We were wrong. With the same attention to craftsmanship that has earned Ireland renown for its woolens, music, and other arts, energized young farmers and restaurants are promoting local, artisanal foods, turning Ireland into a foodie's dream destination.
Leading this culinary revolution are members of the Allen family, owners of the elegant Ballymaloe lodge and restaurant, set on a 400-acre estate with origins as a 15th-century Norman castle. We saw their cookbooks everywhere: Myrtle Allen, her daughter-in-law, Darina, and Darina's daughter-in-law, Rachel, form a gourmet triumvirate. Much of their extended family plays a role, too.
Under clear, blue skies, my sister and I pedal hotel bikes past fields of hay and vegetables to the Ballymaloe Cookery School, where professionals and hobby chefs come to hone their skills. For about $16, we wander up and down rows of spicy arugula and beautiful blooming artichoke, through flower gardens and around a maze of hedges that create natural containers for an elaborate herb garden.
We stroll past greenhouses thick with corn and tomato plants and visit the pig and chicken pens. Here is the secret to the delicious eggs we ate that morning, with a buttery, almost sweet flavor.
The chickens at Ballymaloe are truly free-range, with plenty of room to run around and scratch in the dirt. They feast on scraps from the kitchen.
"They're eating the best food in the world," says Rory O'Connell, Darina Allen's brother, who manages the school and was head chef at the hotel for a decade.
In addition to his work at Ballymaloe and in kitchens throughout Europe and the United States, O'Connell has served as a food ambassador for Ireland, giving cooking demonstrations around the world.
