Thirty Years, A Feast And A Lifetime Award

In 2013 Ballymaloe Cookery School turned 30. Darina Allen had a lot to celebrate, and she did it in style.

A Book For The Birthday

First came a book. 30 Years at Ballymaloe gathered the recipes and stories of three decades of teaching^[2]. It was named Cookbook of the Year at the Irish Book Awards^[1].

Then came an honour from her fellow writers. The Guild of Food Writers gave her its Lifetime Achievement Award^[2]. For a woman who had written more than ten books and a weekly newspaper column since 1998, it was well earned^[1][2].

A Festival Is Born

Darina also helped launch something new that year: the Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine^[1]. It brought cooks, writers and food lovers to East Cork to talk, eat and drink together.

The school itself had a strong year too. It was named Good Food Ireland's Cookery School of the Year for 2012 and 2013^[1].

The festival grew out of the same idea as everything else at Ballymaloe. Food is better when it is shared, and talking about it is half the fun^[1].

A Feast Under The Sky

In September 2013 the school threw a big party. It held an open-air celebration feast on its own grounds^[3]. Students, teachers and friends sat down together to eat food grown just a few steps away.

It was a long way from a small class in a kitchen at Kinoith. Thirty years on, the school had trained students from all over the world^[3].

Many of those past pupils went on to open cookery schools and food businesses of their own, carrying the Ballymaloe way of cooking to new places^[3].

And the story was not over. In 2023 the school reached its 40th year^[3]. Darina was still there, still teaching and still sharing what Myrtle Allen first showed her^[1][3].