Menu of the Month '01

Photo: Mike O'Toole

"Who is that bearded man"? you might have asked yourself when the first Bridgestone Dublin Food Guide appeared a few year's back. For there, in a quartet of pics along with a Georgian street corner, a plate of olives and some scrummy baked oysters, was this bearded chef, with his arms folded, looking straight ahead at the camera.

And then, when the 2001 Bridgestone 100 best guides appeared, you might have said: "There he is again! Who is that guy?"

That guy ­ bearded, arms crossed, straight-ahead stare ­ is Harry McKeogh, formerly of John Cooke's Café in Dublin, now chef-patron of the spiffingly good Cherry Tree restaurant in Killaloe, on the shores of the Shannon (get that address in your book along with Nimmos and Mulcahy's as a must-hit holiday destination).

Mr McKeogh is not just a fine cook, but also a fine thinker on the subject of food. If you need proof of that assertion, just sit yourself down in The Cherry Tree, order up an aperitif, and mull over these words, which preface the menu:

"Good food depends entirely on good ingredients.
The handling of produce in a kitchen is far less important for taste than:
The kind of variety it is
Where and how it was grown
When it was harvested
How long it has taken to get to our kitchen.
This is where true flavour derives from; cooking is only a small part of this.
Finding a steady, dependable source of ingredients is a gradual and sometimes frustrating process.
We have searched out the best local organic farmers, who work with us to grow the best standard of produce".

Well, hang that high above the door of every good restaurant. Pithy, poetical and utterly pure of thought, that is a magnificent ­ and magnificently modest ­ culinary manifesto.
Best of all, Mr McKeogh and his chef, Mark Anderson, put it into practice. Tipperary beef. Comeragh lamb. Castletownbere sea mullet (don't miss the mullet: it's as good as the best sea bass). Dinish Island scallops. Mountshannon rocket.
And just look at this special, set vegetarian menu, for example. Drool as you read it, and consider that it costs a mere £20. You could have got one hell of a meal for £20 in our Malton menu, but in 1977, £20 was a lot of money.

The Cherry Tree it is, then.
Call 061-375 688, quickly.

The Cherry Tree Vegetarian Menu

£20

Fritters of Organic Sprue Asparagus with aioli and roast piquillo pepper black olive vinaigrette

Salad of Avocado Mountshannon rocket and a fava bean chive balsamic dressing

Passion Fruit Sorbet

Cappuccino of Organic Spinach Soup

Organic Leaf & herb salad

Crostini of Bluebell Falls, Ennis, Organic Goat's Cheese served with ratatouille

Malaysian Laksa Noodles with stir-fried bok soi, baby corn, shiitake mushrooms and Thai red curry sauce

Dessert Menu

Tea or Freshly Ground Coffee