All your foodie gossip

Maxine Hyde

‘Crisps, inside a cheese sandwich’

What did your mother make you? My mother [Yasmin Hyde, daughter of Myrtle and Ivan Allen] made delicious home-made dinners, despite the madness of starting Ballymaloe Relish with four kids under six.

What is the meal you will always remember? A trattoria in Genova that I stumbled upon during my Erasmus year in college.

What was your defining food experience? Working in Ballymaloe House as a teen taught me the standards that I try to bring to my job now.

What’s the first dish you ever cooked? Sponge cake. I knew the measurements off by heart.

What is your comfort food? Macaroni and cheese.

What is your hangover cure? A cheese toastie with Ballymaloe Jalapeno Relish.

What do you drink? Dingle Gin and Poacher’s Tonic.

If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be? Cheddar cheese; fillet steak; and crunchy Irish apples.

What is the most appetising smell in the world? Brown bread coming out of the oven.

You can go anywhere and eat anything with any person. Where, what and who? Island Cottage, Heir Island, fresh fish on the menu, with my boyfriend, Ross.

What’s your favourite restaurant in Ireland? Probably The Butcher Grill in Ranelagh, Dublin 6.

What’s your sweet treat? The gorgeous Glenilen Panna Cotta.

What is your guilty pleasure? O’Donnell’s Mature Irish Cheese and Red Onion crisps, sometimes inside a cheese sandwich!

What’s your signature dish? Home-made sausage rolls with free-range pork.

Are you careful about what you eat? I have a huge appetite, so I watch how much I eat.

Are there any foods you have had to cut out or cut down on that you miss? I have to cut down on crisps and French fries — I love them too much.

When you decide to eat healthily, what’s your regime? Vegetables and more vegetables.

What’s your perfect family meal? Mum is fairly talented when it comes to a roast.

Maxine Hyde works in sales and marketing in the family company, Ballymaloe Foods. She is supporting the launch of Ballymaloe Relish in 400 Woolworth Stores in Australia. See ballymaloefoods.ie