‘The food reflects the grandeur’: A look at the opulence of the luxury Ballyfin hotel

Jillian Bolger goes behind the scenes at Ballyfin, Ireland’s most luxurious hotel, to meet the new executive chef at the exclusive property

The dining room in Ballyfin. Photo: Supplied by Ballyfin PR

It’s no coincidence that the newly appointed Executive Chef of Ballyfin Demesne first visited this historic property as a hotel guest. Just as visitors of the Coote family were entranced by the family’s noteworthy country pile in the 1800s, Richard Picard-Edwards was spellbound by Ballyfin, which had been magicked into a sublime country house hotel after a long stint as a boarding school.

After a two-night stay in 2016, Richard had no idea that he had fallen under the same irresistible spell that would bewitch the General Manager, Peter White.