Darina Allen is, to quote Nigel Slater, the ‘gourmet grande dame’ of an Irish culinary dynasty which includes her mother in law, brother and niece. The empire encompasses a highly regarded cookery school www.cookingisfun.ie (its 3 month diploma course is always fully booked months in advance, and the range of short courses includes foraging, cheesemaking and days with Yotam Ottolenghi, Skye Gyngell and Jean Pierre Moulle, Executive Head Chef at Chez Panisse), a country house hotel, books and television shows.  In addition (I didn’t know this till I read the back cover of the book) Darina founded the first Farmers’ Market in Ireland. So – an energetic, hugely enthusiastic, and committed campaigner for seasonal food – and a generous and talented teacher.

This book arises out of the popularity of courses on Forgotten Skills run at the school. It aims to reconnect a younger generation with the skills their parents and grandparents used to acquire, produce and preserve food. It’s a huge tome – 600 pages full of information on foraging, game, bird and animal rearing, vegetable gardening, running a dairy – butter, yoghurt and cheese-making, smoking (fish, shellfish, fowl and meat – even eggs!), baking, and preserving (jam and chutneys, cordials, drying, liqueurs). While many of the recipes are traditional, there is a modern feel to the book, partly I think because tastes are changing to simpler techniques and making the most of seasonal produce, and partly because Darina’s recipes include the use of traditional techniques using non traditional...