A touch of Downton

SILVER-HAIRED Myrtle Allen, graceful as ever in a black evening dress and patterned neck scarf, takes a seat in her conservatory at Ballymaloe House.

In a few moments, the grand dame of Irish hospitality will float into her famous dining room, putting diners at ease, making sure everything is just so — as she continues to do, almost 50 years after first opening her house to guests. But first, a chat.

“We used to go into Cork for a meal and a night away,” she muses, recalling the odd break from cooking for her six kids. “So I thought they might come to us.”