Back into the kitchen today thankfully and I am finally with Tiffin (teacher) ... he gave out to me yesterday for not turning up as he said he missed out on a day of craic. 🤣 I also have a new partner ... Chris ... from Killorglin, Kerry (so the All Ireland references don't stop) ... between that and Paddy putting Christy Moore songs in my head that I can't remember the words to ... I could be driven demented by the end of the week! 😝 Chris is also a butcher so I'm hoping to pick up a few tricks this week too! 🤞

Today I was due to make ... Pickled Ox Tongue (way nicer than it sounds), Tomato and basil salad, Hazelnut praline ice-cream. It all went fairly handy so I decided to make a white soda bread and some honeycomb for good measure too! (well actually Tiffin made me make the honey comb as he said "there's no chance of you arsing around for the next 40 minutes acting the maggot" ... you can see he got the measure of me some time ago! (and he's reading this so ...) 😇😝🤣

I wasn't my bubbliest in the kitchen today but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would ... the ox tongue won't be ready until tomorrow as it has to set in its own jelly ... it's under a weighted plate at the moment!😋

Todays demo was with Rory and focused on Duck and some chocolate treats. It was also supposed to have a number of squid dishes but no squid was landed this morning in Ballycotton (joys of the sea) 😒

Gujerati Style French Beans
Spiced Lentils
Caramelised Apples
Duck Breast, Cabbage
Duck Breasts, Piquant Beetroot
Duck Breast, Five Spice Powder
Ragout of Duck Wings – render and save duck fat for confit and roast potatoes
Start of Duck Confit
Rustic Potatoes (on pan)
Aloo Makallah (Crusty Potatoes)
Aloo Gobi
Chocolate Case, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberries
Brandy snap cups
John Desmond’s Caramel Ice-Cream in Brandy Snap, Bananas, Caramel Sauce
Caramel Ice-Cream, Salted Peanuts, Caramel Popcorn, Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Cases with Banana, Walnuts, Rum and Raisins
Ballymaloe Chocolates, Grapes and Kirsch

After demo I attended a talk organised by Slow Food East Cork ... the talk was presented by Prof. Ted Dinan and was on Food and Mood ... basically it was about the relationship between your gut and your brain (mental health), an extremely interesting man and a pleasure to listen to, I'll be buying his book "The Psychobiotic Revolution" for sure.

Tomorrow is a non cooking day ... we start with wine in the morning ... not only that but I have to give a presentation on Luxembourg wines ... well a bit about Luxembourg and it's wine tradition then talking about two Schumacher Knepper wines (one of my favourite from Lux) ... their Alexandre de Musset, Cremant and their Constant Knepper Riesling, Grand Premier Cru, 2016. For those of you who know me will realise how much I hate standing in front of people presenting ... so hopefully I'll get to taste some wines before I have to do my thing! 😱😝

We also have a tapas workshop in the afternoon!

Oh and I still have to decide what I will be cooking for my finally practical exam! 🤔😊

Day Sixty Five - Back in the ... U.S.S.R.