"During a recent trawl through random books in a West Cork shop, I came across what for me is a little gem. A cookbook entitled Talking About Cakes with an Irish and Scottish Accent by Margaret Bates."

"The Ballymaloe Cookery School students' Pop-Up dinner occurs just three times a year, a delicious multi-ethnic event with a different theme each time. On this occasion, it was Carpe Diem… live in the moment."

Nature has cleverly arranged that gooseberries and elderflowers are in season at the same time of year - the combination of flavours is a marriage made in heaven. 

"The thrill of being able to cut asparagus spears directly from the bed and pop them into a pot of salted water within minutes of picking."

"There’s a growing entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude around the country and the brilliant thing is that many of these start-ups are situated in rural areas, creating extra employment in the countryside."

"One doesn’t necessarily associate Amsterdam with delicious food, but I have to say that my perception has completely changed - here are some of the delicious dishes we enjoyed, and don’t forget frites and mussels…"

The chicken recipe is perfect for the next time you get the barbecue out

"Here at the Cookery School, we have a ‘leftover of the day’ suggestion, so the students learn the art and skill of using up leftovers, creatively."

Here are some of my favourite ways to use rhubarb — and don’t forget to freeze a few bags of chopped rhubarb to enjoy when the season ends 

Plus - a trio of new recipes from the American food frontier