Days 2,3 & 4

Wow, I thought I was tired after day 1!! This has been the most hectic but brilliant week I have had in a long time. We have now had 1 welcome day, 2 days in the kitchen and 1 demo day and it has been fantastic throughout. I have attached some photos of the culinary delights myself and my partner (we are teamed up each week and have to cook 3 or 4 dishes each day) have created. We had our first assessment and it seemed to go well, although seasoning my quiche let me down a bit! However I am now competent in brown soda bread, shortcrust pastry (well maybe not that competent), quiche Lorraine and fork biscuits. We are also getting used to our "duties". Everyday you are tasked with completing certain tasks for the general good, this could be a simple as helping serve and clear the restaurant or more exotic like feeding the hens or gardening duty! Lots of fun and also teaches you a few extra skills that may or may not come in handy.
Yesterday we had a talk from an amazing local businessman, Peter Ward, not only did he give an impassioned speech about the benefits of sourcing locally and having a strong local following for your product, he brought in a whole Parmesan wheel that weighed 90lbs and was worth 1200 euro, it was absolutely delicious and was so different from that muck you get in Tesco.
I must admit, I was a bit skeptical about the whole food movement and approach that Ballymaloe takes with regard to its produce however I am happy to report that I will never shop in the same manner again. Well done Darina Allen, one more convert to the cause!
On a personal note, I went for another MRI scan today and the news ain't good, the prolapse has got worse and is only being held on by a thin strip of ligament, the short story is that I am to do nothing too strenuous and hope to god it dehydrates enough to stop crushing the nerves! Anyhoo, we shall see what happens, hopefully I will be able to complete the course and deal with the back issues later.
Hope you are enjoying this blog and I will keep you all updated over the weekend.

T