A week before I leave!

Photo of the Ballymaloe grounds courtesy of @danielcfilms

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Good morning!

For those of you who aren’t aware, I’m heading off to Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland on September 17th to complete their 12-week culinary certificate. My values as a cook and eater are grounded in seasonality and sustainability, two principles that are near and dear to Ballymaloe, which is intertwined with its setting on a 100-acre working farm. Our curriculum involves learning about organic food production, engaging with the farm, and using its bounty in the kitchen. I discovered Ballymaloe through researching the career paths of Clare de Boer and Jess Shadbolt, the chefs and co-owners of King in New York City. The food at King is, in short, exactly what I want to eat: panels of panisse sprinkled with salt crystals and fried sage leaves, monkfish so supple it melts on your tongue, triangles of bittersweet chocolate cake still warm from the oven. I wanted to learn how to cook like Clare and Jess, so when I found out that they both trained at Ballymaloe, I started scheming. 

Dreaming about Ballymaloe buoyed me throughout the pandemic, and I can’t believe my program is finally about to begin. I’m preparing for my departure now and can confidently say that back to school shopping has never been so fun. My friend Eliza and I had an amazing time at Korin in NYC (thanks for the recommendation, Devra!), where I picked out my first real chef’s knife. She’s a razor sharp 24cm Misono beauty. Thank you, Jerome & MD, for the best gift! Now I’m gathering the rest of my knives as well as my kitchen uniform (white chef’s jackets, blue and white checkered trousers, slip-resistant clogs, etc.). Lily, my new friend who coincidentally studied at Ballymaloe and now runs a fabulous café on Fishers Island called The West End, has been answering my many questions and clueing me into things I wouldn’t think of, like packing a hot water bottle for cold, damp Ireland nights. Thank you, Lily! 

I’m looking forward to writing these emails, but I’ll admit that it makes me nervous to send my writing to an audience, even if it’s only composed of people who care about me. I’ve long struggled with perfection paralysis, which has repeatedly kept me from sharing my creative work, but in Fall 2020, I took a writing class that began to shift my perspective. It was taught by Liana Finck, a beloved teacher-turned-friend whose mind I revere. I once expressed shame to her about my “mediocre prose” and she responded that “not being a perfectionist is the highest form of success, and the best way to have fun, learn something, truly connect.” My rational self agrees, and I’m trying to listen to her, so cheers to mediocre prose! May I keep writing and sharing for the love of it if for nothing else.

As for my emotional state, I’m feeling the whole range of Phoebe feelings that accompany a transition (if you know me, you know that range is wide and fierce!). But more than anything, I’m feeling grateful and excited to see where this journey and the following year take me. Follow me on Instagram (@phoebetomionfry) if you’d like! I’m going to try to post regularly there.

Thanks for reading!

Phoebs