Why a Booktrail?
2000s, 1969: “ You never forget where you first ate something memorable”
The Taste of Summer
What you need to know before your trail
Strawberries for breakfast anyone?
If you visit the rambling castle of Dromquinna in Kenmare Ireland, this is just one of the items on the menu. For every summer, it’s the setting for a TV cookery show with Diana at its head chef. this year it’s the “Ireland’s best Chef” competition and all baking gloves are off. Competition for cupcakes and more.But Diana is hoping that the added publicity will help keep up the cost of running the castle nowadays.
Darcy is a food blogger, returning home to help out her mum and gets more than involved in not just the TV show but also with someone she really thought she’d seen the last of. Connor is the bad boy of the restaurant world, but he knows just how to stir her up and sprinkle in a dash of hidden ingredients when no one is looking
Meanwhile, a story starts brewing in 1960s London which will soon come bubbling to the surface….
Locations
Reset- Ireland (Republic of)
- A: County Kerry - Kenmare - Stone Circle
- B: County Kerry - Kenmare - Dromquinna Manor
Travel Guide
Kenmare, Ireland
“They rounded the curve of the driveway and the castle stood before them, the grounds falling away to where the sky met the water, a shimmering land of gold and green and blue, fringed with pastel coloured mountains”
Even the smoke ‘drifted leisurely’ in this place. A quiet nook and stunning landscape tucked away in a castle in ireland where there are always strawberries for breakfast. And where a TV show to find Ireland’s best chef is heating up in the kitchen in more ways than one.
Castle Dromquinna is fictional but there is a manor where you can stay just down the road. Oh and the food in the novel! You’ll be wandering in the village for real to find some cupcakes of your very own
The food is something else you never forget where you first ate something memorable. France to me is smoked duck and honeycomb, spain is paella, Singapore is hainan chichken and tiger beer. Japan is noodles and the Middle East is moutabal and baba ganoush”
Well isn’t this novel just a feast for all the senses! A story of several layers which starts like the Mary Berry event of the year with a table full of ingredients, squabbling chefs and a whole host of memories of returning to your childhood home.
Elizabeth David, London
This was a light read but when we met Colleen in 1960s London, I felt a tug of concern for her. Her story developed well and I felt the contrast between the two stories well. It was intriguing as well as mouthwatering and so the two together kept me reading.
There’s also a lovely theme of an homage to Elizabeth David -Britain’s first lady of food. Her legacy lives on in this story, her love of home baking and the way she spread that enthusiasm to ordinary women. A veritable Mary Berry of her day.
Booktrailer Review
Clare: @thebooktrailer
I ate this story up. It was a cream cake – several layers each of them baked to perfection as the next with a few hidden fruity surprises along the way.
The food takes centre stage and I can only imagine the fun the author had researching this lot! Even the castle in the story is crumbling… not in the same good way as a cake granted but the overall image of Kenmare and the bunting signaling the start of the TV cookery show is just the sumptuous.
Both stories worked well for me and I was very curious to see where the one set in 1969 would lead. Poor Colleen! But the world of Elizabeth David was just wonderful and it was a great world to explore.
A lovely read to eat with a bowl of strawberries in the summer sun.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Taste of Summer
Author Guide: Kate Lord Brown Destination: Kenmare, London Departure Time: 1969, 2000s
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