Ballymaloe Countdown + Cookie Quest
Ireland prep update, chocolate chip cookie quest, and summer recipes to share.
Hi, Food & Stuff friends!
It’s hard to believe that a month from now, I’ll be halfway through my first week of Ballymaloe Cookery School. I have only 25 days until I leave the United States, and I’ll be gone until almost the middle of September. BONKERS! I have hopes to write weekend updates for Food & Stuff about what I cooked and learned the previous week, but am planning to be offline the rest of my time, outside of texting my family and friends.
For today’s edition of the newsletter, I thought I’d start by sharing a bit more about what’s ahead during my time in Ireland, including 10 FAQs about the experience. I also wanted to share an update about my quest to find the best chocolate chip cookie, and then I’ll share a few links of some tasty recipes you might enjoy having, too.
Let’s begin!
Ireland Updates
My week at Ballymaloe (as I understand it) will look like this:
On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays: COOKING
Morning: Our morning cooking session begins around 8/8:30, when we will be responsible for preparing 3-5 recipes (not everyone makes the same thing), under the supervision of an instructional chef in a shared kitchen space with other students. Students also have the option of beginning their day early (6 am-ish) in the bread shed, where sourdough and other yeasted loaves are prepared and baked. The morning session could also consist of various chores, such as helping with the farm animals, collecting eggs from the hens, harvesting greens and herbs for ingredients, doing dishes, taking out the rubbish and compost, etc.
Lunch: Students finish their cooking by plating their food and having it graded by their teacher. Then everyone shares lunch together of a meal with all the food made during the morning session.
Afternoon: After lunch is finished, we have a brief break before spending 1:30-5:30 watching our teachers make the recipes for the following day. Students will take lots of notes during this time, and at the end, you get to try samples of all the food so you know what you’re aiming to achieve the following day with your recipes.
Evening: The rest of the evening is comprised of downtime and prep for the next day. Students are required to prepare an “order of work” for the following day, which is basically planning out all the steps of your assigned recipes so that you can get everything done and in a timely fashion by the end of that morning’s cooking session.
Wednesdays: WORKSHOPS
Wednesdays will consist of a variety of workshops and/or lectures about various topics related to sustainable farming and food sourcing, different culinary techniques, winemaking, etc.
Saturdays & Sundays: Free days to do as I wish.
It’s going to be such a different daily schedule than I am used to, but I am looking forward to it! I’m also very intimidated, but I am there to learn, which means the mess-ups and mistakes will just be part of the process. I can’t wait to tell you guys more as the experience unfolds! I wrote a post about the mental/emotional/spiritual process of this experience on my other Substack Thirty-Something, if you’re interested!
Here are 10 commonly asked questions I’ve gotten about this experience:
How will I get there? I’ll fly from Pittsburgh to London to Cork, stay in Cork a few days, and take a taxi down to school on Sunday for the welcome dinner. There are no buses or trains to the area I’m staying that run on Sundays!
Where will I live? I will live in a cottage on the grounds of the school (a 100-acre farm), which I will share with other people attending the program. I’ll have my own room and bathroom, and will share the living room and kitchen. The school will supply my bedding and towels each week.
What’s the weather like there? The average high is in the upper sixties (fahrenheit) and the low is in the fifties. It’s right near the coast of the Celtic Sea, so I think it’ll be pretty nice that time of year!
How will I get around once I’m there? I am renting a bike for the duration of the program, but otherwise I’ll rely on other students who have cars, my feet, taxis and trains and buses to get longer distances away! There are a few small shops within biking distance that I should be able to get to for provisions I need for breakfast and dinner.
Am I quitting my job to do this? No! My team was so supportive and made it possible for me to take vacation days to do this. I’ve been at my job for many years and have saved PTO to do this, so I’m very grateful to have this opportunity while being able to return to work.
What things did you have to buy for school? Every student is required to buy 2 white long-sleeved chef coats, 2 pairs of cotton checkered chef pants, non-slip kitchen shoes or clogs, and a set of knives per their required list. I opted to order Victorinox Knives through the school because they also needed to be engraved.
How many other students are there and where are they from? I think around 50 or so students are in this program and they come from all over the world! I think there’s a large contingent of Americans, but plenty of Europeans as well. We don’t get a list ahead of time, so I’ll just meet people when I get there.
Do I have plans for other trips or adventures while I’m there? Not really! I’m just trying to go with the flow and see what unfolds. If people are going somewhere to do something fun, I’d be open to that, but I’m not planning ahead to travel. It’s a beautiful area that I think I’ll enjoy being in! The only thing I might try to do is a half marathon in a nearby town that sounds kind of fun. Otherwise, we’ll see!
How am I paying for this? I had been saving for a house for many years now, and so reallocated the money I’d save each month for the house to my Ireland fund instead. I also took a freelance design job that helped pay for some of the costs, as well.
What other things have I bought for this trip? New running socks, a European-plug phone charger, a collapsible laundry hamper, and a new pair of jeans!
I will add more notes about school when I actually get there, but for now, I hope you enjoyed some of these details about the prep that has gone into this!
The Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest
A few months ago, I decided it would be fun to try to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. So far, I’ve made 4 kinds, including this recipe (no chilling required) and this recipe for a brown butter version from Broma Bakery, which is probably the leader so far. I’ve learned that I prefer recipes that include a majority of brown sugar rather than white sugar, and I love dark chocolate bars chopped into the cookie.
I’m hoping to make these Smitten Kitchen ones, as well as a Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe that uses cornstarch. Do share any recipes you love in the comments!
Summer Recipe Round-up
Lately, I’ve been enjoying revisiting some favorite recipes as well as trying a couple of new ones when friends have come over. These include:
I’m looking forward to making a summer BLT soon, as well as lots of other crunchy, cold salads that I can enjoy for lunch on these dog days of summer! And really, I keep reminding myself that it’s okay to take it easy with cooking these next few weeks, because I’ll have PLENTY of time to cook and experiment very soon.
I’m not sure if I’ll get around to writing another post before I leave, so I guess this might be goodbye until you hear from me on the other side of the pond! In the meantime, please comment below with any recipe recommendations you’ve been enjoying lately—I’d love to hear what you’ve been making and eating.
Until next time,
(Chef) Grace
This recipe is pretty good and pretty easy! https://www.apt2bbakingco.com/home/2015/6/11/tara-obradys-chocolate-chip-cookies
SO excited for you, wish I was coming along, and cannot wait to hear EVERY details when you get back 😄