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"His creative, imaginative cuisine has its roots in logic commonsense, craft skills of the highest order, and a focus on raw materials of the finest qualities...."

Herby Delights

As a chef herbs contribute hugely to my enjoyment of food. We grow all of our own at Dunbrody House and use them to add scent, colour and flavour to almost every dish that the kitchen produces. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without them. Tomato salad without basil would be a travesty. Gravadlax depends on dill for almost all of its flavour and a potato salad without a good smattering of chives would be a very boring dish indeed. The flavour of the herb comes from the essential oils that are stored in the leaves, stems and flowers, which are released as the leaf is cut or torn or through heat. It illustrate this pick a leaf of basil, sage or tarragon and then crush it between your fingers and notice how much more pungent and powerful the smell is.

easy to grow from seed, or by dividing large clumps. Onion and garlic flavours also available. Cut to ground level after flowers fade to encourage new shoots. Use in dressings, as a garnish or chop into summer salads. It is essential in a potato salad and can be used in all egg dishes or to flavour a butter for barbecuing.

pungent leaves and flowers. Perennial; grow in well-drained soil in sun. Harvest at its peak and hang small bunches in a warm, dry place. Store in labelled screw-topped jars in a dark cupboard and use in homemade tomato sauces or to flavour tomato pulp for pizzas. It also makes a good addition to a marinade, particularly a fish one.

peppermint, ginger, apple, pineapple and any other flavours available. Grown in pots or borders. Perennial. Toss through new potatoes or peas and serve with roast lamb. It is also wonderful in summer drinks and fruit salads or make a simple fresh mint ice cream and serve with your favourite summer berries.

spicy flavour. Grow outdoors, not in pots. Annual. This old-fashioned salad herb is now enjoying a great revival and is essential in s herb garden. Of course it makes an excellent simple salad or can be quickly cooked in a little olive oil. In Italy it is often served with carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with Parmesan shavings and a dribble of olive oil but would be equally good with slices of smoked salmon.

delicate aniseed flavour which goes well with chicken. Perennial. Considered by the French as one of the most important herbs in the kitchen it is an essential ingredient for sauce béarnaise. A few sprigs in a pot roasted chicken always goes down well or infuse in vinegar and make a vinaigrette to serve with some fish and a light green salad.

this low growing shrubby herb does well in most gardens or in pots. It has an intensely aromatic flavour, which is prefect to use in slow cooked dishes, such as casseroles. Thyme is one of the ingredients of a bouquet garni together with parsley and bay and is, without doubt, one of the most important and widely used herbs in the kitchen. A couple of sprigs of lemon thyme works well tucked into the belly of a whole salmon or trout.

There are two kinds of parsley widely available, curled parsley and the continental flat-leafed parsley. Both have a wonderful vivid green colour and although the continental variety have a more pronounced flavour they can be used interchangeably in almost any savoury recipe, making it the most used herb in my kitchen. Finely chop with garlic and mix with butter to top mussels, favour grilled meat or fish or simply to mix into vegetables.