It was like having two tickets to Kinky Boots on Broadway, the hottest reservation in town. Loads of loyal customers turned away, for there are only 35 seats in the dining room and legendary London supremo Richard Corrigan was going to be cooking alongside local champion Aidan McGrath in one of this year's already hottest destinations: The Wild Honey Inn.
We, who had had the sense to pick up the phone and book in the first few hours of it being announced, were piled into a packed restaurant to enjoy Richard Corrigan "Recipes from the Land And The Sea".
Richard Corrigan and Aidan McGrath are two very different chefs. A little way into the meal, and we couldn't help wondering, is this going to work? How will Richard's vivid, primary, playful improvisations meld with Aidan's graceful, pure, studied compositions. Two courses in, and there was a strange mix of haddock rolled up in a crepe with Wye Valley Asparagus. What's this all about? we wondered, thinking there must be a missing piece to this jigsaw. It looked pretty, but didn't cut it as a dish.
The preceding dish was billed as a pheasant's egg with lardo and marsh samphire. Said egg came as a kind of scramble with brown shrimps, which weren't announced on the menu. We wondered if all was right in the kitchen. The chefs confessed later that the eggs had presented a problem to peel in the limited time, and the shrimp had been pinched from the dish that preceded that, Essence of Atlantic Lobster. This had left the soup rather denuded, as perfect an essence as it was. It was also served on the cooler side of luke warm, and was met at our table first by a stoney silence and then a long disussion of the merits of the wine.
But if the creations seemed a little confused, the cooking throughout was faultless, and in the drama of how these two chefs were going to sort all this out, it was turning out to be as stimulating an evening as we had hoped and expected. The fourth act of six, was Middle White Pork with Homemade Raw Blood Black Pudding & Myrtle. Now, this surely was a dish that would show the skills of the marvel of Mayfair.
It did. It was sublime. Rustic, delicate, intense, gentle, and the star of the show was the myrtle. The resinous-scented branches invaded the dish, which was suprisingly subtle and light in texture, despite being, well – fatty pork.
Act V - Sharpham Goat's Brie with Rhubarb, and the kitchen were on a roll. Another show-stopper. And a chance to taste another of the great UK ingredients that Richard brought with him, the lardo, the samphire, and now this edgy unpasteurised brie.
Chocolate & Pistachio, Salted Caramel was the story of the final act, and again this was a crowd pleaser. Naturally the guys got a standing ovation at the end of it all, plus a big cheer for the supporting cast: the sous chefs, sommelier and waiting staff who were authorative and supportive to both the customers, and we suspect, the chefs under pressure.
Corrigan is a genuine friend to Irish food, appearing in festivals here and there, supporting our own chefs in ways we know and ways we don't know. Dinners like this are hugely important for the development of our learning and our cuisine, and great fun to watch and enjoy. It's to the credit of both chefs to put on a show like this and, coming after FergusStock at the Tannery earlier this year, let's hope this is a trend that will run and run. Bravo! Encore!
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