Shane Smith is originally from St Mary's Villas, son of the late East Coast jazz man Terry Smith and his late wife Pearl (nee Mathews).
Now living in Hillsborough, Co Down with his wife Nicci from William Street, his publishing company NI Media is producing 'Yes Chef Ireland', a monthly gastronomic magazine to join the Northern Ireland and Scotland versions.
Not forgetting his roots, Scholar's Townhouse chef Dave Kelly and Brabazon in Slane are featured in the launch issue.
'I came up with the original concept seven years ago on Father's Daywhen my mum-in-law gave me a cook book,' says Shane, who has two stepdaughters Karen and Jenny Sweeney and a son Matthew.
'Being a huge foodie and a publisher - and with the assistance of a few glasses of birthday wine - I decided that a book was the way forward but on wakening the following morning I realised in my sobriety that a book would be financial suicide!'
Still he thought with so many chefs across our small island cooking to serious standards, being overshadowed by the big boys, he ploughed on with the plan, and thankfully it has proved a success.
'I was fed up with amazing chefs such as Tom Walsh at Samphire, Donabate and Stephane Le Sourne at Ghan House in Carlingford not getting the kudos they deserve,' he adds.
'We started Cook for Ulster YES CHEF in 2007 and being from Drogheda, considered Ireland as our next location,' he explains.
'It seemed the right move. Sadly, the boom had gone bust and the lights were out and so had to look elsewhere, Scotland.'
But finally YES CHEF Ireland has been born and for the first issue, they have concentrated mainly on the east coast.
'We have over 20 top chefs and several artisan suppliers like Birgina of Burren Smokehouse and of course the talented Dave Kelly from Scholar's Restaurant in Drogheda, he explains.
The magazine is on sale in all leading newsagents priced €3.80, also in Scholars and Shane's sister's place, Mi Casa in the Lawrence Town Centre.
The Chosen one: whisky fans give new dram Gaelic name
It's the Chosen one... literally. Whisky aficionados have wetted the head of a brand new malt by christening it Taghta, Gaelic for Chosen.
Pronounced tuh-ta, the Glenmorangie single malt, which has spent years extra-maturing in exclusive Manzanilla sherry casks, is the first in the world to have its name chosen by whisky fans.
Glenmorangie received thousands of suggestions for the malt's name. These were then whittled down to three; Taghta, Coileanta (Gaelic for Mastery) and Salainn (Gaelic for salt), which were put to an online vote.
Dr Aonghas MacCoinnich, a researcher in the history of the Highlands at the University of Strathclyde who helped Glenmorangie choose the shortlist, said: "As predicted, it was really difficult to pick out the best three names from the thousands of entries we received from across the world.
"The public have now chosen their favourite and I'm very pleased with the result. It really is a good 'choice' in all senses of the word. Taghta is widely used in Gaelic meaning something that is excellent, choice or chosen and it used to convey the idea of something that is well done."
The dram was chosen and named as part of Glenmorangie's crowdsourcing Cask Masters whisky creation programme, which aims to get enthusiasts and members of the public involved in the whisky-making process. The five stage programme allows fans to chose and name whiskies and encourages them to get involved in the packaging and promotion of their dram creations.
Glenmorangie is now asking whisky fans to upload photos and ideas to its Cask Masters website to help inspire and create the packing for Taghta.
Dr Bill Lumsden, director of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie, said: "This name truly resonates and I don't think we could have done any better if we'd chosen it ourselves! Glenmoranige has already taken inspiration from Gaelic for the names of some of its most famous creations and we are delighted that this unique whisky has such an intriguing name."
I'll tell you right at the start – I'm a fan of Marco Pierre White. I'm a fan not only because I like his approach to food and cooking, but also because he happens to be a really nice bloke.
A few years ago, I had a delightful dinner in his company at his first Irish venture – the steak house in Dawson Street. This was a joint venture with the Fitzers group and it's still going strong. The marriage must be a good one, because they're still together and they've begun a new venture in Donnybrook in The Courtyard.
The Courtyard is a big space with plenty of tables both inside and outside. By all accounts, the official opening was one of the best-attended openings in Dublin for years, with Marco on hand to charm everyone who was there.
The brother-in-law, Chris de Burgh, was there with daughter Rosanna and, the next day, he was on the phone to me saying that we needed to go together.
So that's what we did. We arranged to meet there on a midweek night and, just as I was arriving, I got a call from Chris telling me two things. First, he was held up for ten minutes or so and, second, that we had a third person joining us.
"A surprise," said Chris. The surprise turned out to be old friend Murrough Kavanagh and he was already at the table when I arrived.
Being a big space, The Courtyard gives you plenty of room between the tables, so we had a sense of privacy and Murrough and I chatted happily until Chris joined us.
The menu comes on a large sheet of card and it's divided up into sections: hors d'oeuvres, steaks, grills and roasts, fish and side orders. The hors d'oeuvres, or starters, range in price from €6.95 for soup to €14.95 for a prawn cocktail.
The steaks run from €26 to €34; the grills from €17.95 for a burger to €29.95 for a veal entrecote, and the fish dishes run from €24.95 for a fish pie to €40 for black sole. You can see that in each case the prices are a few euro more than you normally find, so I was curious to see would the meal live up to the price.
Chris picked up the wine list and after a little while said, "How about aMalbec?" I had a few smashers this year and, unhesitatingly, said yes and so did Murrough. I took the wine list and had a look. There are only two wines under €30, one red and one white.
Both Chris and Murrough chose the same starter, the foie gras with a duck egg served on brioche. I chose something a little lighter, the asparagus served simply with a drizzle of Hollandaise. The foie gras looked well on the plate, a circle of brioche topped with a fried duck egg and the foie gras placed on top of that. Both of these dishes were well prepared and tasted good.
For mains, we'd all ordered something different. Chris had chosen the chicken Kiev, Murrough chose the black sole and I chose the steak tartare.
When I asked how they presented it, I was told, "We bring it already mixed and prepared." That may well please many people but, for me, half the enjoyment of a steak tartare is mixing it. I asked if they would let me do my own blend and they happily agreed, so I got the minced fillet, egg yolk, capers, chopped onions, mustard, chilli and olive oil and I set about making my perfect tartare.
Meanwhile, Chris said his chicken Kiev was making him nostalgic, while Murrough said his sole was "really fine". For sides, we ordered creamed spinach, Savoy cabbage and onion rings. Of the three, the onion rings were truly memorable.
We did manage a couple of desserts, the sticky toffee and the Eton mess. I can't help it, every time I see Eton mess I find myself saying, "Eton mess is soon forgotten". I took my espresso outside where you'll find comfy sofas and armchairs set out on carpet, making it feel very cosy.
I think The Courtyard will do well, although by pitching the price higher than most restaurants, they may end up limiting the customers that can eat here. The food is good, the service excellent and it's a pleasing dining room. With Marco looking at you from many of the walls in various guises, you won't forget who's fronting this restaurant.
Our bill came to €265, which I thought was expensive. Further examination showed that over €100 of that was drinks – wine, water and gin – which made it more like €50 a head for the food.
THE RATINGS:
9/10 food
9/10 ambience
6/10 value for money
24/30
ON A BUDGET
If you had the soup to start at €6.95 and followed that with the burger at
€17.95, you have spent €25.90 — the least you could spend for two courses.
ON A BLOWOUT
Start with Dublin Bay prawns at €14.50 and, then, a 10-ounce sirloin with Bearnaise at €29. Add a few sides. I'd recommend the onion rings at €4.95.
HIGH POINT
My tartare was made from prime beef, so it was very tender.
LOW POINT
I thought the wine list was over-priced.
The Courtyard, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 tel: (01) 551 0555
Irish Independent
Monday, 21 October 2013
plaice, sole
general pointers for buying fish !
shouldnt smell of fish,it should smell of saltwater the sea.
eyes should be bright and shiny, not sunken and dark or cloudy !
badly damaged scales then reject, these general signs should keep you right when purchasing .
fish goujons,homemade chips, pea puree, tomato with tartare sauce ! delicious effort !!
selection of potato cuts saute,fried and a rosti!
vegetable broth ! / unpassed soup!
my first encounter with the artichoke!! never cooked, or tasted before ( a lot of preparation ) i thought this was a fair effort in the end .
snaps from week 1/2 the basic cut of veg (must practice)not bad for a novice.
a mixed leaf salad and tomato salad , learning the basis of a salad! base, body ,garnish,dressing ( i must admit i never knew there were so many variations and types , enjoying the education)
salad nicoise seared tuna steak , i enjoyed this dishes construction .
.jpg)
