100 dishes everyone should know: The book Darina Allen always wanted to write
Darina Allen in the gardens of Ballymaloe Co Cork ‘How To Cook’. Picture: Dan Linehan
That Darina Allen had a busy and productive time during the pandemic lockdowns should come as no surprise to any who have witnessed the energy with which she throws herself into her daily routines, buzzing like a windup toy in perpetual motion. Even a pleasant conversational walk through the garden is punctuated by her regular genuflections to pluck an errant weed from the ground, each continuous little action all adding up to a substantial body of work at the end of each day, an object lesson for all procrastinators. Now 72 years old, she looks 10 years younger but her energy and work-rate would put a 20-year old to shame.
Once she weathered the initial shock of first lockdown that stunned her as much as everyone else, she and her team began devising a battle plan, that included keeping on all staff other than those who had to stay home for health and family reasons. With The Ballymaloe Cookery School closed, they expanded the farm shop and the teachers began producing a whole range of foodstuffs, including breads, cakes, pies, soups, stews and other dishes while the gardeners filled other shelves with fresh produce.
