This Morning favourite Clodagh McKenna is a bundle of sunshine on the ITV show, lighting up our screens as she cooks up delicious dishes. As well as her TV segments and upcoming cookbook, Happy Cooking, the 50-year-old has been secretly working on an exciting launch – her own lifestyle brand – Honey by Clodagh. The star sat down with HELLO! to delve into the inspiration behind her products and her idyllic life with husband Harry Herbert at Broadspear on the Highclere Park estate, where Downton Abbey is filmed.
Hosting queen
Dinner at Clodagh's is nothing short of amazing. Of course, she can cook, but she is also a hostess with the mostess. "I am a list queen," she confesses. "It's all about getting organised and planning a menu that won't stress you out. Whenever I'm creating a menu for a dinner party and I'm doing a starter, a main course and dessert, I will always pick two courses that I can make the day before."
© Chloe Ely PhotographyIn the summer, dining takes place alfresco in their 300-year-old walled garden. "I wanted this to be part of an extension of our home, so right in the center we built a covered pergola covered in Wisteria, and we live out there in summer." She paints the scene: "I'm dressing the table, and then I'm walking to the vegetable garden, picking vegetables and salads and working out what we're going to eat - it's gorgeous, my favorite part."
The Lemon Grove launch
© Chloe Ely PhotographyThe tables at her dinner parties will now be dressed with products from her own brand, Honey by Clodagh, and the first collection is the Lemon Grove range, with, you guessed it, gorgeous lemon yellow pieces.
From airy linen tablecloths to chic striped cushion covers, this collection is summer season perfection. For Clodagh, the fabric napkins are the hero product of the hour, and that's thanks to their versatility. "You can pair [them] with anything. You can just put it on a wooden table or a white linen tablecloth. Either way, it really elevates the table."
If you think Clodagh looks right at home in the striped apron in the garden, that's because she was. The gorgeous imagery to promote the brand was all shot at her private residence in Broadspear. "We first moved into Broadspear seven years ago," she explained. "There were no vegetables growing, no animals, and there was a lot of work to do."
She continued: "I really wanted to turn this into a sustainable farm, and the first thing we needed to do was get bees for pollinating." Not only did the bees help form the basis for the wonderful gardens they have today, but they've also inspired the name of her brand – Honey by Clodagh. "We've even got gorgeous jars of my own honey dropping next week," she delights in revealing.
© Chloe Ely PhotographyThe love for bees is growing in celebrity circles with David Beckham, Michelle Obama and Stacey Solomon all with their own hives. We've even seen Meghan Markle beekeeping with her mini-me daughter, Princess Lilibet.
Clodagh's brand name was inspired by the bees, but the idea came from people coming to her for hosting tips and product recommendations. "People are always asking me, 'Oh, where'd you get the tablecloth from?' And it might be an old one, they can't get it again. So about a year ago, I thought: 'Oh, I'd love to start a gorgeous lifestyle brand where people could go specifically for entertaining'." And that's exactly what she's done.
© Photo: RexAdditions to Honey by Clodagh will be coming thick and fast with various collections in the pipeline and new products such as cocktail trays launching soon. As well as physical products, the website will be packed with cocktail recipes, dinner party recipes and ultimate entertaining tips.
Behind-the-scenes
As one of the resident chefs on This Morning, Clodagh is often in the studio, but she pinches herself every time she's about to go live. "I always stop myself before the show, and I self-check thinking, 'I'm going into over three million viewers' living rooms this morning' and be grateful for the opportunity to chat and teach so many people how to cook." She describes the set as "a very good environment" and explains: "You really have to have a great bond with everybody, because you're live, and you all need to support each other and lean on each other."
