Fred’s Mediterranean Chowder a star of menu at Ballycotton’s Sea Church

 Fred’s Mediterranean Chowder a star of menu at Ballycotton’s Sea Church

Chowder

Fred’s Mediterranean Chowder was the star of the show for me when we visited Ballycotton’s Sea Church at lunchtime last week. It may have been just after mid day but the full menu is available from then until closing.

Fred is, of course, Frédéric Desormeaux, the group Executive Head Chef who has quite a long history of chowder in the Cork area. His Sea Church special is "Creamy Tomato Based With Smoky Bacon, Saffron, White Wine, Potatoes, Mixed Fish, Prawns and Mussels Served With Stout Brown Bread. It is also available Gluten Free on request." My first taste of his chowder, a giant bowl of it, was back in 2013 at Charlie Mac’s in Fermoy.

Monkfish

It is not quite Irish traditional as you might expect from the name along with that smoked bacon ingredient. It is not a usual ingredient though I did come across one, an Irish-Spanish combination, with a little chorizo, an impressive entry in the 2018 All-Ireland Chowder Competition. It was the entry Dan Cronin’s Bar and Bistro in Newcastlewest, led by Chef Danny Martinez Doyle, and was indeed the champion in Kinsale that year.

Just like Fred’s, it was immediately engaging. I was delighted with mine last week, packed with a great variety of well cooked  ish and veg. An early highlight for me so much so that, like WM Thackeray, I was inclined to write a poem about it (long-fingered!). According to a recently read book on the history of Florence, an Italian soup was supposed to have been the inspiration for the British writer but the only pertinent poem found online was a rather long-winded one about a French fish soup at a French Restaurant.

Massaman, with prawns

CL, meanwhile, was revisiting a Sea Church favourite of hers, the Breaded Monkfish Scampi,  with Ballycotton Smoked Salmon Potato Salad, Basil and Lime Mayonnaise. Quite a few starters available including Glenbeigh Mussels and a Korean bbq slow cooked pork belly.

Prawns welcome (AI)

No shortage of choice for the main course either, though we each continued on the fishy trail, to varying degrees. The Baked Hake wrapped in pancetta with delicious Buttered Savoy Cabbage, Duck Fat Fondant Potatoes, and Chef Marcus’ Chicken Butter Sauce, was tidily presented and a super dish from start to finish.

I’m a big fan of Massaman Curry and it came with Creamy Coconut Broth, Asian Vegetables, Coriander Basmati Rice, Finished With Peanuts and Lime . It is billed as Vegan/Vegetable but there was an option of adding prawns which I did. It was quite a dish with a streak of that peanut and lime across the top. All kinds of crispy Asian vegetables including a few full pea pods, tomatoes too, along with a side of rice. The curry element was mild, very much so.

Hake

Other main dishes to consider seriously are Pan-fried Sea Bass fillets and a Roast Beef Sandwich. Not too seriously of course, you are after all out to enjoy and there are occasions (as many or as little as you like) when Fish and Chips or a Double Smash Beef Burger will hit the spot. Then time for a stroll in the village and maybe beyond to the cliff walk (where we had ventured earlier). If you venture, enjoy your day in the area.

The conservatory

Service was friendly and excellent from start to finish and the dishes were neatly presented, looked appetising and were! Sea Church is another culinary asset in the East Cork area and here a top-notch crew transforms quality local produce into dishes to remember. We sat in the main part of the L-shaped restaurant with views out to the sea. You also have the choice of ordering a table in the  Conservatory, a once outside area now enclosed by glass walls and, siting in the bell of the L,  it looks very comfortable indeed.

Cliff walk