Back in the 1980s, Indian cookery legend Madhur
graciously accepted fangirl Darina’s invitation to
teach some classes at her fledgling cookery school
in Ireland. It had a lasting effect on the now-famous
Ballymaloe, expanding its horizons in the same way
Madhur has inspired thousands of cooks worldwideGreetingsfromBallymaloe.
I’vejustrealisedthatit’s 34 years
sincewefirstmet.Whenmybrother
RoryO’ConnellandI werelaunching
BallymaloeCookerySchoolin1983,
wehada lightbulbmoment– it
suddenlyoccurredtousthatwe
nowhadtheopportunitytoinvite
ourfoodheroesfromalloverthe
worldtotheschoolasguestchefs.
Youwerehighonourlistof
culinaryicons...Weweregluedto
MadhurJaffrey’sIndianCookery
ontheBBCandcouldn’twaittobuy
thebook,whicheventuallyarrived
bysnailmail.Forustherecipes
wereenchantingbutsomewhat
intimidating,withlonglistsof
exoticspices.I yearnedtolearnmore.
I can’tquiterememberhow
I managedtofindyourcontact
detailsinNewYork,whereyou
stilllivetoday– possiblythrough
ZanneStewart,thefoodeditorof
Gourmetmagazine.Mycalltoyou
inMarch 1986 wasoneofthefirsttransatlantic calls I ever made. I was
overawed by the reality of being able
to talk to someone on the other side
of the world. I had to psych myself
up before dialling your number – I
distinctly remember listening to the
unfamiliar ringtone, wondering if
you would answer... and you did.
I took a deep breath and
summoned up all my courage to
ask whether I could tempt you
to teach at a fledgling cookery
school in the middle of a farm,
close to the sea on the south coast
of Ireland. Out of the blue, it must
have seemed like an extraordinary
request – but you graciously
accepted and told me you’d been
intrigued to read about Ballymaloe
Cookery School in that month’s
issue of Gourmet magazine! I was
thrilled and I still remember
coming off the phone, punching
the air as I dashed off to spread
this exciting news.
You arrived at Cork airport inDarina Allen writes
to Madhur Jaf frey
LETTER TO MY FOOD HERO
Dear Madhur