Eamon Barrett checks out one of the fastest-rising chefs in Ireland: Kevin Ahearne of Sage in Midleton, where all they talk about in the kitchen is food, food, food...
Just off the main street in Midleton, in a small courtyard, Sage Restaurant is one of those lovely understated places that catches you completely by surprise by serving up some really precise and skillful cooking.
The room is pleasant, L-shaped, and some of the tables sit right by the pass to the kitchen - that's where we were. Midweek there's an Early Bird menu all evening and at the weekends this is expanded with an a la carte. There's plenty to choose from and some evening specials are on a blackboard.
I went for Hake and Pea fishcakes to start, with chorizo and tomato salsa, and there was that instant sense of, 'Oh, this is going to be good' - they were so fresh and clean tasting, not the usual stodgy potato cakes with the odd piece of fish as an afterthought. The salsa was perfectly sharp and zingy.
For mains, J opted for some Monkfish with wild garlic risotto and Irish shiitake mushrooms while I went for one of the specials - a burger with blue cheese. The monkfish exemplified the calmness and precision of Kevin Ahearne's cooking, every component just as it should be: lovely pieces of meaty monkfish and the perfectly executed risotto - the wild garlic and shiitake being a great match. The burger, truth be told, was perhaps a little dry, though there was no masking the great flavour from the beef.
Desserts were very strong - a baked raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake for J and a gorgeous poached pear and praline brulée tart for me. Service throughout was competent and friendly and the benefit of sitting by the pass was that we could see the calmness of the kitchen at work, and the care and attention to detail that was going into each dish.
We could also hear their conversations. And what did they talk about? Food, cooking techniques, recipes - non stop!
Sage Restaurant, The Courtyard, 8 main Street, Midleton, Co Cork Tel: 021 463 9682 www.sagerestaurant.ie
@altitudeIreland @sagemidleton
