Guilt free: Chef Rachel Allen on a little of what you fancy
IF there’s a food that goes perfectly with the long, hazy days of summer it must be ice cream — luscious, creamy, calorific ice cream.
But don’t worry too much about overindulging during our record-breaking hot spell. Go right ahead and savour your favourite ice cream, says best-selling author and TV chef Rachel Allen. Don’t even consider it a guilty pleasure. She has no time for guilt. Think of it as a well-deserved treat, she says.
The only proviso is that you should remember to eat everything in moderation. It’s key, she says, articulating her own food philosophy.
While ice cream is central to the HB Fundays campaign, in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland, so too is moderation, Allen, its ambassador explains.
The initiative encourages communities, schools and organisations to organise their own ice cream party to help raise much-needed funds to give children with Down syndrome an education that suits their needs and, where possible, to keep them in mainstream education.
Rachel Allen is a staunch supporter of Down Syndrome Ireland, as her mother was before her.
“I know first-hand, having friends and neighbours who have children with Down syndrome, how vital it is to have the correct educational supports in place. By organising your own HB Fundays Party, you can make a difference,” she says.
It’s a great excuse to break out the ice cream, but not to overdo it. HB advises party organisers to cut each block of ice cream into portions that measure about an inch. And there is no need for second helpings.
“It is a treat – you have one and that’s it. Then, you must ensure that each treat is balanced out with food and exercise,” Rachel Allen says.
She’s a fan of ice cream herself but her go-to treats are a gin and tonic and a bag of crisps — minus the guilt.
If the chef and restaurateur refuses to entertain guilt, she is also deeply sceptical of diets that exclude certain food groups. “That doesn’t sit right with me at all,” she says.
Deprivation is never good either, she adds, as it means you are more likely to crave food and then binge.
While she points out she is not a nutritionist, she says it’s hard to go wrong if you eat only those foods that your grandparents would recognise, with the exception of healthy newbies, such as avocados and Asian ingredients, which weren’t around in their time.
Once you have the right ingredients, make sure to cook from scratch, she says. And that doesn’t have to be time-consuming — an omelette is the ideal fast food. “Eggs are just brilliant. Get good-quality eggs or get a hen!”
It’s also important to keep an eye on your vegetable intake. Rachel says she loves her food but always makes sure that at least a third of her plate is stacked high with fresh greens or vegetables.
She enjoys slow-roasted pork and crackling, for instance, but will balance it out with a big portion of roasted veg.
Then, she makes sure that she gets enough exercise. “That could just be walking on the beach every day with the dog. It’s not necessarily hitting the gym hard. I don’t want to be skinny. I just want to fit into my clothes and have energy and be strong.”
As it happens, Rachel has needed a lot of strength in the last few months as two wonderful cooks and dear friends died — the Ballymaloe-trained chef and author Emma Hannigan and the woman responsible for starting it all, Myrtle Allen.
She has wonderful memories of both women. Mrs Allen — she always called her Mrs Allen, somehow Myrtle didn’t seem right — was always so calm and confident yet wore her Michelin star very lightly, she says.
Emma Hannigan’s death still rocks her to the core. “Her death was really sad. I still want to pick up the phone but I have photos of her all around the house and I talk to them. I’d like to think that the two of them [Emma and Mrs Allen] are having a lovely slap-up meal somewhere with a glass of Bollinger.”
