PHEW, it’s all over again for another year — hope it was jolly and lots of fun.

FOR ME it was a wonderful surprise that my latest book 30 Years at Ballymaloe won the Avonmore Cookbook of the Year award at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards — and it really was a surprise.

From the turkey and stuffing, to the roast potatoes and gravy, Darina Allen begins our Christmas food special with recipes for the perfect festive feast.

THE excitement gathers, only ten days to Christmas.

It has always been the tradition in our house to eat the first plum pudding on the evening it is made.

Christmas has sneaked up on us once again.

I THOUGHT the slow cooker and pressure cooker had gone out with the flood, but I was quite wrong.

LATEST research says that butter is better for you than margarine. After 40 years, we discover that butter, a natural product made from cream, is better for us than margarine, which contains ten ingredients.

THE recent Web Summit in the RDS in Dublin brought to Ireland by brilliant young entrepreneur Paddy Cosgrave blew people out of the water.

SMALL plates are fast becoming a real enduring trend in restaurants.