Navigating the Dark Arts of Wood Stoves. The 4 decade story of my Aga/Esse romance.
Its been a very long life journey to get to this week - finally putting the Esse Stove into my cottage. Ill celebrate by recounting on why I fell in love with a wood stove & an Irish lifestyle.
When I was a little girl, we had a large yellowing old Aga at the farmhouse. I recall we had a pet kangaroo in primary school that used to hop around the kitchen, and my mother had fashioned a range of 'pouches’ out of weathered beyond repair woolen jumpers and hung them off the cookers rail so that the little joey it could roll in and out of it and keep warm. Only in deep Winter was it on, as Summer in the WA wheatbelt got blisteringly hot. Later, when the two chaps in their 90s who serviced the stove died (and thus took their 'Aga servicing skills' with them to their grave), no one replaced their job. So, the Aga became stagnant, obsolete, sat in the kitchen and and was eventually pulled out and banished to live in the '3rd shed' or the ‘graveyard shed’ on the farm – along with all the other Agas that had been collected at other property clearance sales over the years.
I don't know if there's a name for a collection of Agas, but there was one building up there. Three or was it four? A future project someday no doubt.
But it didnt happen and it wasn't until another decade that I would cross paths with Agas again.
After boarding school and a stint at uni, I embarked on over a decade of travel, working as a 'Girl Friday' in numerous manor houses, The National Trust UK, heritage estates, hotels, and expansive, sprawling properties – all steeped in history and graced with Agas. My love for them was quickly rekindled. However, it wasn't until I found employment in a massive 1700s three-story estate house situated on an apple orchard outside of Armagh, Northern Ireland, that I got the chance to learn how to service them. I was absolutely thrilled because suddenly I knew I would never face a crossroads like my folks did, wondering if my fate would end up the same.
It was there that I learned from Audrey the art of expertly ironing, cooking, and gradually discovering how the stove could replace nearly every electronic kitchen device there was… and how to make the most amazing apple crumble and custard.
Custard, as it turns out, is what I cook first when I'm testing out something new.
