School Tour

I am home from England/Portugal and will write about that soon as Kate puts the pictures up. I arrived back in Ireland Monday morning and made it to work by 10:30am. It was a good week but yesterday turned out to be one of the best days I have had in a long time. It was the school tour and I got to go along with the three month students!

We left school at 8am en route to a fish smoker. Frank Hederman is lauded as the best smoker in Ireland and let me tell you, his smoked fish is divine. We toured his smoking facility and it was great to learn about the process. Below is a picture of Frank talking about the organic salmon they use (smoking is begun the same day they are caught), with Darina in the background. Also there is a picture of the smoke room -- it is so eery and smells very fishy!

After the fish smoker we went to a farmer's market right outside Cork City. I had a bowl of porridge with dried fruit that was so tasty. I also had a greek yogurt and honey cupcake, and bought some Muesli, homemade fresh linguini, and tomato sauce. I don't think these is anything I like better than a farmer's market. It was chilly but as soon as I started walking around I got in a trance and forget about everything except tasting the cheeses, deciding what to buy for dinner, and checking out the vegetables. We left the market after an hour and half (I'll admit, by then my toes were getting cold) headed for a cheese maker.

I have always wanted to see how cheese is made. Visiting Bay Lough Cheese was the highlight of the day. Richard and Anne Keating have been making cheese for 20 years. As Anne demonstrated the cheese making, she told us about how they had no money and six children and she started making cheese as a way to feed her family. She then decided to sell it and said she convinced a shop owner to carry it with the promise that she would take it back if it didn't sell. Then she sent all her friends in to buy it! She said she had no idea how to make cheese and didn't know what she was doing, but she borrowed a book and figured it out. She now makes the most delicious Cheddar cheese and proudly told us she and her husband paid back every cent they owed and educated their children! 

We then headed to Chef Paul Flynn's restaurant called The Tannery in Dungarvan. I had heard quite a bit about this chef so I was very excited when we pulled up in front of his restaurant for a light lunch. We had cream of cauliflower soup with a corned beef roll and dessert. He spoke to us for a while and it was interesting to hear his story. During lunch I had a chance to talk to some of the students and it was nice getting to know a few more people. 

Our last stop was the Cliff House Hotel. This 39 room hotel recently opened in Ardmore. It is a gorgeous hotel and I loved the tour.  It is exactly the kind of hotel I hope to have.

www.thecliffhousehotel.com

We got back to school and I made a beeline home to cook the pasta I bought at the market. I have been craving pasta and it was delicious. I then finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle -- it was the perfect end to a great day!