Inside a Day at Organic Cooking School in the Irish Countryside

Raw milk, sourdough, roast chicken, sea dips - and a few recipes I’ll be making forever

Hi guys,

April was a travel month. I went to cooking school in Ireland, popped down to Tulum, and squeezed in a visit to Toronto. All such different vibes. All very fun.

But today we’re talking cooking school.

This whole thing started on a whim. One afternoon I decided I wanted to do something just for me that would elevate my cooking. So I googled “best cooking schools in Europe” (as one does), and this one popped up. I didn’t want a patisserie diploma or to master sugar sculptures. I wanted something organic, fresh, with food that I would actually cook. A place that felt aligned. So I booked it.

And honestly? It exceeded every single expectation.

I went in thinking I’d pick up a few tips. Maybe sharpen my knife skills. But what actually happened was a complete shift in how I think about food, cooking, and the way I want to live.

I learned how to actually cook — not in a rigid, chef-y way. In a way that feels fun. Confident. Calm. I learned to cook without the chaos. With trust, with curiosity, and with actual love. That made all the difference.

One of the biggest standouts? My Italian chef, who I worked with all week. His whole approach was based on mood and energy — not measurements. He told me that what matters most is your mindset and how much love you put into the dish. And honestly? You can taste it.

1. my cooking station 2. the cottages 3. the dairy farm 4. my cottage

Inside a Day at Organic Cooking School in the Irish Countryside

6:30am: Wake-Up Call (and Chickens)
Most mornings started around 6:30am—usually with the sound of chickens outside and the softest light coming through the cottage windows. Every day, the school stocked us with fresh sourdough, raw milk, and eggs. There were five of us in the cottage, each with our own en suite room, and a cozy shared kitchen with a fireplace that made it feel like we were living in an organic Nancy Meyers film.

7:00am: Optional Morning Classes
If you were up for it (I was), you could join in on bread-making, fermenting, or dairy. Some mornings we milked cows, other days we made butter or started new kombucha batches. We even had herb potting classes and produce garden walks that made me romanticize farming in a very unrealistic way—but it was chic. All optional, but obviously I wanted to do everything.

7:30–9:00am: The Dream Breakfast Buffet
This was not your average buffet. Think: raw butter so yellow it looked fake, homemade granola, sourdough still warm from the oven, raw yogurt, rhubarb muesli, local cheeses, pasture-raised eggs, fresh fruit, organic coffee, and kefir water (which yes, is amazing for digestion and now I’m obsessed).

9:00am–1:00pm: Cooking in Our Kitchens
We chose 3–6 recipes to cook each morning—based on what had been demo’d the day before. The vibe was serious but not stressful. You had to time everything perfectly so it was hot and ready by 1pm, when all 65 of us sat down to eat each other’s food. No pressure, right?

2:00–5:30pm: Chef Demos & Taste Tests
This was the best part. The demo room was like a mini amphitheatre with a full kitchen at the front. Every afternoon, Rory O’Connell or Rachel Allen would walk us through 10–15 recipes. We had booklets for note-taking (which I actually filled out like a school nerd), tasted everything, and asked questions as they cooked.

My personal highlights? Learning how to fillet a fish (kind of iconic), and nailing the perfect roast. Am I about to go buy and fillet an entire fish back home? Absolutely not. But will I be making my British friends a Sunday roast that makes them emotional? Obviously.

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Evenings: Sea Dips, Saunas & Wine
After 5:30pm, you could do your own thing. Some nights we cold plunged in the sea (very wellness-coded), used the seaside saunas, or opened a bottle of wine back at the cottage. One night, a big group of us went to Ballymaloe House—a dreamy estate ten minutes away with two restaurants, a tiny shop, and the most unhingedly good dessert cart I’ve ever seen. We went as strangers and left as friends. It was giving summer camp for chic adults.

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Chef Wisdom I’ll Never Forget
I asked the chefs for their number one tip. The answers were so wholesome. But my personal favorite came from my Italian chef: "It’s your mood, your mindset, and how much love you give your food. That’s what you’ll taste in the end." Obsessed. Still thinking about it.

Should You Do It?
I did the one-week course and genuinely learned so much—without any of the pressure of a formal culinary program. If you’re even thinking about signing up: do it. You’ll meet cool people, eat incredibly well, and come home with a totally different energy in the kitchen.

Let me know if you want a part two, details on the school, or my favorite recipes from the week. So happy to share. xx