Myrtle Allen, called the "renowned matriarch of Modern Irish cuisine," "the leading light of modern-day Irish cooking," and "as important to her country's cuisine as Alice Waters was to America's." is an Irish Michelin star winning head chef and co-owner of the restaurant The Yeats Room of Ballymaloe House in Shanagarry, County Cork. Besides her cooking duties, she has also been a writer, hotelier and teacher. In 1943, Myrtle Hill married Ivan Allen, a vegetable grower, who was working at the farm Kinoith in Shanagarry. In 1947 the couple bought Ballymaloe House and the surrounding farm. Ivan managed the fruit- and vegetable farm and worked on Kinoith, while Myrtle took care of the children and the manor. Later, in 1958, Ivan Allen inherited Kinoith from Wilson Strangman, the deceased owner. With her husband a successful grower of fruit and vegetables, Myrtle had an abundance of fresh products in her kitchen. Under the guidance of her husband, an avid gourmet, she learned to cook by taking cooking courses at the School of Commerce and self-study. By 1962, she was cookery correspondent with the Irish Farmers Journal. 

January 1st, 1924 in Tivoli, Cork  /  Died:   Jun 13th, 2018 - pneumonia