Double Chocolate Cupcakes and a Raspberry on Top

MIDWAY through every 12-week certificate course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, we all pile onto a bus and go on a foodie tour.

It’s not just a gastronomic skite, the object of the exercise is to introduce the students (11 nationalities this time) to as many inspirational food producers, restaurateurs, artisan brewers, cheese makers and great ideas as possible in one fun and action-packed day.

This time we began at 8am sharp with a short foraging walk through the farm down to Bill Casey’s Shanagarry Smokehouse. Bill started to smoke fish almost 30 years ago when he was made redundant from Cork Marts. Ever since he’s been concentrating on smoking salmon.