In late October this year,  CAIS, the Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers Association,  honoured one of the greats of Irish cheesemaking, in a gala dinner and award ceremony at Ballymaloe Country House. Veronica Steele, the creator of Milleens cheese, was lauded with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Cheese Awards 2015. No finer woman to deserve it. Veronica is credited with being the maker of Ireland’s first-ever farmhouse cheese. It is she they all look up to for inspiration and expertise. Veronica Steele is THE name among names.

As autumn sets in, there’s deffo a shortening of the days as the sun goes down earlier in a cascade of vibrant scarlets. Each morning, lawns and fields are covered in a heavy, glistening dew. Leaves are already turning to burnished bronze and gold as the birds feast heartily on haws and berries leading the hawthorn and elder. The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is living up to its name. We, humans, are starting to feel the nip in the air as dusk falls. The kids are back to school and routine is taking its toll on family life. We’re in need of some comfort food. What we want on our plates is colour and texture that echoes the hues of the season. We want tastes that tantalise our taste buds. We crave that homespun satisfaction of a nurturing meal that warms us from the inside out.