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CHEFS to Watch
TREASURE ISLAND IRELAND’S GASTRONOMY, LIKE ITS PEOPLE, IS NOW BETTER TRAVELLED AND MORE OPEN TO NEW INFLUENCES. HERE ARE PORTRAITS OF FOUR YOUNG, CREATIVE, FREE-AND-EASY CHEFS THAT ARE DUSTING OFF “IRISH CUISINE”, REVITALISING AND REVAMPING IT TO KEEP PACE WITH TODAY’S TASTES. By Boris Coridian Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak
DUBLIN IS FULL OF SURPRISES. IT HAS LONG ATTRACTED VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WITH ITS UNIQUE MELANGE OF CULTURE, CONGENIALITY AND THOSE WARMLY WELCOMING WATERING HOLES KNOWN AS PUBS. Today, though, this list must also in-
clude inventive cuisine featuring local ingredients of incomparable freshness and strong flavour. An unexpected selling point for a city that, for the vast majority of taste buds, evokes dark beer, potatoes, bacon and fish ‘n’ chips! The time has come, however, to dispense with those gastronomic clichés, letting the new reality of Irish food set the world alight. Young local chefs are shaping the new, modern Irish cuisine and promoting their vision of “surf and turf” for their island. The coasts are brimming with sublime shellfish – are they not dubbed “Dublin Bay prawns”? The countryside, in its thousand shades of green, is the source of exceptional meats, particularly beef and lamb, as well as rich, creamy milk used to make potent cheeses. Dublin was not expecting a new generation of gastronomic geniuses to embrace and enhance these traditional, Irish-born products. We met four of the daring young chefs: Ciaran Sweeney, Niall Sabongi, Mark Moriarty and Barry FitzGerald. Each, in his own way, embodies the desire to reshape the landscape, pen new pages in a cookbook they feel has become dusty and tarnished with age.
Ciaran and Mark worked together at pop-up restaurants in Dublin, surprising short-lived eateries that thrilled local foodies with spectacular dishes served in unusual places around the capital. Since that time, Ciaran took over the helm of one of Dublin’s most elegant establishments, Forest & Marcy. Mark has been travelling the world to spread word of his terroir and technique, the title of San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 on his chef’s coat. Niall, who grew up in the kitchens of his restaurateur father, started a marine bistro with fresh seafood and a very relaxed atmosphere. And Barry dove into the trade by opening his first restaurant after learning the ropes in England. During the photo shoot, the four young men talk shop, swapping their impressions of their lives as restaurant owners, chefs, cooks. Though they’ve not yet had the chance to work all together, these professionals from the same generation have many things in common. Their restaurants all hold very high standards of excellence, offer concise menus that change with the seasons, along with elegant dishes and exceptional value for money. They are part of a burgeoning crop of establishments dotting the busy streets of the Irish capital. The “fair city” is more appetising than ever. Let’s eat!
