I must confess that one aspect of Irish life that I truly love is the fact that Irish people, in general, have a complete disregard for celebrities. Many world-famous celebrities choose to spend their holiday time in Ireland because nobody bothers them. They can go out, like a regular person and enjoy themselves. It is like if Irish people go out of their way to ignore celebrity status... such a cool thing. Some of that 'coolness' has rubbed off and I also do the cool thing... I have never understood how people can go into hysterics at the sight of another human being. Don't take me wrong, I'd happily and discreetly stare at George Clooney on the street, but I would never dream of interrupting a dinner or anything to ask for an autograph. I am, after all these years, a little Irish too, so I must remain cool. Over the past weekend, all that 'coolness' went to hell and I was transformed into a weak-kneed, teary eye, (inner) screamer, starstruck fan, for the most unlikely of characters. I completely lost my coolness when I finally met my ultimate food hero, the most extraordinary woman that is Diana Kennedy at the Ballymaloe Literary Festival 2014.

I have been an admirer of Doña Diana for over a decade. I have all her books, I've read every magazine, every internet article and, most importantly, I have used her books many, many times. They are an incredible source of knowledge, they can be used as inspiration, as reference and as a learning tool. A British citizen by birth, Diana Kennedy was born with far too much spirit for a woman of her time. She left Britain in 1953 for Canada because, in her own words, "somebody said to me - why don't you go to Canada?- and as you know, when somebody says -why don't you- I do!".