Here's who to watch in the world of Irish food
ONES TO WATCH
Young chef Mark Moriarty’s triumph of a few years ago in being crowned overall winner of the international San Pelligrino Young Chef award has illustrated that it is entirely feasible for a young Irish chef to triumph on the world stage further heightening the interest of the young native tyros following in his wake, with global entries rising by a further 30% on last year.
The Irish/UK semi-finalists include three Irish-based chefs:
SPICE OF LIFE
One of Ireland’s very finest chefs, Sunil Ghai offers up some of the secrets of his craft with a Spice Masterclass (Aug 15, Sept 12, Oct 10) at his Pickle restaurant, as he demos the ingredients and techniques that go into his alchemical cooking followed by a two-course dinner for all participants (www.picklerestaurant.com).
Bank Holiday weekend feast - Pickle style! ;) #Pickle #BankHoliday @sunilkitchen pic.twitter.com/a1DabLhXmZ
— Pickle Eating house (@pickle_bysunil) August 5, 2017
Lisnavagh House, in Co Carlow presents Around the World in 80 Days (August 12), an open air touring theatre production from Off The Ground Theatre Company in the very wonderful surroundings of the stately home’s glorious grounds. (www.offtheground.co.uk)
BANQUET BY THE BAY
The excellent Banquet by the Bay’ series of events, in the Bayview Hotel, in Ballycotton, continues with the rather cheesily-titled Sexy Seafood (Aug 18) evening but what turns up on the plate should be anything but as chef Ciaran Scully is a dab hand with the fine produce that is ferried up to his kitchens from the local fishermen down on the pier. €65 per person/€110 per person for event plus bed and breakfast. (www.thebayviewhotel.com)
Citizens of Killarney or groups visiting that lovely town may well consider its newest private dining venue, The Picture Room, at The Malton Killarney, an exclusive space for special gatherings and meals. Formerly a dark room, it later became a cinema and was then used as an editing suite for Ryan’s Daughter and now houses the hotel’s vintage photo archive. (www.themalton.com)
The Menu has found himself chowing down on the noblest crustacean with great frequency this summer and The Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery is just the latest to offer a special lobster lunch, Grilled wild Atlantic lobster with garlic butter, served with home-cut chips, artichoke caponata and kale crisps, available until October. (www.celticrosshotel.com)
TODAY’S SPECIAL
Freshly returned from another grand European adventure, The Menu has repaired once more to his formidable West Cork retreat for the annual August sojourn in a truly glorious part of the world, immediately setting about preparing feasts and conjuring up frolics for the never-ending stream of family and friends stopping by to pay their respects. Indeed, the banqueting has been prolonged and betimes so overly indulgent that one recent morning, his greatly taxed constitution sent word that a little TLC would not go amiss so he enjoyed a simple breakfast of fresh local fruit washed down with a tall cool glass of Joseph Desmond’s Orchard Cottage Farm Goat’s Milk Kefir, a cool, refreshing and tangy draught and with a mellow hum of goaty Pan underpinning the entire concoction that immediately set The Menu’s mind to work on a new dessert recipe involving same, mixed with a little local honey and then frozen and later served with further honey and some toasted almonds. www.facebook.com/orchardcottagefarm
