'I suppose he was kind of the Gordon Ramsay of Dublin': Culinary ‘genius' Dylan McGrath feels the heat in business
"It nearly killed him,' documentary director Karen McGrath says about Dylan McGrath's ambition to claim his first Michelin star.
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Irish Examiner
40 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Joe McNamee: The Cork on a Fork buzz shows the city's progress as a food destination
Next Wednesday, the Lord Mayor of Cork will launch the fourth Cork on a Fork food festival, at Good Day Deli in the Nano Nagle Centre — which will then be followed by the Irish Examiner Business Breakfast, sponsored by Musgrave's SuperValu, hosted by yours truly and featuring four great speakers from the food world. The inaugural Cork on a Fork festival in 2022 was a tentative affair, hampered by a too short run-in, a tricky time slot in August, and a reluctance from many local restaurants to fully come on board. The leaps and bounds ever since have been enormous. Last year, in 2024, the festival finally came into its own as a potential keeper in the annual culinary calendar. So, the irony is not lost on me that the speakers will be addressing the following theme: 'Putting a Price on Quality: Promoting specialty foods in a cost-conscious market'. As Cork on a Fork, a celebration of the food and food culture of Cork City and its surrounding region, grows ever stronger, many of the producers being celebrated are facing a multiplicity of challenges, homegrown and 'imported', that threaten the very viability of the sector itself. The same applies to hospitality, both local and national — and the current existential crisis is far worse than the impact of the crash of the Celtic Tiger. I was working as a chef in Cork City in 1993 when Denis Cotter's Paradiso (then Cafe Paradiso) and Seamus O'Connell's Ivory Tower opened almost in tandem. Anthony Bourdain with Chef Seamus O'Connell in the Ivory Tower restaurant in 2006. Both revolutionary restaurants in an Irish and even international context. Their impact was immediate, and many of us lesser mortals toiling away in lesser kitchens around the city had a sense we were all about to hitch a ride on a new Cork culinary wave. In fact, the dining duo were so far ahead of the curve, it was some time in the future before their real influence was felt in Irish dining. Both were born in a time when recession was a near-permanent state, but that's par for the course in hospitality; some of the very best restaurants, and specialty food producers, have traditionally emerged when times were toughest and real creativity makes up for financial shortfalls. The subsequent heady gold rush days of the Celtic Tiger, if anything, appeared to dull creativity and innovation. Certainly, there was still great cooking to be found in and around the city but none of the genuine sense of invention of Paradiso and the Ivory Tower. When the Celtic Tiger crashed, local restaurants battened down the hatches and retreated behind stultifying culinary conservatism and the safety of combination pizza-pasta-burger menus. It was only when the new century was some way into its teens that a fresh radicalism re-emerged with the arrival of Takashi Miyazaki's eponymous Japanese street food restaurant, Miyazaki — which in turn led to his Ichigo Ichie restaurant, the first to hold a Michelin star in the city since Arbutus Lodge in the 1980s — and Beverley Mathews' L'Atitude 51's pronounced body swerve into the world of natural wine, sublimely complemented by culinary director Simone Kelly's local produce-driven menus. There was a sense that culinary Cork was on the rise once more. The pandemic, if anything, only drove Cork hospitality to greater heights and in all my time dining in Cork, I am hard pressed to recall a similar sense of excitement as prevails right now around the town. Not only are Cork chefs delivering on the plate, they are doing so with a newfound sense of camaraderie and cooperation. These new Young Turks regularly socialise together but they also have each others' backs, offering support and engaging in inspiring collaborations, even as every business opens the shutters each day to yet another battle for survival. So, blessed as we are in Cork, not only should we relish this newfound culinary creativity in the city, we should also do everything in our power to support it. The next time you are dining out in Cork, skip past those imported franchise restaurant models and seek out a genuinely local independent restaurant, especially those serving up a real taste of Cork on the plate. TABLE TALK The Examiner Eats Club is an exclusive series of dining events hosted by the Irish Examiner food team and solely open to Irish Examiner subscribers who are offered the opportunity to purchase tickets on a first come, first served basis for the chance to dine at private dinners in some of Ireland's finest restaurants. Launched last autumn with a wonderful evening at the celebrated Goldie restaurant, subsequent and equally superb evening dinners have taken place in Good Day Deli and the Farmgate Café, in the English Market. The next Examiner Eats Club dinner (Aug 17) — part of Cork on a Fork festival programme — sees the team and a bunch of very lucky diners heading to The Glass Curtain, on MacCurtain St. A genuine leader of the new wave in Cork city, The Glass Curtain combines brilliant cooking with one of the best larders around, a hyper-local exploration of the finest local and seasonal produce. Front-of-house manager/sommelier Wesley Triggs oversees a cracking wine and cocktail list, while superbly marshalling the dining experience, and chef-proprietor Brian Murray promises to pull out all the stops with a delicious five course sharing menu. TODAY'S SPECIAL Cheese from The Lost Valley Dairy. Instead of one specific food product, this week I am encouraging you to fill shopping baskets with some of the finest food in the world, and all of it from Cork. This is no parochial 'Real Capital' hubris, just a statement of fact: Cork has been the breadbasket of the country for generations; the birthplace of the modern Irish specialty food producer movement; and, for many years, Cork winners at the Blás na hÉireann food awards outnumbered the entire rest of the country put together. The best place to start is with sublime smoked fish from Sally Barnes (Woodcock Smokery) and Frank Hederman, and the best cheeseboard in the land, including Milleens, Durrus, Gubbeen, Coolea, Hegarty's and The Lost Valley Dairy. And that's only the starting point — I think you're going to need a second trolley!
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
Replacement chef announced for Michelin two-starred Terre in Castlemartyr
The owners of Castlemartyr Resort have responded rapidly to the recent shock announcement revealed exclusively in the Irish Examiner that chef Vincent Crepel was stepping down. Lewis Barker has been confirmed as the new executive head chef/patron of the luxury East Cork hotel's Michelin two-starred in-house Terre restaurant. Barker, originally from Leeds, in England, will relocate from Singapore, where he was executive head chef at Sommer for four years and was the youngest chef in Singapore to gain a Michelin Star, just six months after taking over the restaurant — as Crepel did at Terre, gaining a second star the following year. Barker will assume the reins in Terre when Crepel steps down at the end of September. Barker, who will take over in October, said: I am excited at the challenge of leading Terre into the future and being situated in such a beautiful part of the world. 'My aim is to continue to preserve the ethos of Terre, and I look forward to building on that foundation alongside the talented team at Terre with a cuisine that celebrates Ireland's incredible produce and culinary heritage.' In addition to his time at Sommer, which is now closed permanently, Barker's career has also seen him gain experience in some of the world's most acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurants, including Sommer, Vianney Massot, The Kitchen at Bacchanalia, and Cure in Singapore. And it would appear the owners of Castlemartyr Resort, Dr Stanley Quek and Peng Loh, approached his hiring with the very clear desire to maintain the standards and culinary sensibility that Crepel established in Terre. Barker's own style reflects that of his soon-to-be predecessor, classically rooted in French technique yet also influenced by the fusion flavours and cooking experienced during his time in Asia. Outgoing executive hea chef Vincent Crepel, who led Terre to two Michelin stars General manager at Castlemartyr Resort, Brendan Comerford, said: 'We are delighted to welcome Lewis Barker to Terre. In Singapore, he is very well known for his innovation, precision, and artistry and we know he will bring his signature flair to Terre. His creativity will be underpinned by a deep respect for sourcing the finest, freshest ingredients. We are excited to see how Lewis leads the team at Terre as we embark on this exciting new chapter.' Other than ensuring a smooth takeover of the Terre kitchen while establishing his own template for the restaurant, Barker's immediate challenge will most likely be to ensure Terre retains its two Michelin Stars, which was the publicly announced target for the hotel's owners when Crepel first arrived in 2022. Castlemartyr Resort was bought in 2021 for €20 million by Dr Stanley Quek and Peng Loh, who have an international hospitality portfolio including hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in Australia, Singapore, China, Britain and Ireland. They bought Castlemartyr Resort in 2012 for €20m, spending a further €8m on upgrades, including the creation of Terre, in the estate's 17th-century manor home. Their portfolio also includes Sheen Falls Lodge, in Kenmare, Dublin's Trinity Townhouse Hotel, and Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort in Co Wicklow.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Cork restaurant with two Michelin stars announces replacement after chef-patron steps down
Terre , one of only five restaurants in Ireland with two Michelin stars, has appointed a replacement for executive chef Vincent Crepel following his surprise announcement two weeks ago to depart the fine dining restaurant at the luxury Castlemartyr Resort in east Co Cork . Crepel had served as executive chef since the restaurant's opening in September 2022 and pursued ambitious plans to quickly achieve two Michelin stars. In March 2023, six months after opening, the restaurant achieved its first Michelin star, with the second one awarded in January of last year. Lewis Barker, originally from Leeds in the UK, will join Terre from Singapore. He was the youngest chef in Singapore to earn a Michelin star at 27 at Vianney Massot, six months after its opening. Barker was most recently head chef at the one-Michelin-starred Sommer, which closed in October of last year. Crepel has said he will remain on in his position at Terre until the end of September with Barker expected to take over on October 1st. READ MORE Castlemartyr Resort was bought in 2021 for €20 million by Dr Stanley Quek and Peng Loh whose international hospitality portfolio includes hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in Australia, Singapore, China, the UK and Ireland. They spent €8 million upgrading the hotel, which included adding a second restaurant in a 17th century manor on the estate, Terre. In his statement last month Crepel said: 'Building Terre has been one of the most beautiful and meaningful journeys of my career. We created more than a restaurant, we shaped a space with soul, purpose, and intention.' Following Sommer restaurant's closure in Singapore it was signalled Barker would remain within its ownership group, Ebb & Flow, led by chief executive Lim Kian Chun. His decision to now move to Co Cork may raise eyebrows in the Singaporean food world as Quek and Loh are big competitors of Lim Kian Chun in the fine dining scene there. Vincent Crepel, chef patron at Terre restaurant Barker describes his cooking as classically rooted in the French technique, modernised through local surroundings and flavours experienced from his time in Asia. His culinary profile is a good fit for Terre which serves contemporary cuisine with Asian flavours. 'I am excited at the challenge of leading Terre into the future and being situated in such a beautiful part of the world,' Barker said in a statement. 'My aim is to continue to preserve the ethos of Terre, and I look forward to building on that foundation alongside the talented team with a cuisine that celebrates Ireland's incredible produce and culinary heritage'.
