What is in your kitchen?

Because we live in the centre of an organic farm and have lots of gardens and greenhouses, we are almost self-sufficient for food; when we want to eat some potatoes for supper, we just go and dig them in the garden. Obviously, I do keep things like extra virgin olive oil, spices, good risotto rice, flour and sour milk to make soda bread. What we don’t have in the garden we try to source locally. I don’t do supermarkets, I just find it such a dehumanising experience. I mostly source foods from farmers markets and occasionally from specialist shops. Extra virgin olive oil is something I get from two sources the Blauel Family in Greece and Charles Carey the Oil Merchant in London. I’m very fussy about ingredients, if you start with mass-produced denatured food then you have to be a magician to compensate for the fact that the flavour wasn’t there to begin with or the food wasn’t fresh.

How would you sum up your food philosophy?

First and foremost for me, organic is not a luxury it’s a necessity. People say that they can't afford to buy organic produce but, when you ask them how much money they spend down in the pub every week or on glossy magazines, you realize that food is simply not a priority for them. I was brought up to think that if you don’t put the money into the food on the table you will give it to the doctor or the chemist. We can’t do anything about our genes, but we can certainly do something about the petrol we put in the tank to keep the engine going.

How has Irish food and our attitude to it changed in your lifetime?

I have seen it go from “local” being a derogatory term to being the sexiest word in food. When I did my first television show, using fresh herbs was considered to be very adventurous - you couldn’t buy them in the shops (apart from maybe a bit of parsley). If you live long enough you see a lot of changes. Of course, the other very exciting thing that has happened is the emergence of the artisan and specialist food producers, which has been really important; they have helped to improve the image of Irish foods both at home and abroad. I consider Veronika Steele, from the Berhas peninsula who makes Milleens cheese, to be the Matriarch of the Irish farmhouse cheese industry. Other artisans scattered around the country include; Mary Burns who makes Ardrahan cheese, Robert Ditty who makes Oat Cakes and James McGeough who produces air dried lamb.

What annoys you about food culture in Ireland?

One of the things that worries me is that half of the country are eating out of hot counters in filling stations. I really fear, not only for the country’s waistline, but also for the health of the nation, when people are eating predominantly this kind of food we are really on a rollercoaster to disaster. Another thing that annoys me is that, when it comes to sourcing food locally, many village shops and restaurants are walking the walk but not talking the talk. A lot of hotels and restaurants just buy centrally, look for the cheapest and won’t buy from their local farmers and producers. I then ask, “why should locals support them if they don’t reciprocate by buying the local produce?”.

O’Connells restaurant in Bewleys Hotel in Dublin is very good value and they emphasise the producers who they get the food from on the menu and cook with the seasons. Country Choice in Neenagh also sells and encourages people to buy, a huge variety of local food. At BallyMaloe house Myrtle Allen has had a policy of buying locally for 45 years and has shown a good example. Fortunately, there is much more of an emphasis on this as “local” has become an even sexier word than “organic”.

What is Ireland's best-kept food secret?

The wild foods that are growing around the country truly are hidden treasures; mushrooms, wild sorrel, nettle and sea beat are lovely to incorporate into our menus and into our diets. Not to mention all the seaweed that grows on our shores such as Carrigeen moss, dilisk and sloke. These seaweeds can be chewed or chopped and put into soda bread and stews and taste delicious.

Do you prefer eating in or eating out?

I like a bit of both; it’s nice to have a bit of variety, when I’m in New York and London I really enjoy trying out new restaurants. My current favourite is Petersham Nurseries café in Richmond, it’s incredible. I am longing to eat in Mint in Dublin, also the Ely Wine bars in Dublin organic food as much as possible this is really great.

What is the next big (real) food trend?

The most exciting stuff in food is happening in Spain, Ferran Adria is on the Vanguard of the culinary scene and specialises in molecular gastronomy. His restaurant is called El Bulli and he is definitely the most exciting chef today. People are also widening their palates with foods from the countries like Croatia and the former Czechoslovakia as well as good traditional simple cooking from Uzbecistan and Kazistan. Tea is another thing, for a while coffee was the in thing but now tea the new black. Specialist tea merchants in the US and Australia such as Sip Tea are selling teas to top restaurants and hotels around the country.

Her latest book Darina Allen's Ballymaloe cookery course , affectionately termed "The Bible" by those who use it, gives you recipes, thoughts, tips and shortcuts for all your culinary needs. Click here to buy this book.

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