The Menu: Reviewing the yea

It’s that time when a body takes stock of the year just passed; it being the tail end of The Menu’s incredible inaugural year, he finds himself taking more stock than an army cook’s chicken soup. So, sparking up a Cuban cigar with yet another alteration bill from his tailor, he presents the best of the ‘Specials’.

Ballyhoura Mushrooms whom The Menu espied at a tiny table on the community stall at Mahon Point Farmer’s Market last spring on their very first public outing have, since then, gone from strength to strength, picking up accolades and awards, their exquisite speciality mushrooms now served up in some of the finest restaurants in the land. The Menu: “A cornucopia of fungal foodstuffs: oysters, sleek as seals; nutty brown shiitakes; sumptuous marinaded mushrooms; the chef’s latest secret weapon, porcini dust; and regular foraged curiosities such as wood sorrel or even morels.” He singled out their Mushroom Ketchup for further attention: “A condiment made from shiitake mushrooms and salt, it is liquid umami, a deep, tawny tang and the secret savoury addition finessing all manner of dishes in The Menu’s kitchen of late.” www.ballyhouramushrooms.ie