The Menu: Euro-Toques Young Chef contenders are set to be more than flavours of the month
Euro-Toques Young Chef Finalists: put through their paces by an elite cadre of chef judges, and remain a source of continued hope for the future of a much beleaguered industry.
The Menu is delighted to doff the cap to the latest Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2024, presented by La Rousse Foods to this year’s winner, Victor Erisay, of Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, cooking to the theme of Inspiring Regeneration with a requirement to craft two original dishes featuring Skeaghanore Duck and McNally Farm heritage beetroot and carrots.
But while Victor was a very worthy winner, he also salutes the other finalists who were put through their paces by an elite cadre of chef judges, and remain a source of continued hope for the future of a much beleaguered industry.
Isabelle Sheridan’s legendary On The Pig’s Back has always been a great supporter of cultural Cork, and What Happens In Cork (October 18) kicked off with some wonderful pre-concert dining (delicious small plates, €12 each) after which local legend Hank Wedel took to the stage to perform songs from his latest album, What Happens In Cork, a feast for both belly and soul.Â
Follow their page for upcoming music and food events.
Two very wonderful women of the Irish food world, Blanca Valencia and Santina Kennedy, continue with Plates & Palettes (October 31, 8pm) at the National Gallery of Ireland, with an immersive culinary deep dive into how four iconic Irish paintings come alive through the lens of food and drink, as the dynamic duo explore the stories, and social and cultural background to Ireland’s dining through the ages.
After the tour, sample food and drinks inspired by the artwork, and made with finest Irish produce.
The Menu’s recent random trip to Macroom confirmed for him something he has long believed, that it was a potential treasure concealed entirely by an excess of metal and fumes, a hostage to the huge volumes of traffic that passed through the West Cork town down through the years, choking it entirely, literally as well as figuratively.
Since the bypass was opened, it is now possible to see more clearly the real potential for substantially re-energising and reinventing the town and the launch of Pop Crowley's by Jack Buckley, from a family with a long association with hospitality in the town, is most definitely a sterling opening salvo.
Named after his grandfather, Jack has recreated the space as an artfully designed grocery and coffee shop, serving up good coffee, Jack’s very fine sourdough breads and other baked treats, as well as a range of well crafted and innovative sourdough toasties to snack on, in-house or for takeaway.Â
In addition to a concise but excellent cheese counter (Lost Valley Dairy, Corleggy, Durrus, Templegall, et al, all an indication of real quality), Pop’s also houses a wonderful little Aladdin’s Cave of delicious deli delights and local, seasonal fruit and veg, from the immediate locality and further afield.
The Menu recently wrote of Sham Hanifa’s very excellent cookbook, Agak-Agak (Blasta Books, €15.00), which includes a recipe for beef rendang, a truly iconic dish that claims both Indonesian and Malaysian culinary heritage, and is one of the great dishes of world cuisine.
To get some sense of what a good rendang is supposed to taste like, you could rock up to Malay Kitchen (in Kinsale and Cork city) or you could make it easier again by picking up a jar of Malay Kitchen’s Rendang Paste and making your own version at home, as The Menu did recently with some excellent Irish beef, cooking up an authentic rich, thick and highly aromatic Malaysian curry, of meltingly tender beef and flavours that spanned the spectrum, from salty to sweet to tart and sour, served up with sticky rice and a homemade cucumber and lime pickle.
