Sarah Hughes, Howth Castle Cookery School
Sarah Hughes, Howth Castle Cookery School
It’s no surprise that Sarah Hughes found her way to running a cookery school, given that by her own admission she ‘inhales cookery books’. She’s taken the scenic route workwise, but there’s no doubt that she’s found her vocation in food and especially in seafood cookery.
The seeds were sown early, on annual family holidays every year in Kerry where they stayed in a seaside mobile home and revelled in the everything to do with the ocean. Sarah fondly recalls long evenings spent mackerel fishing, going out on small boats and fishing for bass off the beach. Not only did she learn to catch fish but also to fillet quickly and accurately, whipping the sides of mackerel like an expert. That love for the sea and fish has stayed with her for life.
Both her mother and grandmother were excellent cooks teaching the young Sarah to make everything from scratch. A summer exchange in France was transformational for her as she learned a new approach to food and new flavours too – like searing chicken livers with hazelnut and thyme. The formality of the dining table made a big impression too and the care taken with table presentation. Sarah was a sponge, absorbing it all.
She waitressed through college in Limerick, loving the buzz in the kitchen and on the floor, learning as she worked. As an Arts graduate with French and Spanish, her first real job was interpreting and translating in a law-based situation where travel was part of the job. This led to a more senior position in a big five firm which was financially rewarding, but not what her soul craved. Throwing caution to the wind after a few years she gave it all up and enrolled in the iconic 12 week course in Ballymaloe. To say she loved it would be an understatement.
Working in an organic café in Wicklow where she and her husband Colin lived, let her develop her skills further. Following the footsteps of icons like Alice Waters, Skye Gyngell, Nigel Slater and Diana Henry, Sarah lived the truth that you can cook with respect and learn with respect using local seasonal ingredients and minimising waste. This was followed by several years in high class private dining, again embracing those principles.
Rearing a young family wasn’t conducive to working irregular hours as a cook so Sarah dipped her toe into the teaching arena, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She was invited to join the team at Howth Cookery School 12 years ago and has been an integral part of growing it to the success it is now.
Sarah loves the quietness of cooking and baking which she finds accesses all the senses and grounds her, especially as her work increasingly consists of management and planning. She is stepping back a bit from teaching, doing more recipe research and tracking trends and changes.
Unsurprisingly her obsession with fish and seafood continues unabated and she still loves to share her skills with students. With David Doyle a Howth-based fisherman, she runs Feast From the Sea, a popular catch and cook class. She even has her own lobster pots!
