THE sun didn't always shine during Rachel Allen's recent road trip along Ireland's stunning Atlantic coast, but the chef and writer insists that was all part of the charm.

''When the weather wasn't great, it was wild and dramatic and windy. We had a couple of boat trips that did more than clear out the cobwebs,'' says Allen, who spent a month journeying along the rugged western terrain from Ballymaloe in County Cork to the rugged headlands of Donegal.

She visited numerous foodie locations along the route - and each stop-off forms a chapter in her new book, Coast, which is packed full of recipes inspired by her 'culinary odyssey'.

Allen believes Ireland's gastronomic output in recent years has helped reverse the opinion that it houses a ''nation of potato and cabbage eaters''.

''Our produce is just the best in the world - when you think of our amazing seafood, our dairy, our meat, because of all our wonderful green grass and our grass-fed animals - it's just fantastic,'' she enthuses.

''I think it's wonderful now that so many more chefs have confidence in our produce. We're importing less all the time. It's wonderful seeing people going for local produce and really showcasing it wonderfully by doing simple things to it.''

Allen took what she learned on her road trip back to share with her pupils at Ballymaloe. The Dubliner was 18 when she enrolled in a course at the famous school and met now-husband Isaac (son of renowned chef Darina Allen).

''I love the teaching, and thankfully my mother-in-law Darina is wonderful at letting me go off and do this. I come back full of enthusiasm,'' she says.

The mum-of-three, whose children range in age from six to 15, admits that despite the long days and distances involved, her journey up the Atlantic coast was ''probably easier'' than her usual day-to-day work.

''Normally when I finish work, I have to come home and look after the children. On the trip we were staying in little hotels, guest houses or bed and breakfasts, so all I had to do was eat an evening meal and collapse into bed,'' she adds with a laugh.

Have Allen's kids picked up any of her kitchen prowess?

''Josh the eldest is good at catching fish. He'll bring the fish back, he knows how to cook it himself but I'm awful, I'm one of these mothers, like the typical Irish mum who'll say, 'Ah no, I'll do it','' she confesses.

''I need to get them to do more, because they're good actually.''

Coast: Recipes Inspired By Ireland's Wild Atlantic Coast by Rachel Allen is available now.

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