Carmel completed the Ballymaloe 12 Week Certificate Course in 2014 and explains why she chose to do the course and what she is doing now.
I am originally from San Francisco and have always had a bond with Ireland. My Mother comes from West Cork and growing up we spent our summers on Bere Island.
I attended the Ballymaloe Cookery Course in 2014 to further my education of food, my interest in food started at a young age. My Mother is a fantastic cook and there has never been a shortage of homemade goods and dinners in our house.
Ballymaloe was challenging but it was also the most rewarding educational experience I've had. Ballymaloe teaches you beyond cooking in a kitchen. It teaches you to appreciate everyone and everything involved with getting those ingredients on your plate.
Since completing the 12 week course I worked as a pastry chef in Cork City and head cook in an estate house in West Cork; I interned with top chefs in top kitchens across the country. I also worked in a world-renowned restaurant in Italy for a month. I decided to start penning down my own recipes inspired by my experiences and the people I met.
I support a lot of local producers, one of the things that has been instilled in me since Ballymaloe. By supporting local, you really do get the finest and freshest ingredients.
I started my blog in March 2015, and since then my recipes have been published in magazines like Woman’s Way, thetaste.ie and West Cork Times. Like Magazine named me an up and coming ‘Insafoodie’. I have also been featured on the worldwide app, Kptn Cook. In the spring of 2016, I did my first radio appearance, talking about my kitchen experiences, blogging, and cooking demonstrations. 'Cookin' with Carmel' has even been nominated for awards more than once-and it’s only a year old! My blog is a marriage of my two passions: food and photography.
It's a big goal of mine to eventually have my own cookbook, and this past summer I created my own mini cookbook, a recipe eBook! It's my first one, and certainly won't be my last. It's a short EBook, and includes healthy and popular recipes from my blog, including two exclusive recipes. You can find my recipe eBook, "Quick and Easy Cookin' with Carmel" on Amazon, or find it here: http://amzn.to/2bDpGNg.
All my recipes are over at www.cookinwithcarmel.com, be sure to subscribe so you never miss news! And follow me on Instagram @CookinwithCarmel, and on Twitter @CookwithCarmel, and on Facebook @CookinwithCarmel for more cooking inspiration!
I'm based back in San Francisco, after living in Ireland for two and half years.
