The geographical distance between Blarney, Co Cork and Broadspear Farm in Hampshire is about 640km , but the town where Clodagh McKenna grew up and the 300-year-old house that she currently lives in on the grounds of Highclere Park – home to Highclere Castle, made famous by Downton Abbey – may as well be worlds apart.
“A farm in the countryside” is how the Cork-born chef describes Broadspear, her home for the past eight years and where she lives most of the time with husband Harry Herbert, whose family own the estate (and whose late father, the seventh Earl of Carnarvon Lord “Porchey” Porchester, was Queen Elizabeth II’s racing manager). If you follow McKenna on social media, however, you’ll be well aware how that description undersells the place just a tad.
Broadspear, with its accompanying 40-hectare sustainable farm, a plethora of animals, beehives and beautiful gardens, is the epitome of a country idyll.
Clodagh wears earrings by Kiki McDonough, £9,500, and dress by Taller Marmo, €2,100, (available at Net-A-Porter) . Harry wears suit by Hunter Treacy (price on request), bow tie by Reiss, €75, shirt by TM Lewin, €88. Photograph: Alex Hutchinson
“The thing that I love most about it is that we’ve created it all,” says McKenna. “When we moved in, it was a completely forgotten part of the park – there wasn’t even a rose growing and it hadn’t been really cared for for over a hundred years.
“It’s kind of hard to believe when you look at it now, but we put in so much energy and time every single weekend, every evening. Really, it was just the two of us working on the whole place and teaching ourselves how to look after animals. But there’s nothing in the world that gives me more pleasure. It takes real commitment, but it’s wonderful if that’s what you want from your life.”
She and Harry met through mutual friends in 2017 at a Fortnum and Mason lunch in London, and married in the church on Highclere Estate in 2021.
Married life is “really good” and McKenna is “really very, very happy” at Broadspear, but she still comes back once a month to Cork to visit her Irish family, whom she remains very close to, and where she began her training at the esteemed Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Clodagh wears Gilded Eternity mini dress, €1,300, Taller Marmo. Photograph: Alex Hutchinson
And although she has become one of the best-known chefs on British and Irish television screens, thanks to regular stints on This Morning and Irish shows such as Clodagh’s Food Trails – as well appearances in the US on the likes of The Rachael Ray Show – she views television as an offshoot of her career as a chef, rather than the centrepoint.
She admits that she has been asked to go on reality shows like Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity… in the past, but her “decision has always been to just stick with food”.
“I think I’m good at not courting any extra attention in my life,” she confesses.
“I’m quite private in my personal life; I’m quite protective of my family and my friends. So I think you can go two ways. You can go to every opening and launch that there is, and be in every newspaper if you want to in the UK, but I just decided not to. Some people love it, but I just tread carefully.”
Clodagh wears dress by Magda Butrym, €1,595, (available at Net-A-Porter) and her own jewellery. Harry wears bow tie, €75, Reiss, scarf, £55 and shirt, €88, by TM Lewin, jacket and trousers by Hunter Treacy (price on request).
McKenna has gathered a long list of famous friends in England, including her best friend Imelda May, actor Richard E Grant and Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville.
She loves entertaining at Broadspear – she hosted her 50th birthday there, when waiters wandered the grounds with Irish oysters and trays of Guinness served fresh from their on-site pub The Cork Arms, built from fallen timber during Covid.
That was a rare occasion where she took the night off, but she is horrified by the idea of getting the caterers in to cook dinner for friends.
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“I don’t have the budget for caterers – I’m not in that league,” she laughs.
“But no, no; I’m a chef, and I cook, and I love entertaining. I love feeding my friends and my family, and it’s a big part of who I am. It’s how I show people that I love and I care for them.
“I do a big baking morning on a Saturday when people stay over, so there’s lots of lovely things for them to have. And I love making fresh pasta, because we’ve got really beautiful eggs from our hens, and I love making fruit pies because we’ve got loads of stone fruit at the moment.”
Clodagh wears earrings by Theo Fennell, shirt by Boden and skirt by Alice + Olivia, rings by Kiki McDonough
She does occasionally allow other people to cook for her. One of her favourite London haunts is The Devonshire, the gastropub co-owned by Sligo native Oisín Rogers, who “really looks after the Irish community” in London, she says.
“The food is amazing upstairs, and there’s really brilliant music sessions,” she adds. “If I’m in London on a Sunday, I’ll go over there for the music session and bring my bodhrán with me. It was Imelda May that introduced me to [the sessions] – she brought me along once and now I love it so much.”
McKenna and Herbert spent last Christmas in her native Cork with her family; this year will be spent at Broadspear, although she will ensure that some Cork traditions remain intact. “I always go over to Cork before or during Christmas, and I always bring back the spiced beef and smoked salmon,” she smiles.
“We get oysters delivered from Ireland for Christmas here, so it’s very much a melange of traditional English and also all those lovely Irish traditions that I love.”
When it comes to presents, however, she admits to not being the easiest person to please.
Clodagh wears top, £1,100, and skirt, £1,250, by Simone Rocha. Photograph: Alex Hutchinson
“Harry is really easy to buy for, because he’s a real gentleman, so he loves all the little trinkets; wine, wine openers, glasses, wallets, everything like that,” she says, smiling.
“I wish I was more like him, but I’m not a great receiver of gifts [because] I don’t need it. I would literally drive around in a car that was about to fall apart. I really don’t need a lot of clothes and I’ll always try to buy second-hand or vintage.” She grins. “You’ll never see me with a Hermès bag, ever.”
Nevertheless, McKenna’s chic personal style has been noted by many. “I really love the style of the 70s and the 80s, all those iconic actresses and musicians from that era,” she nods. “And I love how an outfit makes me feel – especially when I’ve got to go up in front of a big audience, or on television, or for photo shoots. I love the fun around pulling outfits together.”
One of her new year’s resolutions is to continue to build upon her Honey by Clodagh lifestyle brand, which was designed with hosting in mind. She baulks at the idea of ever opening a restaurant again, having closed the door to Clodagh’s Kitchen in 2016, but is looking into the possibility of a pop-up for Honey by Clodagh in Dublin in 2026.
Clodagh wears velvet pyjamas by We are 9pm, €375, exclusive to Brown Thomas. Photograph: Alex Hutchinson
The range was extended in the autumn to include items such as table linens, vases and a cast- iron casserole pot, and she speaks excitedly about launching her first collection of scented candles and diffusers with uncommon scents of Fig Tatin, Seville Orange and Vine Roasted Tomatoes.
And then there is her latest cookbook, Happy Cooking, which she wrote “for anyone that wants to cook, eat and live a better and happier life” and features more than 100 recipes “of all the dishes that I cook every week at home”, from “easy lunches” to “fast suppers”, and nourishing juices, soups and breads.
“And because life is all about balance,” she says, “I have a chapter on weekend cooking which is full of delicious slow cooks and puddings.”
Clodagh wears dress by Cobbler’s Lane, €495, earrings by Theo Fennell (price on request) and rings by Kiki McDonough, £2,250, shoes by Kurt Geiger, £199
It seems that McKenna’s own life is pretty balanced, as she throws herself into her fifth decade with aplomb.
“I really wouldn’t change anything,” she shrugs, smiling. “Y’know, my incredible mum always preached that we should dream big and do whatever we wanted.
“And she never judged me; she always supported me in everything. Even when I was doing the farmer’s markets and I had my little stall, she’d come down and help me with it.” She sighs happily, nodding again.
“So I’m glad that I listened to my mother and I dreamed big.”
Happy Cooking is out now; the Honey by Clodagh range is available online at honeybyclodagh.com
Dining and Cooking