Know your food

When the students arrive on the first morning for the beginning of the 12-week course at Ballymaloe, I introduce them to my "food heroes" – the gardeners and my farm manager. We walk through the gardens and farm and down to the greenhouses. I run my hands through the rich, fertile soil and remind them that all good food comes from the earth – if you don't have rich, fertile soil, you won't have good food or clean water. Many will have thought of food merely as something you pick up off a shelf in a supermarket, wrapped in plastic – I need to shock them into thinking about how food is produced and where it comes from.

For the next 12 weeks, as local farmers and artisan food producers deliver food to the school, I'll introduce them to the students so they meet the people who produce a lot of the food they cook with – this gives them a completely different perspective on food.

We give each student a lettuce to plant into the ground. They write their name on a lollipop stick and then watch their plant grow for the next 12 weeks – I know of no better way to give people a respect for food. Every chef and cook should have a garden – after all, all good food depends on the quality of the ingredients. Grab a packet of seeds today and get started. Enjoy!

New seasons rhubarb tart. Serves 8-12

Pastry: 225g (8 oz) butter; 55g (2 oz) caster sugar; 2 eggs (free-range and organic if possible); 350g (12 oz) flour

Filling: 680g (1 1/2lb) red rhubarb; 275-340g (10-12 oz) sugar approximately

Egg Wash: 1 beaten free-range organic egg with a little milk, to glaze. 1 x 23cm (9 inch) tin with 4cm (11/2 inch) sides

First make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer, add the eggs and beat for several minutes. Reduce the speed and add in the flour, little by little, to form a stiff dough. Flatten into a round, cover with cling film and chill for at least an hour. Otherwise just put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until just combined. Roll out half the pastry to about 3mm (0.1 inches) thick and line a round tin measuring 20.5 x 30.5cm (8 x 11.5 inches). Slice the rhubarb into 1 cm (22 inch) rounds, fill the tart and sprinkle with the sugar. Roll the remaining pastry, cover the rhubarb and seal the edges. Decorate with pastry leaves. Paint with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 until the tart is golden and the rhubarb is soft (45 minutes to 1 hour). Sprinkle lightly with caster sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.

?More Darina Allen runs the Ballymaloe Cookery School, Shanagarry, Co Cork. www.cookingisfun.ie