Clodagh McKenna has been on the cooking scene in Ireland for a very long time. Having completed the Ballymaloe Cookery School 12-week course in 2000, she went on to work in the kitchen at Ballymaloe House for three years where she honed her skills under the guidance of Myrtle Allen and Rory O’Connell. Around that time, she also dabbled with Irish Farmers Markets and this was the inspiration for her debut cookbook The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook (2009).
Since then her popularity has grown from strength to strength. As I have followed Clodagh McKenna through most of her career, I know that she has worked hard and still works hard. From running Clodagh’s Kitchen restaurant in Arnotts for some years, hosting her own cookery show on RTE (Clodagh’s Irish Food Trails), featuring a cookery segment on a US daytime talk show and now on ITV's This Morning, as well as writing food columns for various magazines and newspapers (in her spare time!), it is no wonder that she has become a household name.
And the list of career accolades goes on... with nine published cookery books and another one due for release in October this year (Clodagh’s Happy Cooking), she has without doubt become a prominent presence in the culinary world, both at home and abroad. Along with Rachel Allen and Anna Haugh, I can’t think of any other Irish female chef who has gained such celebrity in the last ten years.
Now living in the UK and married to Harry Herbert, Clodagh never forgets her Irish roots as she frequently mentions her home place Cork in magazine and TV interviews. With over 400K followers on Instagram, Clodagh posts include cooking, gardening and lifestyle tips that are always novel and informative. She promotes a lifestyle that is calm and rosy, filled with happy hens, sunny pastures and blooming flowers. But she is honest when it comes to health, ageing and everyday stresses & struggles, often promoting healthy foods, meditation & calming routines.
You can tell that Clodagh McKenna has always had a passion for food and people. She is a true Irish success story whose legacy will remain in our kitchens for many years to come.
And she is not slowing down any time soon as she is currently hosting cookery classes in her London home and has just launched a new table linen collection Honey by Clodagh.
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