Irish Cookbook Author and TV Chef Rachel Allen Coming to Newport
Friday, September 10, 2010
Rachel Allen wants you to cook and she's coming to Rhode Island to teach the attendees at the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival how to do it. Allen has already conquered Ireland and the UK with her bubbly charm and educational cooking style. Through her books—the most recent being Rachel's Favorite Food at Home, appearances on Today and Martha Stewart Living Radio, and now with television series on Create and the Cooking Channel, Allen's hoping to teach American that it's fun and practical to cook "fresh, simple, delicious food."
Rachel Allen was brought up in Dublin and left home at eighteen to study at the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School. She now teaches at Ballymaloe and told me she loves how Irish food has evolved over the years. She described some of the gorgeous produce that she cooks with in Ireland and is eager to cook in Newport having heard that the RI area also has great produce. Allen says she likes to teach cooking the kind of food people can create at home, even after a busy day at work. She considers herself a cook and teacher before a chef, which clearly comes through in her television work.
When I asked if there was a particular style or cuisine she liked to cook Allen said she’s almost indecisive and loves to cook all kinds of things. If pressed she would choose to bake, partly because it’s “incredibly therapeutic.” Allen loves to bake yeast breads and of course cupcakes and cakes, which people always appreciate.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTI was curious what Allen would be preparing during her cooking demonstration at the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. She mentioned the old Irish dish of bacon and cabbage, except she was going to update it with homemade pork sausage and applesauce, alongside a traditional Irish colcannon. Allen said she isn’t going to boil the cabbage though, just cook it with some really good butter and lots of creamy potatoes.
Make sure to catch Allen’s demonstration at the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival in the Celebrity Chef Cooking Pavilion during the Grand Tasting at Marble House on Saturday, September 25th at 1:45 p.m. There will also be copies of her book Rachel’s Favorite Food at Home for sale, which Allen will be signing after her demo. You can find Allen’s companion television series to the book on your local PBS station (WGBH and WLIW) as well as on Create starting September 20th.
The 5th Annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, September 24-26
For more information on Create visit their site and on Facebook.
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