Today I arrived in the kitchen wondering what I was going to do for the entire morning and if the dishes I had chosen (out of the ones allocated to our partnership - oh ... not sure if I mentioned it but this week I am paired with a young Australian girl, Charlotte) were going to be enough to keep me busy, but ... as it happened ... it was ... I'm not sure how or why ... but it was ...

I also had a new teacher today ... Tracie ... scary 😂 ... I think I may have just met my match!!! It’s her last day at Ballymaloe on Friday so we’ll have to see if that means she’ll be nicer or harder on me 😜

Ballycotton Prawns with home made mayo ... and the Ballymaloe Sheperd's pie ... very happy with the results and I know some of you won't believe this but ... I have this cleaning as I go lark down now 😂

I also learnt something today ... Garlic butter with shepherds pie ... WOW!

I only had 5 minutes or so for lunch but enough time to sample a few dishes ... and desert! 😁

The afternoon demo today was presented by Rory ... the focus being on pate & flat fish!

How to make a smooth pâté
How to gut and clean a flat fish
How to fillet a flat fish
How to prepare a flat fish for baking

Ballymaloe Chicken Liver Pâté served in a variety of ways (Melba Toast)
Ballymaloe Chicken Liver Pâté with Pedro Ximénez Jelly
White Yeast Bread, Plaits, Rolls
Fillets of Plaice, Sole, Turbot or Brill à la Meunière
Baked Flat Fish with Herb Butter
Swiss or Ruby Chard with Butter
Steamed Potatoes
Tomato and Chilli Fondue
A Classic Lemon Meringue Tart, Tartlets and Petit Fours (T) V Lemon Meringue Cake
Radish, Cucumber and Mint Salad

The last photo is the daily queue for the tasting after the demo ! Madness !

There was an optional evening wine class / tasting this evening, where Colm McCan brought a wine maker (Elonora) in from Bodegas Menade a winery in Rueda, Spain. We sampled three white wines from Menade winery. Colm held the class in the Amphitheatre outside ... a very pleasant experience. ( I stole the photo's of the wine class from Colm ... sorry 😁)

Last day of the week tomorrow ... looking forward to a well deserved weekend representing Leinster in a Cork Pub ... but first ... lemon meringue pie and some fish filleting to get through!

Day Eighteen - The missing hour!