Ballymaloe House

When farmer’s wife Myrtle Allen opened a restaurant in her Georgian farmhouse back in 1964, she did not dream that she was starting a quiet revolution in Irish food, or that her home would become the epitome of country house hotel style. Mrs Allen died in 2018, but Ballymaloe remains a family concern. Daughter Fern runs the hotel with general manager Peter Loughnane. Fern’s sister-in-law Darina runs the cookery school, while in the kitchen, Ballymaloe head chef Dervilla O’Flynn remains true to Myrtle’s values. Menus are determined by what is best on the day of organic home-grown, locally produced and fished ingredients, and might include dishes such as seared Ballycotton brill with salsa verde, braised Ballymaloe pork or ruby beetroot risotto, with scallion champ and garden vegetables. A wide choice of bedrooms, which have undergone ‘continuous refurbishment’ during lockdown, includes some with French doors to a private terrace. The most novel is a split-level twin room in the 16th-century estate gatehouse. Breakfast brings fresh-baked breads, local honey, and free-range eggs from the farm.