Hazel Allen obituary: Gifted restaurateur who preferred to remain out of the limelight at Ballymaloe (2024)

Born October 16th, 1950

Died May 3rd, 2024

Hazel Allen, the hotelier and restaurateur whose involvement with Ballymaloe House spanned more than five decades has died, aged 73. With her mother-in-law, Myrtle Allen, and sister-in-law Darina Allen, the three women turned Ballymaloe into an award-winning hotel, restaurant and cookery school.

But while Myrtle and Darina became household names, Hazel preferred to remain behind the scenes. When restaurateur and food critic Nicholas Lander interviewed her as one of 20 restaurateurs profiled in his 2012 book The Art of the Restaurateur, he was surprised to learn that he was the first person to do so. “For the last 40 years Hazel’s priorities have been listening to her guests, rather than talking about herself,” he wrote.

She was the first restaurateur he thought of when planning the book. “While both Darina and [Myrtle] Allen have received justifiably extensive coverage for all they have achieved at Ballymaloe, it is always Hazel’s presence that I have felt pulling the strings,” he wrote.

Hazel Lalor was the eldest of three children born to Harry and Betty Lalor who ran a farm in Ballacolla, Co Laois. Her connection with Ballymaloe was forged at a young age as Myrtle Allen’s cookery column was the first page she would turn to every week when the Farmers Journal arrived.

Her original plan was to become an occupational therapist but when the college could not accept her for a year, she took her mother’s advice to keep herself busy and enrolled in a hotel management course at Cathal Brugha Street. Work placements took her to Switzerland and Canada towards the end of her course. The prospect of returning home to work in an Irish hotel seemed dreary after her experiences abroad but that all changed when she was leafing through a magazine on a train trip in Canada. She read an article about Ballymaloe House in east Cork, looked at the photograph of Myrtle Allen and her family and decided to apply for a job.

She arrived in Shanagarry not long after another Laois woman and Cathal Brugha graduate, Darina O’Connell, had made the trip. Both women immediately found their feet, and both also found romance. Hazel married Myrtle Allen’s son Rory in 1974, a few years after Darina had married his brother Tim.

Hazel worked closely with her mother-in-law, stepping into her shoes when needed and gradually becoming the front-of-house person while Myrtle Allen focused on the kitchen and Darina ran the cookery school nearby.

After her death, many online condolence messages came from people who had worked for her, and they echoed each other in their praise of her calm and professional manner, and her kind approach to staff. In his book, Nicholas Lander wrote about her gracious presence in the diningroom, noting “her peripheral vision – a crucial quality for any restaurateur – and her quiet approach to a table just to check that everything is going smoothly” before slipping back into the shadows.

She was noted for her hard work, often leaving the restaurant at midnight because she wanted to ensure that the last table in the restaurant received the same quality of service as the first.

In an online tribute, food writers John and Sally McKenna described her as a towering presence in Ballymaloe House. “Hazel was both formal and disciplined – she always referred to her mother-in-law as Mrs Allen – but mixed this side of her personality with an open mind and a dry wit,” they wrote. “She had a true understanding of hospitality, and she created the casual-but-correct style that became the signature of service in Ballymaloe.”

[Hazel Allen: 'I remember the day we lost the Michelin star']

When Myrtle became a founding member of Ireland’s Blue Book – a guide to country houses, historic guest houses and restaurants – she joined her at the meetings and went on to become treasurer and president.

Ireland’s Blue Book chief executive Michelle Maguire said Hazel had dedicated an enormous amount of her time and expertise to the association, especially in her roles as president and treasurer. “Hazel was greatly respected and admired by all in the association, as both an accomplished businesswoman and more importantly, a friend,” she said.

When she wasn’t working, she was a skilled gardener, and she loved to travel with her husband to far-flung places such as Chile, the Seychelles and Tanzania. She stepped back from her general manager duties when she turned 66 but continued to be involved in the running of Ballymaloe right up to the day before she died, when she was choosing wallpaper for the diningroom.

She was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and handled her illness without a fuss, preferring to focus on the happier moments in her life and enjoy her time with her family. Her Quaker funeral was held in Ballymaloe Grainstore, where she had overseen many events, and she was surrounded by flowers and foliage from the gardens where she had spent many happy hours.

Hazel Allen is survived by her husband, Rory; children, Cullen, Fawn, Darren, Caragh and Róisín; her brothers, David and Joe; her 15 grandchildren and extended family.