Myrtle Allen's recipe for success

COOKING in Ireland didn’t begin with Myrtle Allen but when it comes to evaluating the very best of modern Irish cuisine, it is near impossible not to establish some link back to the pioneering spirit of this East Cork farmer’s wife who transformed herself into a Michelin star chef.

Her culinary philosophy, based on using the best of local, seasonal, Irish produce, grown and harvested in a sustainable way, is now so accepted by the mainstream, that it’s difficult to convey the revolutionary impact of her approach when she first opened a restaurant at Ballymaloe.

Myrtle Hill, an architect’s daughter, was born in Cork city in 1928, marrying a progressive fruit and vegetable farmer, Ivan Allen, in 1943. In 1948, they bought a farm at Ballymaloe, in East Cork, which included the manor home that was to become the renowned Ballymaloe House.