The Bookshelf Elysian hosts Cork on a Fork Dinner. And it turns out to be a superb evening!

The Bookshelf Elysian hosts Cork on a Fork Dinner.

And it turns out to be a superb evening!

Sweet sandwich!

The Bookshelf at the Elysian made a rare evening opening to host a one-off 4-course dinner experience for the Cork on a Fork Festival, with a specially created menu filled with produce from the region.  

Goats cheese, beetroot

The dinner, helmed by Head Chef Rebekah Harrington, was class from start to finish and featured an array of top notch local produce.

Pom'O x 2

In between the starters and the mains, we had a Mead interval. The meads, all by the Kinsale Mead Company, were Hazy Summer, Atlantic Dry and Wild Red. They were paired with nibbles that included Gubbeen Smoked cheese and Ballyhooly Blue (whipped) from Fermoy. Both the mead and nibbles impressed and you could see it forming the basis for similar demos at markets and other restaurants. More on Kinsale Mead Co here. 

Cider sparkling in the cloudiness

After a warm welcome, and with live music in the foyer, we were soon checking out the menu. There was a choice of three starters, each with a wine pairing (from L’Atitude 51). Out two were Chicken liver mousse éclair, piccalilli relish and Textures of beetroot, Sunview Goats cheese (from Kilmichael). The pair were shared and each was excellent and easily polished off.

Mead break

After the mead interlude, it was on to the mains. No need for sharing this time as we had each picked Free-range Caherbeg (from Rosscarbery) confit pork belly, blackberries, with Pom’O apple port jus. Just perfect. The pork was excellent and lifted by the amazing Pom’O by Killahora Orchards (that we would meet again at the end).

Pork Belly and that sauce!

Drinks? One was the Ameztoi Txacoli de Getaria Rosado “Rubentis” and the other was an unfiltered and delicious classy cider from orchards just west of the city. Each had plenty of acidity to go well with the pork and hard to pick between the Basque wine and the Irish cider. The only thing missing was that the wine wasn’t poured from shoulder height as they sometimes do in the lovely village of Getaria where this one comes from.

The Basque wine

Time for the sweet then. Two available so we took both. The Sandwich of meadowsweet namelaka and strawberry cremeux was a delicious as you’d anticipate, really well executed while the other, the Blackberry and lemon balm granita, with chocolate aero and candied nuts, was superbly refreshing. Thumbs up for two desserts worth waiting for!

Chicken liver mousse éclair

On then to the finalé. It was billed as a Dessert Cocktail featuring that fantastic Killahora Orchids Pom’O. But no cocktail! The Bookshelf decided that the Pom’O was so good there was no need to add anything and that proved to be a great call. What a finalé!

Blackberry & Lemon balm....

* Killahora on that unusual drink: “Our Pom’O is an apple aperitif made from rare apple varieties, grown in our 200 year old Orchards on the south facing slopes of Ireland’s County Cork. We mix the juice from our bittersweet apples with the finest apple brandy, then age it in Irish whiskey barrels for at least a year….”  More on the Pom'O here.