{"id":630507,"date":"2026-09-20T13:42:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630507\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T13:42:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:42:36","slug":"saturday-with-rachel-allen-i-kick-start-my-day-with-an-early-morning-swim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630507\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturday with Rachel Allen: I kick start my day with an early morning swim"},"content":{"rendered":"

I always say that I\u2019ll try to sleep in and then never seem to sleep past 6.30 or 7am. I love to have a cup of tea in bed while reading my book. I really enjoy reading crime novels, although, as I am soon to visit South Korea, I am currently reading We Do Not Part by Han Kang, a Korean writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024.<\/p>\n

08.30<\/p>\n

Most days I go for a swim. On a Saturday our swim might be a little bit later than midweek – around 8.30 or 9am. We have a bit of a crew. In the summer we\u2019ll have quite a long swim but in the winter it\u2019s more of a quick dip.<\/p>\n

We like to go to Ballynamona Beach here in Ballycotton Bay. I sound like such a bore but I find it bracing\u2026 it gets the dogs down to the beach for a run\u2026 someone might bring coffee\u2026 It kicks starts the day and helps me to be productive. If I start the day more lazily I find it can continue in that vein.<\/p>\n

09.30<\/p>\n

I might tidy around the house and organize some things\u2026 general pottering.<\/p>\n

12:30<\/p>\n

If I have to pick up something in Cork city we might have a bite of lunch in Isaacs Restaurant. We might meet up with friends in the city while also planning our next meal.<\/p>\n

14.00<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m at home in the afternoon I might meet a friend at Careswood Garden Center and Cafe. My poor pots have been slightly neglected this summer as I have been quite busy working at various food festivals and in the Ballymaloe Cookery School. I always say that I\u2019ll have a little siesta on a Saturday afternoon but then I never do \u2013 it\u2019s like I\u2019m afraid I might miss something.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m working at a festival my day will look quite different. I would have left the house earlier in the day to get on the road. For instance during the summer I was cooking at a food festival in Belfast and in Laois so I would have got a swim in before packing two or three crates in the boot of the car, driving to the festival and then driving back home that night.<\/p>\n

The food that I love is really simple food cooked well. It\u2019s all about the produce. I never get tired of seeing people making their first loaf of bread or baking their first cake, filling a fish or boning a leg of lamb \u2014 I think these skills are so important to pass on. I am so inspired by Darina Allen and Rory O\u2019Connell at the cookery school. It\u2019s a very exciting place to work, I love teaching people how to cook, and I never get bored of it.<\/p>\n

17:00<\/p>\n

If we are going out for dinner we might go for a drink in McGrath\u2019s in Ballycotton beforehand. We often go to dinner in friends\u2019 houses or they will come to us. It\u2019s one of my favorite ways to spend time with people \u2014 it\u2019s so lovely when people go to the effort to cook for each other.<\/p>\n

So many of my friends are involved in the food business in some way. For example, I\u2019ve known Kate O\u2019Donnell and her brother Ed for years. Our crisp collaboration was a very nice, organic one because they\u2019ve been coming to Ballymaloe festivals for years with their products. Kate has always found it amusing how much I appreciate a great crisp so collaborating on these products was a natural progression. If I\u2019m cooking for people I will often source my vegetables and herbs at the shop at the cookery school. Iago in Cork sells delicious charcuterie and cheese. Isaac, my husband, will often go to the farmer\u2019s market in Middleton while I\u2019m having my morning swim and will come back with some delicious smoked fish from Frank Hederman.<\/p>\n

20.00<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m not visiting a friend or having guests over on a Saturday night, I might be having something delicious to eat while watching TV. I love something like a Harlan Coben series. I probably should watch something lighthearted, sweet and romantic, but no, they don\u2019t really float my boat.<\/p>\n

23:00<\/p>\n

I have definitely got better at trying to look after my skin. I really love to use Irish skincare products. I love Mervue, Kinvara and GROUND Wellbeing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say I\u2019m not a night owl but if I\u2019m out with friends I am known to stay out late. During the week however I\u2019m in bed by 10pm every night \u2014 I couldn\u2019t bear to be tired at work.<\/p>\n

\"ODonnells'ODonnells’ new Rachel Allen Range
\n O\u2019Donnells recently announced a partnership with renowned chef, bestselling author and broadcaster Rachel Allen. Two brand-new limited-edition crisp flavors \u2013 Sea Salt & Truffle and Sunday Roast \u2013 bring together O\u2019Donnells\u2019 passion for premium ingredients and Rachel\u2019s love of quality, flavour-led cooking inspired by comforting family meals and elevated everyday flavours. Available nationwide for a limited time only.<\/p>\n

odonnellscrisps.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I always say that I\u2019ll try to sleep in and then never seem to sleep past 6.30 or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[86271,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-630507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-my-saturday","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}