honestly wonder if people get paid for their endorsem*nts....... The book is printed on semi-slick paper, with a smattering of pictures of the actual dishes, full two page color photos for each chapter's title page (an introduction printed over the center faded-out portion of the photo. There are several recipes per page, divided by triple lines, in small difficult to read print. Not all recipes have a list of ingredients and those that do, do not all have measurements..... Each recipe contains a short to medium length story above the instructions so it is difficult to tell which part is which. There are a lot of (personal) stories intermingled w/ the recipes..... This is a difficult book to read and cook from. Contents include: Introduction; Forward; Broths & soups; Eggs; Fish; Game; Poultry; Lamb; Beef; Pork (you get a partial lesson on how to dress a pig); Offal; Potatoes; Vegetables; Food from the wild; Dessets; Pancakes; breads; Oatmeal & other grains; Cakes & biscuits; and the irish pantry. These are followed by: Appendix 1, Cheeses & cheesemaking in Ireland; Appendix 2, the Potato & the famine; Appendix 3, Cooking pits of the Fianna; An Irish food chronology; Index; Bibliography; and Acknowledgements. Recipes include: Potato & fresh herb soup; Potted Ballycotton shrimp; Ballymaloe hot buttered lobster; Kidney soup; Eels; Ray; Crubeens (pigs' feet); Collared head; Black pudding Galaway; Duck blood; Corned mutton; Dublin coddle; Carrigeen moss pudding; Dandelion coffee; Mead; Trish Archer's Gaelic coffee; and Apple custard pie. As you can tell by the list of recipes, these are very "Traditional" recipes, ones that you most likely will not find elsewhere..... This is what gave the book its additional 1/2 Star.
From the cover: "Darina Allen's beautiful and unpretentious vision of cooking is connected to the land, its seasons, and to the artisan producers. I find this book important and irresistible." --Alice Waters, Chez Panisse
Cherise
471 reviews50 followers
I received this cookbook as a Christmas Gift and have used it several times. Everything I've made so far has been wonderful. The recipes are easy to follow and delicious. There are wonderful pictures and interesting tid bits through out. A great cook book for experts and novices. A wide variety of food and dishes.
- cook-books
Lilla
460 reviews76 followers
I adore this book! Not only do you have hundreds of authentic Irish recipes but you learn so much about the history of food in Ireland. I am definitely going to have to find a used copy to buy for my personal library. Highly recommended!
- 2008 cookery food
Heidi
35 reviews
Lots of traditional recipes, but I probably won't cook from it. Can find the recipes I'd use elsewhere.
Erika
754 reviews53 followers
Guess who will be making ginger beer next weekend??!!
- cooking-food-an-excuse-to-drool
Kevin H
16 reviews
It's not just a cookbook. Every recipe explains the tradition and history behind the food. Good read and good recipes too.
Beka
2,709 reviews
Interesting historically, but less so aesthetically. Difficult to read and with some unclear terms.
- cookbooks
Marianthi
185 reviews
Some things I can never even contemplate of making, but others intrigue me.
- cooking
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
