The Kitchen In The Castle

I love the fact that the owner still lives here, I always think there is something sad about these beautiful building’s lying empty.
We went for a team building day and I highly recommend it. The staff were lovely and kept the day moving along so we had fun. We made scones, iced cupcakes blindfolded and made (and drank of course) the perfect irish coffee’s.
They do cooking classes here too which will now be going on my list… If I ever stop eating in restaurants that is :)

Five stars for a first class experience!
I was in town with a girlfriend for the Rock-​n-​Roll Dublin Half Marathon and we wanted to take a cooking class to become more intimately acquainted with the local cuisine. We found this cooking school on-​line, and felt that the availability/​variety of classes, price point, and location would be worth the investment. We hopped onto the Green Line and traveled to the last stop (Howth) and walked 5 minutes from the train station to the Deerpark Golf & Spa, where the cookery classes were held.
The cooking school is located in a beautiful rustic castle in Howth. The class is ~2 hours long, followed by a sit down dinner with your classmates. There were 9 total participants and we made four fish courses (mackerel, cod, haddock, skate wing) and sides. We made several preparations which was a great way to learn different methods for preparing fish: pan fried, en papillote (steamed in own juices), and baked. Chef Eleanor was very knowledgeable, and patient; answering all of our questions while keeping the cooking service moving along. Everyone got a chance to participate in every component of cooking: from skinning the fish, cutting fresh herbs and peeling cucumbers for the relish, to dicing peppers, pounding herbs in the pestle/​mortar for the spice rub and putting the potatoes thru the ricer for the olive oil mash; it was all great fun!!!
When the cooking ended at 9, we sat down and feasted on the food we prepared; we killed several bottles of white and red wine, and our food was served with fresh bread and salad. The only downside was that Chef Eleanor wasn’t able to dine with us, but all in all, this was a wonderful experience and I would gladly come to another class; the olive oil mash recipe alone made it well worth the time :-)
Definitely worth a trip if you’re ever in the city!

Went here last night for a work team building cookery class. I would highly recommend anyone coming here to learn the basic skills of cooking or I believe they have courses specialising in cuisines aswell. On arrival we were welcomed with wine and some DELICIOUS finger food. We ate the beautiful food we prepared out in the courtyard and even got a tour of the lush herb garden in the beautiful surroundings! With the sun shining, I felt like I was in France.