These are the recipes that the pastry chef at Ballymaloe House bakes every Christmas

With a connection to Ballymaloe House that stretches back to childhood, the justly renowned pastry chef is truly entering his prime, writes Joe McNamee

JR Ryall is head of pastry at Ballymaloe House. Pictures: Cliodhna Prendergrast

As someone who still wonders what I’ll do when I ‘grow up’, I have always been fascinated by those whose destiny is manifested from an early age, those who from tender years display obvious signs of a preternatural aptitude for, and affinity with, what eventually evolves into their chosen speciality or field in later adult life.

JR Ryall, head of pastry at Ballymaloe House is very much a case in point. In 2018, he picked up the Dessert Trolley of the Year award at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards, on behalf of the iconic and internationally renowned Irish Country House, and is the author of a quite magnificent new cookbook, Ballymaloe Desserts, beautifully photographed by Cliodhna Prendergast and set to become part of the canon for decades to come, just as The Ballymaloe Cookbook, authored by his late, great mentor Myrtle Allen remains as crucial and as relevant to this day as when it was first published back in 1977. Despite all this, he is still just 35 years old, a comparative fledgling in cheffing years; then again, JR’s passion for the kitchen began when he was young, very young.