Kay Harte and The Farmgate Café's Early Years. Twenty Five Years in the English Market.

Kay Harte and The Farmgate Café's Early Years

Twenty Five Years in the English Market.

The Farmgate above the English Market, its Restaurant on the far right, the Balcony on the left.

The 16 year old is sitting with her mother in a room overlooking the Front Strand in Youghal in the mid 1960s. It is the house of her mother’s friend and the table is set for dinner. The teenager remembers the table setting, especially those flowers floating in a bowl.

The meat was boiled leg of mutton and the teenager was given a bit of the nap of mutton as a treat. “I never forgot that meal,” she told me recently. “It was my first time at an adult meal and it was absolutely divine."

The younger generation at The Farmgate with Rebecca Harte (3rd left at rear).

Kay Harte at ease.

That 16 year old was Kay Harte and we were speaking in her café, The Farmgate, celebrating 25 years in the English Market. When I had asked her what had been her best meal ever, I had prefaced it by saying it would be a hard one to answer. “Not at all,’ was the immediate reply. It was memorable indeed. “That was my first realisation that plain simple Irish food can be so sophisticated."

Soon afterwards she got her first cookery book, by Robert Carrier. “I still have it, still use it, I have to very careful handling it now. He was particularly good at Italian dishes and my first Spaghetti Bolognese was his.” I asked Kay what her favourite non-Irish cuisine was. Well, she likes Middle Eastern and Spanish but especially Basque.

Let us fast forward now to 1994, the year  a nervous Kay opened the Farmgate. Though she had worked, “on and off” with sister Marog, who had started the still strong Farmgate in Midleton ten years earlier, she had never run a business. There was competition too. Famous chef Michael Clifford was trading very successfully in his café across the street!

President Michael Higgins at the Wall of Poetry in the Farmgate when his poem Stardust was added in 2018. Kay has long believed that our food is part of our culture and the Hartes have supported the arts here from day one.

Besides, the English Market wasn’t exactly at its best then. Marog though was having none of it. “You’ll have no problem. The market is your larder.” They brought the Midleton Farmgate brand and ethos with them. “The focus was very much on what was available in the market downstairs, a focus that we’ve maintained ever since. There’s been great loyalty, on both sides.” Kay's daughter Rebecca is now the manager here. While Marog was quite the driving force, another sister, Claire O’Brien, was also very much involved and indeed worked with Kay for ten years. Many of you will have met and continue to meet Claire at Farmers Markets in recent years, selling cakes, tarts and loaves in her own stall under her Gan Gluten label.

The Farmgate ensured a strong spotlight was directed towards the often forgotten efforts of our Women of the South when the revolution was commemorated in 2016.

The Farmgate, as it turned out, was opening at a good moment, as some very interesting people were already there and more were coming onboard regularly and they started a momentum that has gathered pace and respect over the decades.

Toby Simmonds was there, Mary Rose too and also Iago. Isabelle Sheridan had started, working first with Anne Marie and Martin (who were making an organic French cheese out in Reenascreena) and then Isabelle, with a stall down by the Princes Street entrance, started introducing her French terrines, charcuterie and more. Hederman’s Smoked Fish arrived too and Sheila Fitzpatrick opened her ABC (Alternative Bread Company) stall shortly after Kay's arrival.

Majella Cullagh raises the market rafters from the Farmgate 

And they were all very helpful. Mary Rose Daly “was the go-to person, always helpful, no hesitation.” All the camaraderie was “a huge encouragement”. Kay also remembers that Kay O’Connell (the fishmonger and mother of Pat) was always ready with advice. And she also remembers Paul Murphy of Coughlan's Butchers as being exceptionally helpful. “He was the Ard Saoi of the market, a rock of common sense. He always listened and then invariably came up with the solution.”

She remembers too the sisters Siobhan and Eileen, each a stallholder. “They regularly came up for a cuppa and were incredibly supportive, pure Cork characters.” Declan Ryan (Arbutus Restaurant) was another who came up with great advice, “especially on cooking tripe”. 

Many famous people from the world of food have visited The Farmgate, including Claudia Roden (4th left)

Sometimes, bureaucrats get the thumbs down from business people but Kay recalls that they got fantastic support from City Hall, support that was essential in opening the new enterprise. So with all that support, the Cork Farmgate began to find its feet. “It was still a daunting task, especially the fit out." Furniture came from Eric Pearce, art via painters Tom Climent and Billy Foley and sculpture from Michael Quane. Finding its feet, establishing its character, starting out as she meant to go, food and culture in the melange.

Beara's Leanne O'Sullivan's poem on the Great Wall

It wasn’t all plain sailing of course. “There was that famous Christmas Eve,” Kay recalls. “Big queues, customers lined down the stairs. Then the power went - no lights in the kitchen.  I managed to stay calm, we got through it, but it was afterwards it hit me!”.

One bit of advice to restaurant owners. Take more heed of your customers than the food critics. Don’t be worried about the food writers. They don’t run cafés or restaurants, often more interested in what is currently in fashion. But your customers are in regularly, whether it’s just for tea and toast or a big lunch when the occasion demands. Look after them because they vote with their feet.

And that was underlined during our talk when Kay excused herself to walk a recently widowed elderly customer down the stairs and have a few words together on the way. You can have presidents (the Farmgate has fed a string of them) but Kay believes the regular customer is the real royalty here. And she practices what she preaches.

Kay and I at the meeting with US bloggers, New York's Amy Cao and San Fran's Chris Connolly (who took the photo). 
All other pictures from the Farmgate collection.

Eight years ago, Kay and I sat down at very short notice with two visiting US bloggers. Kay ordered samples of everything on the menu and told us all about each part of the dish as she shared it out. I don't think the Americans had ever seen any restaurant owner as informative (she explained our "great balls of flour") and as passionate about food and where it came from. All through the encounter, Kay emphasised the importance of local provenance. I'll say it again, Kay practises what she preaches, and it has stood the Farmgate well over the last 25 years.

Taste of the Week. Crossogue's Clementine & Limoncello Marmalade

Taste of the Week

Clementine & Limoncello Marmalade

by Crossogue Preserves

Regular winners at the World Marmalade Awards, Tipperary’s Crossogue Preserves keep coming up with new combinations. I got the latest, a Clementine & Limoncello Marmalade from Margo Ann at the Roughty Fruity Stall in the English Market and it is now our Taste of the Week.

One of the other ingredients is Lemon so there is something of a tang there along with the sweetness of the Clementine (the fruit is not as bitter as some other oranges) and the Limoncello (made from the zest rather than the more bitter fruit). Indeed, the marmalade seems to carry an almost Asian sweet and sour touch and Margo Ann suggests it may be handy around Christmas time.

I’m not waiting until then. Nor should you. Lather it over a slice of fresh sourdough and enjoy the current Taste of the Week! And don't forget all those other award winning marmalades from Crossogue!

Crossogue Preserves 

Crossogue House

Ballycahill

Thurles

Co. Tipperary

Tel: 00 353 (0)504 54416

Farmgate Café 25 Years On. Still Going Strong

Farmgate Café 25 Years On

Still Going Strong

Old Millbank salmon

When the Farmgate Café advertise for staff, they stress “it's a busy fast paced environment”. And it is. I saw for myself last Wednesday week (Aug 7th). No shortage of spaces when we arrived at 12.30pm but it was such a different story thirty minutes later. By then, the Dining Room was full and there was a queue for the Balcony, even a little queue to exit! Twenty five years after its founding, the English Market restaurant's food is as much in demand as ever.

We got a table in the glassed off Dining Room and were soon studying the menu and the specials on the board (which included plaice and corn beef). Service is friendly and efficient here and water was quickly delivered to the table along with some of their complimentary breads (delicious, as always) and Glenilen Butter.

Chicken Livers

Something on the lighter side was our target, so we passed on the mains of fish, the beef, the free-range chicken and the Irish Lamb Stew, all tempting and most sourced from the English Market below.

We could have nibbled on olives and on the addictive House Spiced Nuts (we had those during the Walk the Long Table stop here). In the end, I picked the Seared Chicken Livers with Marsala on sourdough toast (8.50). There was a well-dressed salad on the plate as well and it was a superb combination of flavour, texture, even colour.

You can get Irish beers here and European wines but I regularly go for their sparkling elderflower drink and we shared a carafe (4.50). There’s a great loyalty between the Farmgate and their suppliers so it was no surprise to see the Old Millbank Organic Irish Smoked Salmon (12.50) on the menu here and CL gave that a run and confirmed the offering was as good as ever.

One of the advantages of the smaller plates was that dessert could be accommodated!  There was a Pannacotta Special with strawberries up on the board but it was the regular Champagne and Elderflower Sorbet with West Cork Strawberries that tempted me. Must say I hit dessert jackpot with that one, so delicious I was half inclined to lift the bowl to my lips and drain the last drop of the melting sorbet!

Champion Sorbet!

Actually, there is a quite a long dessert menu here. Our other one was also cool and colourful: Lemon Tart and Raspberry Sorbet.  Did a bit of sharing there and that too was excellent but I still gave mine the nod as the best! Each cost  €5.90.

You may reserve a table in the Dining Room (table service) but not in the Balcony (counter service). The menu available in the Dining Room is mostly available too across the way and, in addition, you’ll be able to choose from soups, salads, toasted and open sandwiches, and a daily roast or two.

Farmgate Café  

English Market

Princes Street

Cork

T12NC8Y

Ireland

local: 021 427 8134

international: 00 353 21 427 8134 

e: info@farmgatecork.ie (general enquiries)

Walk The Long and Local Table

Walk The Long and Local Table

You'll Never Eat Alone

G&T for the gang in Electric Fish Bar

Welcome to Ali's

Why not start a very fine event with a very fine perry? That’s exactly what happened when we joined a group to Walk the Long Table at Ali’s Kitchen. Ali herself would be our guide for the afternoon (and well into the evening) and, as she told us what to expect, she served a glass of the gorgeous Killahora Poiré. The event is all about local produce and the Glounthaune produced perry set the tone along with some delicious and potato bread with home-made butter.

A big welcome next at The Farmgate Cafe where our plate was based on produce from the Olive Stall in the market. The dish featured Toonsbridge Mozzarella with tomato and tarragon salad and crispy kale. Here we also enjoyed a glass of Elderflower/Prosecco and a shot of Gazpacho.

Farmgate

Nash 19

Next stop was in Nash 19, 27 years in business and involved in the Long Table from the very start. A very tasty dish here: Cod from Pat O’Connell in the English Market, in a light crispy batter featuring Longueville House cider. Longueville’s Rubert told us, as he filled our glasses, that the cider is made from their own apples and that nothing is added. “Should pair well with the fish,” he said. It was indeed a winning match.

Claire Nash emphasised that their menu is local and seasonal driven. And she credited the Long Table with enhancing the cooperation between the local restaurants. “It is raising the standard, “ she said and Rubert agreed.

A few minutes later we in were in Fish Bar at Electric where oysters were on the menu. At least one of the group tried one for the first time! There was one for everyone in the audience and a generous glass too of Kinsale Gin.

Perfect serve (gin & oysters) at Electric

A short walk took us to Jacob’s On the Mall where Michelle was on the street to welcome us in and tell us a bit about the fascinating venue. And they had quite a dish for us, all local of course. A generous slice of Jack McCarthy's famous Queen’s Pudding and a few fritters featuring Cashel Blue cheese went down very well indeed with a glass of wine.

Jacobs on the Mall

Ali then found the shortest way to reach Crawford and Co on Anglesea Street. Sarah told us all about the changes here and was full of praise for Eoin O’Mahony, the well-known butcher in the English Market. The informal and enjoyable atmosphere continued here as we sipped our Beamish and tucked into the superb fillet of beef from Eoin.

Tender stuff at Crawford & Co

Time for something sweet now and Beth at Dockland had just the job: Bushby strawberries, marshmallow meringue, lime, vanilla + basil cream, strawberry daquiri sauce with, for good measure, a glass of prosecco, pomegranate, passion fruit + mint spritz. Think she mentioned there was a drop of Kinsale gin in there too!

Dockland

Beth and Harold have been in this location over 11 years, thanks to her "amazing customers". About 18 months ago, they closed the old Club Brasserie and a few hard weeks later opened up on the same spot as Dockland! The customers loved it and why not. Here you enjoy a a great variety of local produce.”We love local, our food is not fussy, just tasty good food.” The menu is quite large and has something for virtually every taste and budget.

Dockland

The finalé was close at hand and we were welcomed to the 200 years old Imperial Hotel (Charles Dickens and Michael Collins have been guests) by new manager Bastian who guided us to their Whiskey Experience, three local bottles paired with pastries cooked by the hotel’s pastry chefs.

Bastian

Alan took over for the tasting in the lovely Lafayette’s, introducing the West Cork Bourbon Barrel, the Jameson Black Barrel and the well known Paddy. The Jameson seemed to be the favourite whiskey and was also my pick of the three. But the best pairing, I thought was, surprisingly, the Paddy and a Milk Chocolate Fudge. Even better with a hot Paddy according to the ebullient Alan. 

So a very fine start at Ali’s and now a very fine ending in Lafayette’s as we reflected, with a Cosmopolitan cocktail in hand, on the happy hours we had passed as a group. Until the next time! Cheers and well done to all the restaurants involved. Walk the Long Table is a tour through a string of Cork's best restaurants. It continues this week with two walks each of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They are all booked out but, just in case a few become available (as happened last week), do keep an eye on #WalkTheLongTable and @CorksLongTable. Website: https://www.corkmidsummer.com/programme/event/walk-the-long-table1  

Alan takes us through the whiskey!

The Chicken Inn. All about Family and Flavour

The Chicken Inn. 

All about Family and Flavour

Civic recognition for the Mulcahys including
father Jack (left), mother Mary
 and Tim with citation.

The Chicken Inn has been in the English Market since 1955. They started cooking in the 1960s and at that stage a small rotisserie was sufficient to meet a fairly steady Saturday demand, a demand that grew during the summer when the holiday season kicked in and people regularly picked up a cooked chicken for the picnics.

They are still in the English Market of course and now have another base. Just last week, Tim Mulcahy, grandson of the founder John Lane, proudly showed me around their new facility at the Northside for Business Campus in Ballyvolane (just behind the fire station).

As demand for cooked chicken grew, the Chicken Inn bought in a special oven from the UK that allowed them cook slow and on the bone. And that oven has been transferred to Ballyvolane. Tim told me “the antique is going as well as ever”. Right alongside it is a new oven and each is capable of doing 375 chicken crowns at a go, all cooked on the bone by the way, “just 100% per cent meat, nothing added”. 

“Now we can do big orders with more confidence,” says Tim. “But we are not trying to get as much in and out as possible or as quickly as possible. It is still low and slow. We still are at the artisan stage, it is all about the flavour and that takes time and care.” The chicken is succulent. Check it out for yourself before you buy by sampling from the display plate at the market stall. (No retail at Ballyvolane, by the way!).

Ready to roll at new Ballyvolane facility

All about the flavour!

Both ovens cook with steam but in a different way. Water is fed into the new one from the top and directed onto the elements and then the steam is created. The “Antique”, now twenty five years old, uses a water bath to create the steam.

Tim gives huge credit to Denis, the man who oversees the cooking here. “He has been cooking with us for 49 years, has it down to a ’t’. He’s always had the touch and it is second nature to him at this stage”. Denis has seen huge changes during the decades and indeed is now in charge of the paperwork here as well.

And there’s a huge amount of it. Every single batch is tagged on arrival, each box of chicken has a label from the supplier and that label follows that batch all the way through - even gets cooked - to dispatch. And that means that each single chicken’s history (through reception, cooking, chilling) in the facility can be traced if need be. And that means reassurance for customers, both big and small.

“Our customers know what they are getting, they can rely on us. No one else is doing what we are doing. A big customer didn’t want any more plastic so we use greaseproof paper as a simple solution to packaging.” And because of the increased capacity and the increased ability to trace and track, the Chicken Inn has recently been able to secure two large local contracts.

Early days in the market

In the cooked/production area, the air is changed no less than twenty times per minute. You can’t move from one room to another willy nilly. If an opposing door is open, you won’t get access until that’s closed. It’s a bit like queueing to see the Last Supper in Milan. 

Cleaning is a constant. They also use a “fogging machine”. This reaches the spots that other methods can’t access, and it especially useful for fans and motors. And the regulations on hygiene - I had to get togged out with coat, hat and shoe covers - follow the chicken all the way through from inward delivery, through the different areas, to the blast chill (cold in there!) to their chill dispatch area.

New generation. Tim with daughters Judy
and Ali (right) at the Blas prize-giving.

Oh, the Chicken Inn continue to do their own spiced beef and turkey, that spice beef by the way is sold all year round. Tim told me a good yarn: “Only last week, a lady called and ordered, cooked turkey sliced, spiced beef and ham, for a confirmation lunch. And she told me she was going to tell her visitors, some from Dublin, that she’d prepared it all herself!”. Tim mightn’t be getting the credit but he took it as a great compliment!

And do watch out for their new product, which has been a while in development. Their Chicken Bone Broth, made here in a large stock pot in Ballyvolane, is now widely available in Supervalu and also from the market stall.

Tim had a lot of hoops to jump through as he set up the new facility, lots of help too though. “It is getting increasingly difficult, for small producers, to put a place like this together.” He showed me a “blucher drain”. He was quoted close to a thousand euro each and he needed 12! Luckily though, with help, he sourced them for a fraction of the original quote. The Chicken Inn has four people employed here, nineteen in total, 23 reasons to be proud.

Tim has great praise for the Northside for Business Campus, well placed for distribution on the North Ring Road. It is part of the Northside Economic Development Forum’s ‘Growing more than Apples’ initiative.  By working together the stakeholders aim to develop practical initiatives, with tangible outcomes, that support the regeneration of the 3 RAPID areas on the Northside. 

The  Northside Economic Development Forum itself is representative of Cork City Council, Cork City Enterprise Board, Cork City Partnership, Cork Chamber, Department of Social Protection, HSE, PLATO , The Revenue Commissioners, RAPID and the City of Cork VEC ad was set up in 2012 by the Cork City Development Board. Read more here  https://northsideforbusiness.ie/

Chicken Inn

1955 - John Lane started the stall in the English Market.

1960s - started selling cooked chicken.

1988 - suppliers to Michael Jackson concert in Cork

1992 - suppliers to Tall Ships, Cork

1993 - suppliers to Eurovision Millstreet

2010 - Their Honey Roast Ham won a Gold Star at the prestigious UK awards

2014 - awarded McKenna Guides plaque

2019 - new facility in Ballyvolane.

See Previous article on the Chicken Inn here

Taste of the Week. Big Red Kitchen’s Spiced Plum & Port Jam

Taste of the Week

Big Red Kitchen’s Spiced Plum & Port Jam

“We combine ripe plums with a hint of warming cinnamon and port in this wonderful seasonal preserve. Wonderful on bread and scones, but why not try serving it with pate or cheese?”

A big thanks to Margo Ann of the Roughty Foodie in the English Market for introducing me to this lovely jam. We had been thinking of trying it with seasonal items, such as the Christmas pudding but that wasn’t really an item!

In the meantime, Nicola (from Big Red Kitchen) had tweeted that it was a match with paté, cheese and duck. Plenty of opportunities over the Christmas to try it, although funnily enough no paté (though there is a small tin of Ostrich hanging around). Excellent with most cheeses, though I preferred a sweeter preserve (such as Fig Jam) with the blue cheeses.

But the outstanding match came when we had it with Skeaghanore Smoked Duck. Their richly flavoured smoked duck breast is a favourite here, even more so now that we have this delicious Big Red Kitchen jam - our Taste of the Week - to go with it. I’ll be in for more, Margo!

The Big Red Kitchen 

Tel: 01-6978092 

Mob: 086-1508462 

Email: nicola@bigredkitchen.ie 

Address: Simonstown Lane, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland 

Taste of the Week. Cratloe Hills Sheep Cheese

Taste of the Week

Cratloe Hills Sheep Cheese

Bought a small wedge of  Mature Cratloe Hills Sheep Cheese in On The Pig’s Back on a recent Saturday. Should have bought more of this exquisite cheese, our Taste of the Week.

The story of Cratloe Hills cheese began in the mid 80s when Sean and Deirdre Fitzgerald began making it in County Clare on their Cratloe farm that overlooks the Shannon.

It is a delicious, full-bodied, intricate blend of tastes with layers of flavours. This is quite an experience as they say themselves:  “…each bite brings more hints of butterscotch and burnt caramel come to the fore”.

With such a tide of sophisticated flavour from the cheese on its own, you hardly need anything by way of accompaniment. I did try a gorgeous artisan-made Confiture Cerise Noire (from Sheridan’s) as this type of jam is often served with sheeps cheese in the Basque region. 

And while the combination is pleasant, I’d say the Cratloe is possibly best on its own. By the way, if you think you’d like something with it and can’t get your hands on the Confiture, then Follain’s Loganberry Jam is a good substitute.

The Clare product is 100% sheep's milk using only a vegetarian starter, rennet and salt. It is a natural product manufactured in a traditional way with no additives or flavours. 

Taste of the Week. Kay O’Connell’s Wild Sea Trout

Taste of the Week

Kay O’Connell’s Wild Sea Trout

Nosing around the English Market last Friday and spotted a hand-written* sign up on the O’Connell Fish Stall drawing attention to their Wild Sea Trout. Brought a couple of fillets home and the Official Blog Chef turned them into our Taste of the Week.

This noble trout, full of flavour, is worth every cent. Pan-fried, skin side first. Peas and spinach from the garden were recruited. Potatoes were diced, garlic and herb added, and cooked in a very high oven before the other veg were added and tossed with the potatoes.

So there you, no great fuss but a fantastic Taste of the Week.

* He’ll probably type them when he opens in Bishopstown!

K O’Connell Fish Merchants

English Market

Grand Parade

Cork

Phone: (021) 427 6380

Taste of the Week. Wicklow Bán Brie

Taste of the Week

Wicklow Bán Brie

Encouraged by the immediate success of their multi-award winning Wicklow Blue, the Hempenstalls soon followed up with this equally delightful creamy brie cheese.

The family have been making cheese since 2005 and they credit the farm’s proximity to the Irish Sea with adding a distinctive flavour all of its own to these seductively addictive Wicklow Farmhouse cheeses. And this is distinctive. It is mild, creamy and buttery and our Taste of the Week.

Apples, berries, pears and many other juicy fruits are known to pair well with Brie. We came across another variation. We just happened to have some dried baby figs (from the Olive Stall in the English Market) in the house and they, along with a few grapes, made for a delicious plateful. If you want to make it even better, add a glass of that gorgeous Pom ‘O from Killahora Orchards.

Wicklow Farmhouse cheese is widely available. I got this piece at On the Pig’s Back in Cork’s English Market.

Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese

Curranstown House, 

Arklow, 

Co. Wicklow

Phone: +353 (0) 402 91713 

Mobile: +353 (0) 872515980 

Email: wfcheese@eircom.net

Web: www.wicklowfarmhousecheese.ie

Mise en place saves your ass. Chatting with Oyster Tavern Head Chef Kate Lawlor

Mise en place saves your ass 

Chatting with Oyster Tavern Head Chef Kate Lawlor

Kate in her Fenn's Quay days with John and Sally McKenna (left). See Kate
on RTE 1 on April 18th (8.30pm) in Healthy Appetite

Kate Lawlor, for so long associated with Fenn’s Quay, is now enjoying her Head Chef role at The Oyster Tavern in Cork city centre. And the team there, quite a young one, have a great chance to learn from one of the hardest working chefs around but one who enjoys “teaching others the joy of cooking, taking raw ingredients and making wonderful dishes.  I also enjoy heading to the English Market and meeting suppliers”. 

Her aim now is make the Oyster and its food offering better known among the public. We caught up with Kate after a lovely meal in the Oyster and enjoyed this chat.

I know you were sad to leave Fenn’s Quay. But you’re still on familiar ground and things have worked out well?

 After a little break after closing Fenn’s, it felt right to take on the role in the Oyster with its history and of course its location on Market Lane into the English Market. It’s taken me a few months to settle into new surroundings but, with the support of Bob (general manager) Dee (restaurant manager ) and Chris Curtin (assistant head chef)  and team, menus are coming together nicely. 

What direction is cooking here at The Oyster taking? What can we expect in the near future?

It’s very much a simple approach to good quality produce sourced within the English Market with a few Fenn’s classics popping up such as the flourless chocolate pudding  and the warm chicken salad on the lunch. There is a big emphasis on steaks and fish which will continue to evolve with the seasons. 

How did you start in the business? Was there a good cook at home or other family inspiration?

 Having taken up Home Ec in Secondary School my first summer job was in a cafe kitchen aged 16. I really enjoyed it, the cooking, the creating, so it was suggested I apply to what was then Cert in Cork Institute of Technology and the rest you could say is history. In later years I returned to complete a degree in Culinary Arts. 

Do you shout in the kitchen?

I tend not to. I learnt early on I didn’t like being shouted at and therefore I shouldn’t shout at someone, it only makes the situation worse. 

The importance of prepping. Do you ever have enough time in the kitchen?  

Some days are easier than others. There is  a great saying “mise en place saves your ass “ and it’s true. Still, you do have days when you feel you’re never on top of it but, with a great team behind you, you get there in the end.

Sourcing and provenance is important to you?

For me it is. It may cost a bit more but it’s worth it as I like to know the person behind the products and learn about how it’s made 

Have you ever come up with a dish by accident, a fluke?

Specials for me are always a bit of a fluke as always last on the prep list. Recently I cooked some pearl barley with carrots onions and some fennel seeds, added cabbage & prawn & a dash of lemon served with turbot & butternut squash purée. It truly was a dish I was super proud of.  

Meat as back-up, not the main feature in a dish? Will that happen?

Attitudes to food are changing but still our meat sales outweigh the vegetarian at present so I can’t see that happening. 

What non-Irish cuisine do you like most?

At present Japanese. Its clean flavours in the broths and the precision is mesmerising .

What is the best meal you’ve ever had?

Hard to pick out one in particular. Really enjoyed Nathan Outlaw and JP McMahon's collaboration in Aniar, Purnell's in Birmingham , 1826 in Adare. But best in the last 12 months was when I collaborated with Derry Clarke’s menu at the Oyster last November. 

Kate is set to star, along with Donegal's Gary O'Hanlon, in the first episode of a new RTE cooking series called Healthy Appetite, which is all about good food.  Episode one kicks off on RTE1 on Wednesday, April 18th at 8.30pm. @MindtheGapFilms

See A Specials Evening at The Oyster Tavern.