This week on The Main Course, Patrick is joined by "The Julia Child of Ireland", Darina Allen. Darina is an award-winning author and runs the world-renowned cookery school at Ballymaloe in County Cork, Ireland, which she founded with her husband in 1983. Tune in to learn more about the 12-week courses she offers at the school and why the first thing she teaches students before working in a kitchen is composting and seed sowing. Find out why nothing compares to Irish butter and hear Darina tell the fascinating story of her family history. Learn more about Darina, the Ballymaloe school and more here. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

"You don't have to go out of your way [to cook good food], just look at what's in your garden. You can make a great meal with just potatoes and cabbage. Take good ingredients, and it's so easy to make it taste good. If you start with mass-produced food, then you have to be a magician."

"The first thing we show our students how to do is sow a seed. It's an important lesson, because they suddenly realize how long it takes something to grow. It teaches them to have a respect for the food."

"In Ireland we can grow grass like nowhere else in the world because of our climate. The quality of our butter is fantastic because of the grass feeding of the animals."

"There is a perception that farmers markets are more expensive. Look how much depends on the food we eat. We have to remind ourselves that our food should be our medicine, instead of buying bottles of pills. It doesn't have to be expensive, but you have to be able to cook."

--Darina Allen on The Main Course