Let me just start this blog with a wee note about the weather: I have never encountered a more enjoyably temperamental climate! There is nothing boring about Ireland when it comes to the temperature. In a 15 minute period, one can be enjoying intense sunlight (jacket and sweater OFF), pouring rain (jacket and sweater ON),humidity (jacket OFF), wind (jacket ON, sweater OFF?) Argh! Needless to say, one must always dress in layers! (and have sunglasses AND an umbrella at the ready!) For people like me with short attention spans, this weather actually suits my personality quite well!
At any rate, day 4 in Ireland was spent at the impressive Belle Isle Cookery School under the tutelage (and watchful eye!) of chef and cooking school manager Liz Moore. 
The four of us (winners Peggy and Jackie, photographer Stacey Haines and myself), along with about 15 other students, listened to Liz’s incredibly inspiring and practical advice and then proceeded to cook up a figurative storm (the literal storm was happening right outside the windows). I was in awe of Liz’s mesmerizing style of teaching, and was even more delighted with her British racing green AGA cooker! Some of the memorable tips we learned are as follows:
1. Wet a tea towel and lay it under the cutting board to keep it from slipping on the counter.
2. Use the edge of a spoon to peel fresh ginger instead of a paring knife or peeler (you waste less ginger that way!)
3. To get rid of the smell of garlic or onions on your hands, run your hands along the edge of something stainless steel underneath cold running water (the smell will miraculously be neutralized!)
4. Never eat anything but free-range chicken (she’d rather eat free-range chicken that’s NOT organic than organic chicken that’s NOT free-range)
5. To get the maximum amount of juice from a lime, roll around on the counter by pressing down firmly with your palm. The pressure helps to release the juice from the rind. Then cut the lime in half and squeeze with a juicer as per the usual method.
What made Liz’s course so special to me was that her cooking style is accessible but also has inspirational elements. I learned to make a decent caesar salad dressing (yes, it does need anchovies), as well as a homemade barbecue sauce (forget fish and chips, the Irish like to barbecue too!*). As I’m able to download my images, I’ll start putting them up of some of my edible handiwork!
No, I'm not in this photo
At the end of the school day, the students retired to an elegant dining room and ate the results. We were all pretty pleased with ourselves!
Aside from Liz’s teaching skills, the setting of Belle Isle makes it a very special place to visit in Northern Ireland. It is in a beautiful acreage of rolling hills and historic buildings. In fact, you can spend a week at Belle Isle - there are lovely cottages that you can rent, as well as self-catering apartments to stay in - while you learn fab culinary skills. My favourite spot (and where we ended up taking Liz’s portrait for Canadian Gardening magazine) was in a walled garden behind the school where climbing roses and sweetpeas grow rampant. I would return to Belle Isle at any opportunity!
Don’t forget, if you’re interested in traveling to Ireland, check out www.discoverireland.com
