Darina Allen's Ballymaloe memories: A fresh start and a sense of plaice

In celebration of the inaugural Ballymaloe Festival of Food, Darina Allen takes us on a trip down memory lane 

Darina and Myrtle Allen

This week, a trip down memory lane… I’m remembering my very first day at Ballymaloe. 

It was Sunday, June 15, 1968. I’d heard about a lovely country house hotel in the wilds of East Cork from a lecturer in Cathal Brugha Street in Dublin, where I’d been studying Hotel and Catering Management.