Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

I was at stunning Mountain View Kilkenny in Ireland over the bank holiday to attend Foodiefest which is the first food and wellness festival of its kind.  I got to help my fellow MasterChef UK contestants as they cooked their dishes for circa 90 guests followed by cooking demos for a captive audience.

From start to finish the weekend showcased Irish cuisine in so many different ways so this week my column covers some gems that I can’t wait to share with you.

'Food and recipes should be shared, not owned'

My highlights started with dinner at Mountain View with menu from head chef Keith Boyle, a renowned award winning Irish chef with a heart of gold. For my starter, I opted for Seafood scampi, crab salsa and mango aioli. This was a generous and stunning plate of food with crispy coated scampi and delicious aioli. The crab salsa was new to me and I couldn’t stop scooping it onto my scampi.

I asked chef Boyle for the ingredients and he gladly shared them with me saying food and recipes are meant to be shared, not owned.

For my main dish, I ordered the pan seared salmon, curried leeks, mussels, poached eggs and chive butter. This was as classically French as it gets with the delicious sauce further enriched when the egg yolk bursts into the sauce. This was served with irresistibly parmesan truffle chips which were to die for.  

This dish exuded the love, passion and generosity of the chef and his sous chef Ed who has earned the nickname of ‘the ED Chef’.  

I was tempted by the preserved berry crumble and whisky anglaise but gave in to the classic sticky toffee pudding and caramel sauce. The plating of this dessert was elevated by the beautiful plate which had a hole in the middle that perfectly encased the pudding.

It was what I expected from a well made pudding, light and sticky with traditional caramel sauce. A part of me wanted a non-traditional version of the sauce which can be through the introduction of a salty or sour element or the addition of rum or whisky.

My go to sauce for sticky toffee pudding is my velvet tamarind caramel sauce which brings just enough sourness to change the game. A salted, miso or date caramel will also lend some character to this well loved dessert.

The next morning, ahead of a super busy day, chef made the time to cook us a full Irish breakfast with deliciously juicy sausages, intensely smoky bacon, black pudding, fried bread, Irish soda bread, eggs and more. This was enough to keep me going all day.

I had the pleasure of working in the kitchen where I saw the other side of chef Boyle which was a focused and accomplished chef who ran a professional kitchen without any faff or noise.

The MasterChef dinner

The MasterChef dinner comprised four courses of standout dishes designed by Matthew Samuels, Forest Kwok and Nichola Rapson.  

The first course comprised three canapé-style starter including Caribbean Jerk pork belly, crispy coconut rice with apple and mustard, blue and red tostada, guasacaca, salsa macha and queso blanco, and crab korokke, Japanese mayo and pickled shallots. This course left everyone wanting more.

Fish course of torched cod, miso, orange and rum espuma and local trout roe by Matthew Samuels was exquisite with perfectly cooked fish and utterly delicious sauce.

This was followed by Irish beef, charred corn puree, corn velouté, Venezuelan chimichurri and crispy leek by Nickolas Rapson. The corn flavours on this dish was at another level, beautiful, silky smooth and delicious. I watched chef Boyle ‘nurse’ the corn puree so not surprised at the final result.

They say dessert should leave an impression on a diner’s mind and the dessert of chocolate, praline and yuzu paris brest by Forest kwok did not disappoint. There wasn’t anyone who did not wish there was a second portion. It was sensational and a true knockout of a dessert.

My turn

For my food demo, I made a salad of honey, black pepper and balsamic beetroot, Irish potatoes spiced with mustard seeds, chilli, and spring onions and a crowd pleasing creamy chicken sauce using mascarpone, sun dried tomatoes, shallots, chillies and coloured peppers.

To make chef Boyle’s crab salsa – mix finely diced courgette and tomato concasse with fresh crab meat, capers, coriander, olive oil and lemon juice. Check the balance of ingredients and adjust to your taste.

Serve this with potato croquettes, salmon or any white fish or use to elevate a classic scampi dish. Tomato concasse is a tomato that has been peeled, seeded and chopped to needed dimensions.

Coming next week

Next week, I will bring you highlights from the opening of the latest fine dining experience, restaurant Fifty-Two at Rudding Park.

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