The Menu: Our award-winning food column returns with a new lease on life

Adam Nevin, of Morrison Room at Carton House

Well, that turned into a very long ‘weekend away’ indeed, but it’s good to be back, and I like what they’ve done with the ‘place’, a fine, fresh new format. 

First and foremost, after 13 years of gourmandising gustatory guff, the character of The Menu has finally saddled up Neidín for the last time and ridden off into what he described as, ‘the most splendid of splendid sunsets’.

The Menu had many fans and he served me well over the years as a device to inject a bit of fun into my sharing news of the comings and goings of the Irish food world.

But much has changed and I am finally stepping out from behind the mask. 

This column will no longer be top heavy with listings, instead becoming a weekly focus on a particular food-related topic, blending opinion, information and, where appropriate, even suggested solutions to the myriad conundrums facing the food world, locally, nationally and globally.

Of course, The Menu’s most important legacy, Today’s Special, remains, highlighting each week the finest Irish foods and beverages as well as the occasional choice import. 

My fervent belief in the primacy of premium world class Irish produce and its rightful place at the very heart of any Irish food system remains utterly unchanged.

The voice may be modified but the message will be the same: why good food matters; why local, seasonal and fresh Irish produce, from both land and sea is among the very best in the world; why we should always endeavour to go that extra mile to source it and, where we can, dig deeper into our pockets to pay for it, rather than the false economies of ‘bottom feeding’ on cheap, inferior imports.

I will, as ever, focus on the business of food, especially to promote small producers, yet I also firmly believe food is so much more than mere business; of equal importance is how it relates to health, nutrition, community, social justice and the environment.

The Menu's Joe McNamee

This week’s news of additional twinklings in the Irish Michelin constellation during otherwise dark times for Irish restaurants was most welcome so heartiest congratulations to chefs Adam Nevin (Morrison Room at Carton House), Richard Picard-Edwards (Ballyfin Demesne) and Danny Africano (Lignum). Congrats also to Zsolt Lukács (Daróg) winner of the Britain & Ireland Sommelier award, as well as a Bib Gourmand, and it was no surprise at all to see Baba’de, in Baltimore, also pick up a Bib.

All are unquestionably deserving of what is the ultimate accolade in the restaurant world and a holy grail for many young, aspiring chefs. I may have reservations about the Michelin model and some of my most favourite restaurants will never be star-crossed and none the worse for it, but a deep dive into Michelin is for another day; for the moment, let us celebrate this fantastic achievement.

What is not for another day is the grievous state of Irish hospitality, and I am specifically talking about restaurants, not hotels — apples and oranges may both be fruit, but after that, they differ wildly. Irish restaurant closures since the beginning of 2024 are now well north of 600 — a staggering figure. At random, I have shed tears for the recent passing of funky Éan, in Galway (with proprietors Enda McEvoy and Sinead Meacle also closing their Michelin-starred Loam in 2023, another huge loss), family favourite, the charming Blair’s Inn, in Co Cork, and legendary Gaz Smith’s Michael’s in Mount Merrion.

Make no mistake, despite our expanding Michelin portfolio, the Irish restaurant industry is in the throes of an existential crisis. What’s more, this is a global issue, with the future of the industry very much at stake. Expect to hear an awful lot more about that as well in this space.

However, just in case you’d begun to wonder if The Menu has been replaced by some class of Culinary Cassandra keening the woes of the world, you’d do well to realise that the character of The Menu derived from my own great sybaritic pleasure when it comes to dining. I shall continue above all to share the joy and pleasure that comes from tasting and eating great food, most especially around a shared table in the company of family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers — and when great food abounds, no one ever remains a stranger for too long!

CHECKING IN:

Over a decade since my previous visit to Kelly’s Hotel, Rosslare, already a firm personal favourite, last year’s return revealed substantial and immensely stylish changes to the sea-facing side of the premises, which have bestowed a distinctly Southern Californian vibe. 

Part of this redevelopment includes the Sea Rooms where very talented young head chef Chris Fullam is cooking fine Michelin star-worthy fare. All the more reason to check out Kelly’s freshly released spring programme of Midweek Activity Breaks, all led by experts in their fields and including painting classes and art appreciation, wine tasting, bridge classes, gardening classes, cooking demos (Neven Maguire and Kelly’s head chef, Philip Brazil), ballroom dancing, and health, wellbeing and beauty workshops.

• www.kellys.ie

TODAY’S SPECIAL:

Joe's Amaretto

In the face of the ongoing challenges to hospitality, the Market Lane group of restaurants has continued to innovate, developing symbiotic partnerships with local growers and producers and continually seeking to substitute the imported ‘macro’ with the very local ‘micro’. 

So instead of importing amaretto, they created award-winning Joe’s Amaretto, currently only available in one of their five Cork city restaurants, by the glass or as an element of a cocktail. 

Elbow Lane cocktail guru Joe Timbrell and his team streamlined their recipe, none of the oft-added southern European fruits, in particular, apricots, just a straight up infusion, with sugars and premium essences, yielding a deep amber syrup where beguiling almond reins supreme and vanilla guides the sweetness levels unerringly home. 

It is my current favourite digestif, with a small iceberg in the glass and a drop of Teelings Irish whiskey for extra muscle. 

I have volunteered tasting services as they seek to next develop their own take on Kahlua.