Our Cookery School is situated in the beautifully restored Georgian kitchen at Howth Castle, an historic Irish house located on the north side of Dublin Bay, along Ireland’s picturesque coastline. At the Kitchen in the Castle our aim is to reconnect you with food. We want to nurture your creativity, give you a good grounding in the basics and the confidence to cook delicious food, at any time.

Your tutors at the Kitchen in the Castle are;

Christine St Lawrence	Edwina St Lawrence
Hazel Mc Fadden	Liberty Finnegan

Christine St Lawrence

French by birth but brought up in Rome, Christine says she has always been driven by the curse of “overdeveloped taste buds”. Her bi-national upbringing gave Christine a life-affirming passion for food and exposed her, from a very young age, to the traditions of both French and Italian cooking.

Her mother is also a very good cook, making the traditional French dishes which have been transmitted from mother to daughter for generations. Growing up in Rome, Christine spent much of her time in her family kitchen, watching, talking to and cooking with the local cooks her Mother employed.

When she came to Ireland to live in Howth Castle, her husbands’ family home, she noticed that although Irish people had a keen interest in French and Italian cuisine, their knowledge was largely confined to the limited number of generic dishes which restaurants chose to serve. This gave Christine the wish to transmit her knowledge of the two great food cultures.

She strongly believes that the essence of Italian and French cooking is to be found in the home kitchen. She wants to show what the French or Italian house wife would put on her table everyday. Christine is passionate about imparting her knowledge about food to, and instilling confidence in The Kitchen in the Castle’s clients, from beginners to more advanced cooks.

Edwina spent much of her childhood in the warmth of the kitchens of Howth Castle under the feet of her Mother and Grandmother’s cooks. When one of these formidable cooks retired, Edwina then aged 15 began to cook in earnest and so started a life long love for food and cooking.

Her technical skills and food knowledge were gained at the Cordon Bleu School and after graduating she began her 25 year career in the restaurant business. In the early eighties she worked for Justin de Blank an influential figure of that time in London’s burgeoning food scene. A head cook by the age of 22, Edwina learnt her culinary skills alongside Nigel Slater, now a successful food writer, and developed her cooking style of producing simple delicious food made from quality ingredients.

Later in her career she joined Digby Trout Restaurants where she held both Senior Management and Development Chef Roles, and built successful catering businesses in many of London’s most prestigious landmarks including the British Museum, the National Gallery and Kensington Palace.

Edwina thoroughly enjoys sharing both the charm of the Castle’s kitchens and the joys of cooking great food with The Kitchen in The Castle’s clients and particularly loves teaching younger people and beginners about food.

Hazel Mc Fadden

Brought up in Co. Waterford, Hazel's passion for food was formed on her family's dairy farm in the shadows of the Comeragh mountains. Influenced very early on by Rose Carrarini, co-founder of the much-imitated restaurant/food store Villandry in London, Hazel’s apprenticeship in Rose’s authentic French kitchen was a privileged starting point.

A first-class graduate of the formidable BA in Culinary Arts from ITT Dublin, Hazel's of cooking was nurtured while training at the renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co Cork.

Steered by a strong belief that the basic skills of cooking and an appreciation of good food should be accessible to everyone, Hazel's enthusiasm for connecting people through food makes her a fitting addition to The Kitchen in the Castle tutor team. A dedicated champion of quality teaching, Hazel's amiable personality, sense of humour and eternal patience make for a very happy, calm and entertaining atmosphere.

As a passionate believer in delivering only the best, Hazel is an active member of Euro-Toques-'An European/Irish Organisation of chefs who support the winning philosophy of buying quality, fresh, local and seasonal ingredients.’ Prior to joining The Kitchen in the Castle team, Hazel was Head Tutor at the Cooks Academy and also worked as a Culinary Skills Instructor with Failte Ireland.

Liberty Finnegan

Liberty Finnegan is a professional chef, published food writer and stylist who has worked with food on T.V. Liberty trained in Tennessee, at Walter's State Community College.

Her interest in food inspired her to travel around the world learning about the soul of different cultures through their food.

After graduating, she worked as a chef in the exclusive Martha's Vineyard. Liberty then travelled to South America to broaden her culinary education. Just recently she has finished a year working in New Zealand in various kitchens and has now come here to work in Ireland.

Her inspiration comes from the wide variety of ingredients she came across on her travels. She finds the challenge of cooking colourful and flavoursome dishes very exciting, and her enthusiasm in communicating her skills is contagious.