Career
She has often appeared on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Allen went to the Ballymaloe Cookery School at the age of 18. After graduating from the school she cooked at the Ballymaloe House Hotel, eventually returning first to test recipes and then to teach at the school.
She worked for a while as a caterer in Vancouver before returning to teach at Ballymaloe.
In September 2004, RTÉ broadcast Allen’s first series in Ireland Rachel"s Favourite Food, which has also been broadcast in Australia, Canada, Italy, and elsewhere. A book,, accompanied the series, published by Gill & Macmillan.
Two further television series and books followed, for Friends and Rachel"s Favourite Food at Home. Reruns of the latter became part of Create"s television schedule in the United States starting in September 2010.
Allen is a frequent guest on British Broadcasting Corporation"s Saturday Kitchen, and is one of the presenters on the Good Food Channel Market Kitchen show.
In 2008, she was in a series called Rachel Allen: Bake! for RTÉ. Allen has written for many Irish publications, including three years with Irish lifestyle magazine Image and a weekly column in The Sunday Tribune Magazine. She has also contributed to British Broadcasting Corporation Good Food magazine and AWT At Home magazine.
In 2010, Allen launched a line of products for Tipperary Crystal, including crystal stemware, porcelain dinner sets, and kitchen/dining essentials.
In 2012, she was involved in a controversy over hunting pictures of her posted on Facebook. She soon appeared as a guest on The Saturday Night Show to discuss her behaviour. for Friends.