This summer, chef and food writer Catherine Fulvio has an influx of US guests to her cookery school, drawn by the image of Ireland she creates on her TV shows. As she tells Claire O'Mahony, her passion for food makes her busier than ever life in the kitchen all the more enjoyable.
Catherine Fulvio is giving a mouthwatering account of the summer largesse from the garden at Ballyknocken House, the Victorian farmhouse and cookery school in Wicklow where she lives and works.
"We are really reaping the benefits of our soft fruits and our herbs. At the moment, we have a bounty of blackcurrants, gooseberries, redcurrants, loganberries, strawberries, you name it, I think we have it," she says. "Then we have all these beautiful herbs to go with it. I'm making lots of herb syrups like strawberry-mint syrup that I drizzle over bowls of strawberries and topped with beautiful fresh cream."
The chef, food writer and TV star is the third generation of her family at Ballyknocken. The B&B, which her late mother Mary started, is now 55 years old, ("Although it was never just a B&B; we always cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for guests," she notes) and next January, the cookery school which Catherine set up will celebrate 20 years in business.
Two decades on and Catherine acknowledges that she’s still as enamoured of her work as ever. "One thing I’ve learned is you have to do what you love. You’ve only one life and it’s so important to find what you really enjoy and relax into it, whether it’s work or a craft or a pastime; just do what you enjoy. That’s what gets you out of bed every morning and what puts a smile on your face," she says.
Catherine Fulvio is one of Ireland’s most famous chefs, with numerous books, TV shows and appearances at events such as Bloom under her belt. Work life is always busy and this summer, especially so, thanks to the success of her TV shows in the US, one of which saw her nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.
"The shows have ballooned; they’re going really well. On the back of that, we have a lot of American guests coming for private cookery classes or as part of a group experience this summer," she says. "Because of this growth in demand from the US that I wasn’t expecting, I find I’m chained to home a little bit. I mean that in a really positive way."
Her new US series, Baking at Ballyknocken, features Irish and Italian baking and showcases produce from the garden, such as edible flowers.
"The viewers in America have an image of Ireland in their minds and I think maybe – I’m hoping – the reason the show is so popular is that we tap into what they envisage Ireland to be: this lovely green countryside where everything grows, where the people are friendly, where the food is tasty and they love to see the use of butter and cream, which they associate with Ireland."
On occasion, Catherine says she’s had to dispel some myths about Irish food for her American guests. The one that comes up most often is that corned beef and cabbage is an authentic Irish dish. "Whereas in fact, it’s Irish-American primarily," she explains, "all to do with the Irish emigrants. Ham and cabbage, bacon and cabbage as we know is the main Irish dish in that sense and corned beef became the ham or bacon substitute when the Irish emigrated many generations ago.
"So if you meet an Irish-American family, and we would see many of them coming through here, they have a tradition of doing corned beef and cabbage on St Patrick’s Day and I have to break it to them gently that’s not the dish we would do here. You just see their face fall!"
She has witnessed Irish food change significantly over the years. "When I was growing up, it was very much farm-to-table, but by 20 years ago, that seemed to have lost its edge a little. Now it’s very much back. I see the creativity and so many new products on the market, whether it’s healthy or it’s a treat. The way of looking at artisanal products and bringing them to the general public so that’s it accessible to all has developed so much."
Catherine’s own culinary inspiration often comes from travel and she has is looking forward to an upcoming exploration trip to London, where she’s booked a cookery lesson, as well as an afternoon tea, a special Italian dinner and a visit to the Borough and Spitalfields food markets. "I find you can’t learn much sitting on the sofa," she says.
"You have to get out and about, you have to meet people, you have to try new things and taste new flavours to see what’s happening in the food industry because it’s ever changing, and that’s what I love about it. It never sits still. There’s always some new product, some new way of cooking something, some latest gadget, some crazy new ingredient that works a treat."
Her passion for Italian food is also enduring. "Italian food and Irish food have a common theme," she says. "We both have fantastic fresh ingredients and I think that’s why the Irish love Italian food so much. They love to see the freshness in the food."
We'll next see her on Irish screens in RTÉ’s The Summer Show, out in mid-August. In the show, Catherine goes seaweed foraging in Waterford. "I cooked a beautiful pasta dish with seaweed and it was divine. It is unreal, the beautiful seaweed that we have on our coast. They bring nutritional benefits and the little bit of saltiness, as well as a little bit of texture to a dish," she explains. "I think it really could be the next big Irish ingredient."
Growing up, Catherine helped out on the farm and in the B&B. Married to Claudio, who is originally from Palermo in Sicily, I am curious if their two children, Charlotte (21) and Rowan (19) will follow in her footsteps and become the fourth generation at the helm of Ballyknocken? She’s not sure what Rowan, who is studying business and law, will choose to do. Charlotte, who is studying event management, definitely wants to be involved.
"I look on it as a family business. I’ve always involved the children in everything we do here because that’s how I grew up. Maybe I’m old-fashioned and maybe I’m right or wrong, I’m not sure, but I think showing your kids how you work, being dedicated to work and doing a really good job, is really important so that they grow up with a good work ethic.
"Maybe other parents might think I’m wrong in that and let kids have their childhood – but of course they had their childhood – it was just for them to do the odd job here and there, and helping me now and then. At this stage, they can turn their hand to anything. I’d like to think that whatever they work at in life, they will really do well."
Over the years, Catherine has managed to mould the ever-evolving business towards what she really loves doing – teaching in the cookery school, doing events, writing her RTÉ Guide column and to accommodating what her team likes.
"When I started out first, I was under more pressure. You are under pressure when you start a business, just to get going. Over the years, I’ve managed to tweak and manouevre," she says. "I have a marvellous team, they’re absolutely wonderful and without them I wouldn’t do anything. They give great support. But I do have to learn to say 'no’ a little more and have more ‘me’ time. That’s something I’m still grappling with."
She has been focusing on her health in recent times. "I just felt it was very important to manage myself bit better. I go to the gym and do my weights and so on. I love to hike and walk the lovely forests, and a little bit of yoga," she explains. "I feel that when you feel fit and strong, you walk with a bit more confidence. Maybe that’s just me, but exercise gives me a boost and I need it."
During the pandemic, she did an advanced diploma in health and nutrition. "That really gave me confidence in that area. I believe in healthy eating and having a balanced diet."
Her food guilty pleasure is an occasional large Toblerone, but her food philosophy espouses moderation. "Allow yourself the treats, never hold back, but always have a core diet that’s really healthy and make educated decisions about food; that’s very important," she suggests. "If possible, do as much home cooking as possible because you know where your ingredients came from and how they got to the table."
