Last day of the week in the kitchen and an 8 a.m. start, I still can't believe I look at 8 a.m. as a normal start time but I guess a change of lifestyle and doing something you love changes that! Today was a similar case to previous days ... I thought I would have loads of time in the kitchen but when it came down to it ... I didn't! 

Today I made a monkfish curry, goats cheese croquettes salad (with a black olive tapenade) and a White yeast bread!  I was very happy with the way they turned out and tasted (I over dressed the salad a bit in my haste to be ready as close to time as possible) as the flavours were great. I don't have a photo of the bread (I have some downstairs for breakfast so you'll have to take my word for it that it's fantastic 😂)

All in all a great week in the kitchen and you can see below a photo below of Jan (my partner for the week) and Florrie (my teacher for the week) with little Strokey Rutledge in the back ground 😇😜

Today we had Rory O'Connell back ... we should be seeing him a bit more over the next week or so as Darina is off to China for a bit! (the energy that woman has ... insane!)

Today the demo was very traditionally focused ... Foraging, Pork and a little "bitin" Irish, when I read the agenda for the recipes I have to say I was a little "meh" ... but having watched and ... tasting them ... I will definitely be cooking some of them ... the glazed belly of pork ... amazing taste ... I approve 😜😉

I also mentioned "Rory's ramblings" before ... he has a fantastically dry sense of humour and has some classic one liners that has everyone in stitches during the demo, well today was one of my favourites ... we were talking about cooking a loin of pork ... (a roast ham to most) ... he was talking through how we were cooking it and then .... "some people even like to breadcrumb it .... #pause# ... I find that deeply disturbing" ... I loved it (as I generally do a Swedish recipe from "big Tony" with marmalade and breadcrumbs) 😜

The list for today ...

• Wild Garlic Soup;
• Spring Cabbage Soup;
• Radish Leaf Soup with Chervil Cream;
• Foragers Soup 
• Sorrel, Tarragon and Swiss Chard Broth
• Glazed Belly of Irish Bacon
• Piperonata
• Colcannon
• Bacon and Cabbage
• Parsley Sauce
• Scallion Champ or Wild Garlic Champ
• Irish Bacon with
• Mango Relish
• All-in-one – shortcrust pastry
• Rhubarb and Ginger Jam
• Salad of the Day: Cabbage, Pineapple and Spring Onion SaladTaste of the Day: Radish Leaves; Nettles; Seabeet
• Wild Food of the Day: Foraged Greens

After class we raided the school shop again ... that place is costing me a fortune ... but the quality of products is so good it's hard to walk by! I really don't know how I will find products like this when I leave here ... but I'll enjoy it for now and while I still can! 

A few of us gathered outside the cottage for a couple of glasses of vino and it turned into a long night with quite a few others joining us ... to and after their trip to the Goalpost! 

So that's it ... week 4 in the kitchen done ... it was a long week and I am genuinely tired now (tired but happy) ... you can see they are ramping the tempo up now so next week should be interesting  but I can't wait! 

This weekend my folks are in town for a tour along with the Kinsale clan ... so I will show them around the school and gardens with pride and try not to sound too much like Darina 😉 Then it's off to Kinsale for dinner and to celebrate big Gar's birthday!  Happy Birthday Dad 😘