In his essay called By the Book in Julian Barnes; The Pedant in the Kitchen he lists which he says are his essential cook books , those which he would never cull from his shelves.
He then goes on to list 27 of certainly the best cook books of our generation.
he lists all the classics, the Elizabeth Davids, the Jane Grigsons, Alan Davidsons Oxford Companion to Food he even includes Delia’s course book, but buried in these giants is our own Master Chef ; Myrtle Allen.

Now Myrtle only produced the one cook book but it is a true classic.
In The Ballymaloe are as many classic dishes, beautifully and informally explained, as Julia Child managed in her much larger (and hugely valuable ) book on Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Myrtle sets a tone of her huge concern of the quality and provinance of her ingredients right from the start.
I quote from her introduction;

“The butter your sister is sending us is very good”, I said to a neighbour one day. ” Yes ” he said ” that field always made good butter “

A small exchange which I think could be a motto for the whole modern food movement and one written now forty years ago.

Not only does Myrtle have the skills , as is evident from the success of Ballymaloe , but she delivers this skill lightly in a book peppered with personal asides and anecdotes .
If you havn’t got it already buy it , read it and cook from it.
You will be richly rewarded.

It was my privilage to present Myrtle with an award from Euro-Toques in 2001 to acknowledge her contribution to Irish Food.