My Cookbooks - The Ballymaloe Cookbook, Myrtle Allen

By Kitchen Exile August 17, 2018 My Cookbooks

As many of you might have come to know I may have one or two cookbooks. I thought it might be nice to share with you on a weekly basis what I have in my collection.

This is considered one of the classic Irish cookbooks from the late Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House. She was a chef who championed the Irish food movement and who encouraged us to eat local and seasonal before it became fashionable to do so. This is the 50th anniversary edition and many of the recipes still stand the test of time, while some of the recipes will now seem a tad dated. There are also some wonderful anecdotes about her experiences as a chef at home in Ireland and abroad.

You'd be surprised to know out of all the cookbooks I have in my collection I only have a mere four which are Irish cuisine related. Something I think I should rectify. I suppose having lived longer out of Ireland than having lived there now (it's 25 years since I moved), my influences are more international than regional.

My Cookbooks