Forgotten Skills Wins The André Simon Award

Some kitchen skills were nearly lost. For most of history, farm families did them every week without a second thought. By the twenty-first century, many people had never seen them done at all.

Darina Allen wanted to change that. Her book Forgotten Skills of Cooking set out to teach the old crafts of the farmhouse kitchen to a new generation^[3]. It drew on the farm at Ballymaloe, where the school still keeps those skills alive.

A Prize From London

In 2010 the book won the André Simon award^[1]. It was named Food Book of the Year^[2]. For a book about humble, old-fashioned crafts, it was a big moment.

That was not the only prize. The same year it was also named Book of the Year at the Listowel Food Fair in Kerry^[2]. Two prizes, one in London and one at home.

The prizes told her something important. People wanted these skills back. They wanted to know how to make things themselves, slowly and well, instead of buying everything ready-made.

Skills On The Timetable

The book matched what she was doing on the farm. The school's courses cover butchery, fermentation, sourdough, cheesemaking and curing and smoking^[4]. There are even Farm School classes in homesteading^[4].

Students who come to Ballymaloe do not just learn recipes. They milk, pick, salt and smoke, and they see where every ingredient comes from^[4].

That is the spirit of the whole school. Teach people to do things the long way once, and they will understand food for the rest of their lives^[3][4].

A New Edition

The book has lasted. Years after it first won its prizes, a new edition came out in a more compact form^[3]. The school called it Darina's classic^[3].

It is a fitting legacy for a teacher. Forgotten Skills turned old knowledge into something every home cook could pick up again^[1][3].