An evening with Tom Doorley at Riverside
In a way, it was the night that 'The Restaurant' TV programme came to Kilcullen, without the cameras, the microphones, or the need for some celebrity amateur chef or other to be awarded stars.
Food and drink are important in all our lives. We can't live without them. But sometimes they are more than just mere sustenance. They can be part of what makes life worth living a little more than just for the daily breakfast, lunch and dinner at home ... or dinner and tea in place of those last two, if that's the way you do it. They are treats. They are craft. They can even be art.
Sometimes they make for a special occasion. Like the 'Evening with Tom Doorley' which was presented by the Riverbank Restaurant last Thursday. It was a promotional event, designed to showcase the restaurant, its staff under the management of Alan Haynesworth for the Dunlea family, and the culinary skills of Chef Ronny Wolf. All with wine from the local Good Food Gallery, and celebrity wine writer Tom Doorley to link the lot together in words.
The keynote guest made it clear from the beginning that it was an evening in which local produce was going to be championed, where possible, and that he took his hat off to the restaurant for that. "This has never been more important now in terms of our economy," he said.
There were over 80 there for the evening, pretty well a full house for the Riverside. Some were obviously regulars. Others were probably there for the first time, at least for the fine dining side of the business. There was a good mix of locals and out-of-Kilculleners. Peter Dunlea and Nessa, and all their staff, made everyone feel very welcome.
Chef Ronny Wolf is apparently a very shy man, and so Tom Doorley took on the role of explaining the food as well as the wines which they had chosen to complement it. He did both tasks with a sense of the ordinary which really suited the occasion. Making it 'fancy', even if some of the presentations were actually that, would have been inappropriate.
The 'Wild Mushroom Beer' mise en bouche was a little glass of semi-clear soup with a froth on top. Tasty. The first appetiser of 'Carpaccio of Prawns six ways' involved pressed prawns with salad bits and a lime zest. The 'Study of Beetroot' and its accessories was sweet, and perhaps more interesting than the shellfish.
The Domaine Mittnacht Reisling which accompanied would have been a revelation to those raised in the 60s and 70s in Ireland on sticky sweet Liebfraumilch and its equivalents in other labels. It offered, for this writer who prefers his wines in reds, a very palatable excursion into white with character.
The fish course was 'Pan Roasted Wild Irish Sea Bass', which Tom Doorley mentioned had actually been caught outside Ireland's southern territorial waters in the French sea sector, because it is illegal to do so in Irish waters. But that was OK, because he noted that a big proportion of sea bass used in Ireland comes from fish farms in Chile. And what we ate on the night, 'Irish or French', was superb.
The Les Fumes Blanches Sauvignon Blanc served with the fish didn't suit my palate as well as had the Reisling. Mainly because of the long-lingering acidic aftertaste.
Main courses, or if you insist, entrees, were a choice from fillet steak or organic chicken, both sourced in the Kilcullen area. The Tornado Rossi, cooked in my own medium-rare preference to perfection, came with seared fois gras and white truffle, both of which I can personally do without but which were in their own rights excellent. The sauteed potato was buried under the fillet and its gravy, and I really do prefer my spuds on their own section of the plate. But it all ate nicely.
The chicken was served with asparagus, fondant potatoes and a light brandy cream sauce. It tasted as good as it sounds.
The Windy Peak Pinot Noir from Australia with the entrees was right on point with my own wine preference. A second glass thankfully found its way to my table.
There were two desserts, one a Warm Chocolate Moose (no, not a mispell), which I recorded in my notes with no less than three exclamation marks after the word 'magnificent'. The other was Poached Riesling Pear, with plum confit and vanilla and star anise syrup. Maybe two exclamation marks!! Which both reflect that Chef Ronny's original skills were focused on pastries and desserts.
The Warre's Optima 10-year-old Port served with the desert may have been blessedly light to most people there, and it was excellent of its kind. But it did prompt me to recall with some nostalgia the vintage ports to which my late dad introduced me at an early age, when The Hideout was our family's nationally known place for good food and drink. But that was yesterday, and in a totally different way and time to the Riverside Restaurant of this millenium into which we have already travelled a decade.
The cost per person for the event was €50, and we suspect that, when everything involved was costed, it probably wasn't a directly profitable evening. But it certainly did do what Tom Doorley presented it as, a really excellent showcase for the restaurant under its current management.
It did more. The experience gave us the chance to see that, in value for money terms, this is no longer a restaurant for the Celtic Tigers, but for all of us who live in Kilcullen and its environs. When we want to live a little more than just breakfast, lunch and whatever else we're having at home ... and when the occasion seems right.
Brian Byrne.