A month of pop-ups, supper clubs and food festivals awaits. Katy McGuinness shares the top of the crop. Here are four to book now and those to keep an eye on…
BOOK NOW: Anna Flood Supper Club
Anna Flood studied with Alain Ducasse in France and went on to work in Michelin-starred kitchens. Now she calls herself a nomadic chef, and she works around the world, returning home to Ireland between private gigs to host regular supper clubs. Her next is on Saturday August 31 at No 13 The Factory in Castletroy, Limerick, and she’ll be serving a six-course dinner celebrating the best of Irish seasonal produce with influences from across Europe and the Middle East. Tickets cost €65 and alcohol is available for purchase on the night. @anna_food_flood
BOOK NOW: Ingredient at Hen’s Teeth
Andrew Kelly and Kate Kettle have been running pop-up dinners in Skerries for the past few months, and now they’ve made the move into the city centre. You’ll find them at Hen’s Teeth on the weekends of August 16/18, 24/25, and 30/31. They’ll be serving seasonal dinners (€70) and sharing-style Sunday lunches (€55). @ingredient_popup
BOOK NOW: La Cocina Cuevas Guest Chef Dinners
In The Naul in North County Dublin, Jeremy Cuevas of La Cocina Cuevas has invited a series of guest chefs to come and cook with him on his farm. On Friday August 9 and Saturday 10, the guest is Chris Maguire, formerly of Locks and Franks. The €70 six-course meal kicks off with a Mongolian water slipper welcome cocktail (intriguing!) followed by snacks of gazpacho, padron peppers and chicken liver tepache, poached trout with cucumber sorrel and agua chilli, and a pig board selection of barbecue cuts with chimichurri, accompanied by salads and warm cornbread, with greengage tart and custard for dessert. The ingredients are hyper-local, with many coming from the farm itself. Next up, on Saturday August 31, are husband and wife team, Sebastian Ritzen and Holly Dalton. www.lacocinacuevas.com
BOOK NOW: All The Food Takeovers
Dates and prices are TBC but Lisa Cope’s independent food and restaurant review website All The Food will announce members-only restaurant takeovers of Floritz and Afanti any day now. A great way for food-minded folk to hang out together. Prices vary according to the event. @allthefood_ie
Comet Supper Club
Laura Chabal and Kevin O’Donnell recently returned to Ireland via France after six years in Copenhagen with a dream to open their own restaurant.
While they hunt for premises, their mobile supper club, Comet, gives Irish chowhounds an opportunity to try Kevin’s ‘Atlantic’ cooking, showcasing everything he’s learned working as head of research and development at the two Michelin star Kadeau, as head chef at the one Michelin star Kadeau Bornholm, located on the island favoured by wealthy Danes as a summer retreat, and during a stint at Le Doyenné, the dreamy restaurant, guesthouse, and farm set within the historical grounds of the Château de Saint-Vrain, 40km south of Paris.
Last month at The Fumbally, Kevin served an €80 nine-course tasting menu featuring dishes of McNally Farm mangetouts with tomatillo and green chilli salsa, West Cork brown crab with Chinese doughnuts, quail with vin jaune alongside an offal rice made with the birds’ hearts and livers, girolles and hazelnut oil, and a burnt lemon honey mousse garnished with fried sage leaves.
O’Donnell likes to eat and cook from a variety of cuisines, so guests can expect some dishes with the hits of acidity and foraged ingredients that are the hallmarks of Nordic cuisine, and others leaning more towards the sauces and produce-driven approach of France.
While Kevin cooks, Laura, who grew up in France, pours special grower champagnes and intriguing lesser-known wines. She also makes a mean Comet cocktail, a deliciously deadly combination of cognac, triple sec and grapefruit juice.
Sign up to Comet’s mailing list (www.isitacomet.com) to be the first to know the details of Comet’s September supper club, but in the meantime you may have found Kevin and Laura at The Big Grill, in Herbert Park from August 22 – 25 where their hero dish was a grilled salad nicoise. @comet.supper.club
Mingle Supper Club
Grainne O’Higgins and Dearbhaile Gaffney met at a wedding last year and got on so well they decided they had to come up with a way of working together. Born out of their shared perception that Dublin can be a cliquey city in which it can be hard to make friends, the idea they came up with was Mingle, a roving supper club serving simple, seasonal food – O’Higgins is Ballymaloe-trained – in a friendly environment designed to foster new friendships and great conversation. The most recent supper was on Thursday August 15 at Brother Hubbard Ranelagh and the €65 ticket price includes a welcome drink, sharing plates, dessert and tea. It was BYOB, handy given the wonderful Redmonds off licence is next door. @mingle_irl
Yu Su Cooks at Hen’s Teeth
Multi-hyphenate Yu Su is a Kaifeng-born DJ, sound artist, composer and chef. On Thursday August 22 she prepared a six-course menu – revealed on the night – with accompanying musical soundtrack (she calls it ‘a polyphonic eating experience’) and serving it over two sittings at Hen’s Teeth, with tickets priced at €66. The ticket also bought you entry to the after-party organised by Bella Festa in Yamamori Tengu the following night. @supper.dub @yusucooks
The Salt Project at Roe & Co
Caomhán de Bri of the Salt Project offered a “Medieval-inspired Modern Dublin Menu” as part of Roe & Co’s Summer Garden Series, until August 24. Known for his innovative approach to street food, de Bri’s menu consisted of Blaisíní (small bites) made with local ingredients including Lambay crab and Clonanny Farm meat. Vegan and vegetarian options were available, as were paired cocktails including the Ocean Green made with Roe & Co Single Malt, Stillgarden Glas, Black Matcha Cordial, White Vermouth, TSP Pickle Brine and Sea Foam. €45 per person, with optional drinks pairing €35. www.roeandcowhiskey.com
Pizzella Night at the Fumbally
For a super casual evening, the Fumbally hosted on Saturday August 10, the return of Pizzella Nights. Luca and Harry (of Harry’s Nut Butter fame) will be dishing up a range of different little pizzas – we spy mortadella and burrata – and the Fumbally crew offered all wines at retail price, with no corkage charge. It was no bookings, from 6pm ‘til late. @thefumballystables
Rob Krawczyk and Takashi Miyazaki at Levis’s Corner House, Ballydehob
On Monday August 5 and Tuesday 6, Levis’ Outback was the venue for a unique collaboration between Rob Krawczyk of the Michelin-starred Chestnut Restaurant and Takashi Miyazaki of ichigo ichie in Cork City. It was a €55 set menu with a natural wine pairing from Le Caveau also available. Stay up to date here: outbacklevis@gmail.com. @levis_corner_house_ballydehob