A Day in the Life with Kilkenny's Queen of Cooking - Anne Neary

Anne Neary, Kilkenny’s Queen of cooking first opened Ryeland House Cookery School 32 years ago in Kilkenny to provide cooking classes.

The house itself is a country farmhouse built in 1845, it has been the home of the Neary family for over four generations and is located approximately five miles outside the historic city of Kilkenny at Cuffesgrange.

Pat & Anne Neary

Anne is married to Pat Neary for 52 years, they have three children and eight grandchildren.

Anne is a woman of many talents and in addition to running the Ryeland House Cookery School she is now a published author. She provides exclusive outdoor catering. She is also one of the founding members of our famous food festival – Savour Kilkenny. She also presents a cookery slot live on air on KCLR 96FM.

When it comes to food the ethos of Anne and the Ryeland House Cookery School has always been one of using locally sourced, great quality ingredients. Much of the food used at Ryeland House is grown on their home farm, their neighbours’ farms or is produced locally by skilled artisan food makers. Some call Ryeland House the Ballymaloe of Kilkenny.

Anne has recently built a new cookery school on the farm in her new home, called The Lodge at Ryelands, where she is offering private bespoke classes. The Lodge will host a special November class with Anne's favourite food - fish, with fishmonger Liam Burke from Waterford. 

Selection of fish from fishmonger Liam Burke

At the ripe age of 74, there is no stopping Anne Neary, as I was soon to find out…

What’s your secret, what keeps you young at heart?

I think it’s simply because I love life and I love meeting people. I love the conversation and the chat, and I think you can be as old as you want or as young as you want. Some days I think I’m 40 and other days I think I’m a 100!

People ask me what age I am, and I have no problem telling them. Sure, you only have to look at the wrinkles on my face to know! I think the secret is being busy and working on several jobs.

Sure, look at this week, it was most unusual. On Monday and Tuesday, I gave private one to one class. On Wednesday I got my nails done as I’m going to America next week, then to a funeral and back to play cards that night. On Thursday I did the radio, went to the second part of the funeral and that night we had the most amazing sustainable meal in Butler Gallery, hosted by the artist Deirdre O’Malley and cooked by Chef Clare-Ann O’Brien.

I heard about that extraordinary event in Butler Gallery and sustainability in farming was the hot topic.

The who’s who of the food industry attended the event. From Darina Allen, to farmers, people in the food business, to people with masters and state and PhDs in the agricultural industry.

They are all talking about sustainability and how it will be in 100 years’ time. Each course prompted them to talk about it, i.e., whether it was juicing or producing purple potatoes or organic lamb, or seaweed and charcoal butter or coffee made from dandelions.  

What I found the most unusual, is that they said we only have 100 more seasons to cook to. I know sustainability is the hot topic now, and I know farming communities are trying to cut back and do everything that they can, but it must be done at a certain rate.

There’s no use saying to the farmer with 200 cattle that he needs to sell them in the morning. This farmer is set up for 200 cattle and he has built buildings for them, which he is trying to pay the banks for.

When we went to Ryelands in 1984 organic farming wasn't ‘in’ at the time, it was a taboo, but I was very much leaning towards organic farming. People used to say to me ‘what are you talking about? All you're doing is growing thistles and weeds outside in the field. But you are not, you are actually saving the planet.

Unfortunately, we never got to do organic farming, had it been 10 years later I would have probably dug into it. Now it's essential.

You came from a wonderful background of food and always talk warmly about growing up by the coast.  

I’m originally from the coast in Wexford, as our good friend Edward Hayden says, ‘I'm Oreo from the sea!’. When you take the ferry crossing from Passage East to Ballyhack, you arrive in my home which faces Hook Head.

A lot of my family are fishermen and we loved fish, fresh fish every day. We lived on black sole and crab crawls, because they would be odd sizes which the fisherman couldn’t use, so they would leave in a bucket for us on their way home on the weekends. All the neighbours would get them.

My grandmother lived in the next inlet. I spent my summers with her, and it was a wonderful childhood, waking up in the morning to bring in the cows in your bare feet with the dew on the grass and collecting brekines and periwinkles all day. I never remember it raining, it did of course but I never remember it!

My first love of cooking was from my other granny, her father was a French man. That’s where it comes from down the line. He was a Hodnan who came from North Cambria in France.

My grandmother was fantastic at making a dinner out of nothing. She made choux pastry, when people didn’t know what choux pastry was. I came from a wonderful background of food. All my cousins are fantastic cooks, and it all comes from her.

Tell me about your journey to the food industry?

I did a secretary course when I left school. My father wanted me to work in the County Council where I would have a permanent job and a pension. I refused; I was only 18 but I knew I wanted to cook. My father said it was out of the question.

In the meantime, Ranks the film crowd had a training programme for hotel management in the ‘60s. So, I got in that way, but once I was in the kitchen, I didn’t leave it. My father wasn’t one bit delighted, unfortunately he died when I was 21, and he never got to see what I did with my career.

Roll on, I got married to Pat and we moved to Kilkenny in 1984. Tommy Duggan of the Monster House asked me to help out on the Estee Lauder counter for the Christmas season. I went in to give them a hand in 1988 and I didn’t leave 1993! I just did two days a week and loved it.

Then in 1991 my uncle was home visiting from England and said to me, ‘I don’t understand why you don’t teach people how to cook. You are brilliant in what you do, and you can transfer it easily onto others. When I come home this time next year, I want you to open a cookery school’.

Eight friends of mine came to my first class and the rest is history!

Savour Kilkenny is only around the corner. From the very first Savour meeting many years ago, did you think it would grow so successfully?

Noel McCarron from Café Sol asked me to come on board for a food festival. I said yes straight away.

We were sitting in the Hibernian Hotel for our first meeting and when they asked me what my vision was. I remember looking out the window and distinctly saying how someday I’d love to see the parade full of food tents and cooking demos.

There were five original board members – Olivia Goodwillie, Kayrin Connery from Fleva, Rhoda Nolan from Rosquil Guest House, the late Paddy Friel from OPW, and me. We had no money, so we just begged, and borrowed!

My husband Pat used to go around with the gas cooker and the cylinder of gas for the cooking demos. The very first year was in Kieran’s Street, then it was around the town in different spots. We didn’t have the parade until the fifth year.

I stayed on the Savour Board for six years. When Marian Flannery came along 11 years ago as Festival Director, it turned into what it is today with the current wonderful board members. Sixteen years later, I cannot believe how incredible it has turned out.

Don’t miss Anne Neary & Edward Hayden on the Stage Savour this October bank holiday www.savourkilkenny.com

For Ryeland Cookery School Christmas cookery classes visit www.ryelandhousecookery.com