Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Several of these are conceived as a series,
so returning students can hone their skills
on successive visits to Ballymaloe. All this
activity requires input from several teach-
ers in residence, but Ballymaloe's fame
attracts lots of excellent guest teachers as
well (Richard Corrigan and Claudia Roden
are among the visiting experts in 2009).
Afternoon demonstrations, which you
can book just a few days ahead of time,
home in on a single skill such as how to
fillet a fish or how to make a perfect
omelet or loaf of bread. The longer classes
fill up early, however, so reserve your spot
well in advance, at least 6 weeks if possi-
ble. The school's own cottages generally
book up with guests taking the longer
courses, but there are several other places
to stay in the neighborhood, including the
luxurious Ballymaloe House, an acclaimed
upscale country-house hotel up the road.
The school's director, Darina Allen,
was once chef at Ballymaloe House. Her
husband Tim Allen's family owns the place;
Tim runs the farm; and Darina's brother
and daughter are now teachers in the
school as well. That's the sort of homey
place Ballymaloe remains, despite its inter-
national acclaim. In the silence of a misty
morning, as butterflies flit through the
gardens and sheep baa in nearby pas-
tures, it's hard to imagine how anyone
could ever move away from such a place.
Idyllic, indeed.
(
&
353/21/464-6785;
www.cookingis
fun.ie).
(
Cork City (32km/20 miles).
L
$$$
Ballymaloe House,
Ballycotton
Rd., Shanagarry (
&
353/21/465-2531;
www.
ballymaloe.ie). $$
The Garryvoe Hotel,
Ballycotton Bay, Castlemartyr (
&
353/21/
464-6718;
www.garryvoehotel.com).
Cooking Schools for Travelers
88
On Rue Tatin
Tasting France
Normandy, France
When American cookbook writer Susan
Herrman Loomis first moved to Normandy
with her husband and toddler son in the
1980s, intent on restoring a crumbling old
convent across the street from a Gothic
church, she didn't envision that the prop-
erty would become a popular cooking
school. (Read her engaging memoir
On
Rue Tatin
to get the full story.) Nowadays,
however, her On Rue Tatin programs are
much in demand; limited to eight partici-
pants per 5-day session, they book up well
in advance, so plan ahead for your trip to
France.
The idea behind On Rue Tatin work-
shops is that they don't just teach you
French cuisine, they use food as a path-
way to immerse you in French culture. For
6 days, participants not only cook, they
take time to savor the meals they've pre-
pared, either outdoors in the graveled
courtyard or in the wood-beamed dining
room of Loomis's half-timbered 15th-cen-
tury house. Course participants also sam-
ple wines from throughout France; shop at
local markets; meet artisan bakers, cheese
makers, and butchers; visit local farms;
and hang out in atmospheric cafes, soak-
ing up the ambience of small-town Nor-
mandy. A few of the courses center around
special themes—the seafood of Nor-
mandy, for example, or apples (Loomis
has her own small orchard), or the ever-
popular Chocolate Indulgence workshop.
Classes are conducted in English; recipes
are geared to the home cook rather than
