Easy recipes and a cosy space: Clodagh McKenna’s perfect summer garden party
Clodagh's potato salad
There were more than a few times over the last year when Clodagh McKenna saved my frazzled brain and decided what was for dinner. Not personally, sadly I don’t have daily access to the cooking skills of one of Ireland’s favourite chefs and food writers, but through the magic of Instagram and her daily cooking videos. She began doing them at the start of the pandemic when she found herself with nothing but cancelled projects and a lot of free time.
“When the lockdown happened, I was in the same boat as everybody else and all my work got cancelled. I thought what am I going to do? I have to work out a way of making this work for me.
"There was a little old outhouse on the property that I spent a week painting and doing up which became the studio. I only had about 40,000 followers on Instagram then, a small following really, and people were getting in touch asking for recipes and telling me their stories. I thought I would do a couple of recipe videos so people could cook along, and I could start helping people that way. I did one and I really enjoyed it, so I thought, okay, I'll do another one tomorrow and it just grew. I did 130-something in a row which was exhausting but brilliant because it gave me a real purpose every day.
“Then about three months into it, my publisher called me and said ‘everybody’s talking about your IGTV. Do you think that you could write a book based on the recipes?’ It's been my best-selling cookbook by a million miles. The book was all based on what people were telling me. It was like having this direct connection with people and knowing exactly what kind of recipes people wanted.
"For most of lockdown I’d work all day writing and filming and then we’d both stop at 5pm and spend the rest of the evening in the garden planting and growing.”
The garden Clodagh refers to is the one that she shares with her fiancé harry Herbert at their home Broadspear. You might not be familiar with that name but you’ll probably recognise Highclere Castle, the stately home and park of which Broadspear is part. It’s the filming location for Downton Abbey.
Highclere is the family home of Clodagh’s fiancé Harry Herbert and looks like a pretty idyllic place to spend lockdown just Harry, Clodagh and the chickens Tina, Henneth Paltrow, Eggy Pop, Saoirse, Yolko Ono and Goldie hen who live in Peckingham Palace.
“It’s getting there, it's been a labour of love,” Clodagh laughs, “there wasn't even one plant growing here when we started. It was definitely a forgotten part of the park. We just put all our energy into the gardens, really. It was always a dream to live a more sustainable life. We thought, okay, this is just such a great project to do, maybe we can show other people that they could do it too. We do vlogs every week about what to do in the garden this weekend and people have been teaching me so much as well by sending me back loads of tips. And people are obsessed with the chickens!”
Clodagh says she wasn’t green fingered before and that she would “kill everything. Not on purpose, obviously, but what I've learned was that nobody is born with green fingers, you just learn it by making mistakes and knowing better the next time. It's a slow progress, but there's no hurry in it, which is definitely a learning thing for me too.”
The setting at Broadspear, which you may also have seen on ITV’s The Morning where Clodagh is now the resident chef, is perfect for outdoor entertaining which is permissible now in the UK and Clodagh and Harry are excited about days and nights in the gardens with friends.
“Oh my God, I can't wait, I just can't wait. Although I'm just a little bit worried about how I'm going to be socially, I’m sure everybody else is too. We've become so dependent and self-fulfilling but I'm really excited to be able to see family members. My sister lives nearby and to be able to see her and my nieces and nephews and a bunch of friends will be just really, really nice.” As you would expect, Clodagh is pretty expert at creating a gorgeous atmosphere for entertaining.
“I love entertaining outside and actually the smaller the space, the better in a way, because you can create a much better atmosphere. An amazing event planner told me that about the space and he’s so right, it’s much harder to create atmosphere in a large space. So even if you have a larger garden, pick a small area in your garden where you can put a table for four, or a table for six. Just create that smaller, warmer space.
“I put pillows on everybody's chairs and then I also put little blanket on the back of each one. My new thing is to put a hot water bottle on everybody's seat. It really is game changer! Everybody just feels more comfortable and really cosy. It's even better than fire pits because they can be smoky.
Hot water bottles are the way forward.
“Then when it comes to food, the easier you make it for yourself, the better. My new thing is that if I have four or six people coming, I will cook much of everything the day before. Outdoor entertaining is very different to indoor because it takes more time and effort because you're lugging things in and out. Think about the weather when you’re planning. If it's a cold day there's nothing more gorgeous than maybe my chocolate beef chilli. You can cook it the day before it's even better the next day.
The other thing that I've invested in are little camp gas fires so if you make a chili or a curry or whatever the day before, you can just warm it up on a little side table and serve everybody from it.
“Also, whenever I'm entertaining outside, I have everything ready to go so that when everybody arrives I'm not going back in for anything. I'll even set up a small little dessert table or cheese board that’s all out ready for us. I do not like to work when people are here. I just want to enjoy it as much as everybody else!
“I’ve just always loved entertaining and I don't get so fussed about how extravagant the food is. It’s often the nicest dinner when it’s a lovely Irish stew with a beautiful homemade soda bread and everybody's sharing it. It's about creating that lovely warm atmosphere around the table and making sure that everybody is relaxed and having fun. I've been to so many dinners where it's all about the food and the extravagance and it's never as enjoyable as cozy, warm suppers where there's a singsong in between it. Every time people we ever have people over, I always say to Harry, you do a song halfway through and I'll do one at the end of dinner and it creates such a nice fun day.” That’s just the kind of day that Clodagh is planning for her wedding which will take place in Broadspear this summer.
“The most important thing that we're waiting for is Ireland and when people can travel again. I’m not worried about having any kind of big, extravagant wedding. I'm like the opposite of bridezilla. My sister and my friends are even trying to encourage me, telling me the things we need to get done but I keep saying that all I want is to make sure that the people I love are going to be here. That's the most important thing to both of us. We're just waiting on that, but it will be this summer.”
Make sure everyone is warm and comfortable – hot water bottles are my new secret weapon.
Have everything to hand so that you don’t need to keep running back to the house.
That includes dessert!
Create a beautiful table with bud vases, candles and layered linens.
Use green linen napkins, sage or olive green are my favourite shades on the table. They look beautiful on a wooden table or on a fresh white or cream linen tablecloth.
Keep food simple, sharing salad platters are great for a starter and something hearty and warm that you can cook the day before is perfect for the Irish weather.
Atmosphere is key – if you can sing, definitely start the singsong!
