Ballymaloe Shop and Café

Café and Craft Shop

If you’re a serious cook, you’ll always find a gadget or two here that won’t be seen anywhere else. Wendy searches out the unusual for an army of food lovers that come through the doors here every year. Last time we visited, we found an irreplaceable garlic press that also stones olives or cherries – a simple French affair that does the job perfectly. And it was only a fiver! In its time, it de-stoned many a cherry and crushed countless garlic cloves - and it’s still going strong. You can expect to find treasures like this all the time at the Ballymaloe Shop, especially since Wendy has been steeped in the art of good cooking since she was a little girl. 

The shop is located right next to the house, in what was originally the pig house when Wendy was a girl, and then stables. Thick stone walls were knocked through to create window and door openings, but apart from that, the rustic character of the building still remains. It stands firm in it’s solidity, it’s time honoured stone structure creating that cosy comforting feel only found in old buildings which have their own story to tell. These days, every nook and cranny is crammed a wealth of goodies, from kitchen equipment like whisks and ladles, to cake tins in all shapes and sizes, pretty tea towels and pinnies, quirky cookie cutters, rolling pins, trays, egg cups, mugs and the likes, to full collections of ware from top Irish potters, a stack of cookery books which naturally includes several from the Allen dynasty, fine linen tablecloths and napkins, rugs, throws, and a select range of  Irish designer clothing and knitwear.

Ten years ago, the house’s wine store which was once located at the back of the shop, was moved to make way for a simple café set up. Since then, The Café at the Back of the Shop, as it’s now known, as become as iconic as the house itself. At busy times, you can’t fail to hear the chatter and the clatter of cutlery as you browse the shop floor.  It’s a noise so tempting you can’t resist taking a peek round the door to see what’s going on. And you’ll find the place full to bursting with dedicated lovers of homemade food created from local produce. At busy times there may be a queue for tables.  Because of limited table space – the café operates a no booking policy, but the staff will keep customers informed as to how long the waiting time is. There also is an opportunity to browse the grounds, returning when a table will be free. It’s an efficient, friendly and considerate system which meets the challenge of accommodating so many visitors during the height of the season and at weekends – and extremely rarely is anyone disappointed. 

In keeping with the informal café atmosphere here, the menu is very simple indeed, written on the blackboard daily according to what’s available. Ballymaloe trained Café Head Chef Alison Henderson is a pure perfectionist, who focuses on the best ingredients which are simply treated, ‘so they speak for themselves’. She’s also a dab hand at the baking too. When we visited recently, she’d made the cutest cupcakes with frosty white icing, decorated with crystallised palest yellow fresh primrose blooms gathered from the hedgerows near the house - some of the first flowers of the season to celebrate the first official day of spring on St Brigid’s Day. Cupcakes are a bit of a favourite with Alison – in summer they could be decorated with wild alpine strawberries or crystallised petals from the pink Sweet Ballymaloe rose named especially for Myrtle. Blackberries and rosemary become the adornments as autumn draws in. At Christmas, they get a bit of a holiday since customers go mad for the home made mince pies! Seasonal specialities like Christmas cakes and puddings and Easter goodies are also on offer here.  Always on the menu are a basket of light and feathery ‘Mrs Thompson’s’ fresh scones, baked each morning by Alison and named after the elderly lady neighbour who gave the recipe in her native Belfast. These come with butter and homemade jam which make a lovely mid morning treat with a cup of tea or coffee. The open serving area at the rear of the café has a counter laden with more irresistible goodies, which change according to season. They could include an aromatic and glossy Tunisian Orange Cake – a divine creation soaked in orange juice, or Myrtle Allen’s original recipe Irish Apple Tart, a rustic version served with cream, and the gorgeous Baked Cheesecake, another recipe Alison learned from home. There’s gluten free chocolate tart and teeny chocolate macaroons sandwiched together with chocolate cream. Many others feature, according to season. This is Irish country baking at its absolute best.

At lunchtimes, the café excels in home made seasonal soups and a small range of hot sandwiches, tarts and tortillas with salad. Soups are gluten free, made with whatever vegetables are available in season. Much of the garden produce here comes from the house garden or Ballymaloe Cookery School, so it’s fresh as fresh can be.  Soups come with home made brown soda bread made with Cork’s Macroom flour. Find warming Carrot and Parsnip or a hearty Butterbean and Chorizo from artisan charcuterie maker Fingal Ferguson among the choices. The substantial open sandwiches include West Cork’s Rosscarbery Recipes crispy bacon, Frank Hederman’s Smoked Mackerel, Shanagarry Smoked Salmon and Hot Reuben – a New York deli style hot sandwich with Spiced Beef from O’ Flynn’s butchers in Cork city, Comte cheese and Sauerkraut. Another version with cheese and charcuterie from Gubbeen Smokehouse in West Cork is sometimes on the menu.  There’s always a choice of a couple of mains too, which could be a warm quiche or tortilla, and these change daily at weekends and in the height of the season.  All mains come with a dressed selection of freshly picked salad leaves.  In the summer time why not try the speciality ‘Fishy Fishy Midleton Market Plate’ with organic smoked salmon, Hederman’s Smoked Mussels and Smoked Mackerel Pate, with organic salad leaves and toast. Children are looked after very well, with simple versions of the grown up stuff –  like Rosscarbery bacon or Cheddar cheese sarnies,  made with Tim O’s Mature Cheddar from nearby Garryvoe. And they all love the home made chocolate brownies.

To accompany all the lovely baking or a quick lunch, grab a cup of coffee from Fermoy based Badger and Dodo artisan coffee roasters, a selection of teas including Cork’s famous Barry’s Tea or the Ballymaloe Afternoon Blend, Hot Chocolate, home made lemonade, Ballymaloe Elderflower Cordial, The Apple Farm’s Sparkling Irish Apple Juice, and Crinaughton Cox’s Apple Juice, which is mulled in winter. Also available are quarter bottles of red and white wine – sourced specially from Spain by Wendy’s son Sasha Whelan. Or you can enjoy a pint of Cork’s Murphy’s stout or a glass of cooling Budwar lager. We think lunch here is really good value – considering the calibre of the cooking and the magnificent location.  A visit extends to more than just eating. The grounds are there to be strolled, and the food history of the house is there for soaking up and enjoying. Along with all the other lovely bits and pieces, the shop also has a small chill cabinet which stocks much of the produce used here, including Gubbeen Cheese and charcuterie, Hederman’s smoked fish products, Shanagarry Smoked Salmon and other items. We know you won’t be able to resist a bit of gourmet retail therapy after all!

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Contact Details

To Contact a Member Directly, please click on the email or website below

Ballymaloe
Shannagarry
Midleton
Co Cork
+353 (0)21 4652032
Email: ballymaloeshop@eircom.net
Web: www.ballymaloeshop.ie

 

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