TUTORED BEER TASTINGS NOW ON THE MENU AT ELBOW LANE, IRELAND’S SMALLEST BREWERY

TUTORED BEER TASTINGS NOW ON THE MENU AT 

ELBOW LANE, IRELAND’S SMALLEST BREWERY

Russel Garrett, Master Brewer, Elbow Lane Smokehouse & Brewery

To celebrate its 10^th Anniversary this year, Elbow Lane Smokehouse & Brewery, the country’s smallest brewery has created a new

Beer of the Week. "a great treat for beer lovers". Elbow Lane Lager

Beer of the Week 

Elbow Lane Elbow Lager, 4.4% ABV.

"a great treat for beer lovers"

You smell it (slight aromas of vanilla and of the grassy hops). You taste it. And you know you have a top-notch European-style lager in your hand. You’re doubly blessed if, at the same time, you are about to start a meal in Cork’s Elbow Lane Smokehouse. This is where the beers are produced with the food in mind!

The Elbow Lager is particularly refreshing and owes its flavour to Pilsner and Munich malts and "Noble" hop varieties imported from Germany and Czechia (though they have begun to use Irish malts). 

It will complement most lighter dishes, a great treat for beer lovers. The unfiltered lager has a slight haze and the process takes 6 weeks overall. 

Very Highly Recommended

A Quart of Ale± #101. On the craft journey with Whiplash, Wicklow Wolf, Western Herd, Larkins

 A Quart of Ale± #101

On the craft journey with Whiplash, Wicklow Wolf, Western Herd, Larkins

Wicklow Wolf Tundra Tropical Pale Ale 5.6%, 440ml can Bradleys

This Tropical Pale Ale from the busy Wicklow Wolf comes in a cloudy orange-y colour with a white top. Aromas are more or less all tropical: pineapple, mango, papaya and grapefruit; there’s a hint of pine there also.

And those same fruits provide the flavours on the palate. Indeed the flavours have the run of it as there is just a modest bitterness. It is a smooth one, almost creamy. Very very drinkable though!

Geek Bits:

Style: Tropical IPA*.

IBUs: 30

Hops: Idaho 7, Mosaic, Citra & Sabro 

Malts: Pale, Wheat, Flaked Oats, Cara

*  The label also says New England IPA, and I’m inclined to go with that but I won’t be getting too hung up about it. As the Beer Bible says: “Styles trigger endless debates..across the planet. Approach them lightly.” 

Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils 5.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

This is how Whiplash introduce, sorry reintroduce, True Love Waits: “We’re taking it back to the very start of the Whiplash story today, to the halcyon days of 2016. Before we had a brewery, before 440ml cans & white labels. What we did have though was True Love Waits, a dry hopped Pilsner and our third ever release.”

And now it’s back. Clean and bright light gold with a foamy white head that lasts a bit. Aromatics are engaging, not at all heavy, light white/yellow fruits, citrus (including Bergamot). And that citrus influence is also strong on the clean refreshing palate, the unusual mix of the US Columbus hops (for the dry hopping) and their German lager yeast pulling it off to come up with a crisp, sessional, light and piney lager. Superbly balanced between malts and hops. Top stuff indeed.

Whiplash make as many beers as other prolific breweries but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dud from the Dublin based outfit. Quality control seems to be in-house here rather than putting the punter to the expense of finding out for him or herself. Kudos for that. The kind of brewery worth supporting.

Not the only one thinking that some breweries should hold off for a period of refinement before sending a new issue into the public domain. Here's part of a recent tweet by Jeff Alworth (@beernirvana): ..Breweries spin out so many IPAs that the vast majority taste like beta versions of a beer that might come into focus in another three batches... 

Geek Bits

Malts: Pilsner Malt, Carapils

Hops: Hersbrucker (German), Columbus (USA)

Yeast: WLP833

ABV: 5.0%

Format: 440ml Cans & limited kegs

Artwork: @sophie_devere

Western Herd Flora and Fauna 10 Hop Double IPA 9.45%

During a recent discussion online, the presenter said this was an absolute bomb of a beer and “has really put Western Herd on the map”. 

It certainly made a huge impression during its launch year of 2021 and the Beernut blog made it their Best Canned Irish Beer: “The apotheosis of the West Coast revival, this brought me back to a time when big and punchy American hops on a clean malt base, served brewery-fresh, was the most perfect thing ever produced for humans to drink.”

This can, marked #158, is from Batch No 4.  Last year's production: Batch 1 was 137, 2 was 152 and 3  was 154. Like the others, Batch 4 has ten hops but here they have dropped Strata for Galaxy. Brewer Bridger Kelleher says he wanted “to see how Galaxy played in there.” It is a limited release, mainly in Clare, with limited distribution outside of the Banner.

In the style of a West Coast DIPA, it is gold in colour and you can see zillions of micro bubbles rising through the clear juice towards the white foamy head. Aromas, with pine needles and pineapple prominent, are intense (some would say dank).

With the Strata hops (described as “Passion fruit meets pot”) missing from the current line-up, is it perhaps a little less dank? Maybe so but I’d need the two versions together to even hazard a guess. When not describing something as “moist” and “humid” like a basement, dank is a slang term describing something as “excellent,” especially marijuana.

Certainly, the impressive posse of tropical flavours remains strong on the palate. Such flavours often get lost when the ABV is high but that is not the case here so major credit to the brewery. And the umami just goes on, the hop-packed juice giving complex flavour right to the very satisfactory finalé. 

They say: ..we’ve packed in the largest number of hops ever into this Double IPA. Designed to let the hops shine through, we’ve built a complex and layered flavour profile.”

Eight of the hops listed below have been used in the kettle and then they double dry-hopped it “heavily” with Nelson Sauvin and (now) Galaxy. To be fair, the malts also keep their end up, even if outnumbered on the credits list.

Hops
Columbus, El Dorado, Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Nelson Sauvin,
Strata, Amarillo, Chinook. Galaxy has replaced Strata for Batch #4

Malts
Pale, Stout Mix

Adjuncts
Dextrose

Yeast
LAX

Original Gravity
1.075

% ABV
9.45%

Larkins Chocolate Passion Imperial Stout 8.5%, 440ml can Bradleys

This Larkin’s stout, brewed with “our friends @dot_brew", is as dark as can be with a quick-vanishing tan head. Best served warmer than chilled they said and that is what I did. Passion fruit purée is included as an ingredient and so too is vanilla and the dessert impression continues on the palate. Not for me, I’m afraid to say.

Full ingredients list: Barley, Lactose, Oats, Hops, Water, Yeast, Passion Fruit purée, Vanilla.

**** 

Beer Bits!

Beoirfest and Barrels in Brewing:

Brian has been in touch about the latest online session: "I think I'm safe in saying that if you have any interest in barrels in brewing you'll want to watch this more than once. It's hard to imagine a panel with more expertise and passion for the subject than the one we were very luck to have; The Wild Beer Co., ASC Barrels, Zmajska Pivovara, and Brasseria della Fonte

If you haven't seen it yet be sure to make time. It's now available at BeoirFest.com"

***

News from Cork, as reported by the ECHO, is that Elbow Lane Brewery is to double its tiny capacity. Small but the beers are excellent.

***

Rye River have A little slice of sunshine just for you.

Wondering where you can find our latest Rye River Seasonal Kahuna Krush Tropical Sour near you? Check out our website here for a current list of stockists https://ryeriverbrewingco.com/introducing-kahuna-krush.../ We'll continue to update our list as it rolls out, so check back!

Dingle Magic. And other superb Irish & Belgian Beers. Session #7

Dingle Magic. And other superb Irish & Belgian Beers. Session #7

West Kerry Brewery “Béal Bán” Golden Ale, 5.0%, 500ml bottle

You savour the minutes you spend drinking this Golden Ale. It’s the languid time in summer: you have a glass in your hand and the sun is going down. Not quite there yet. Hanging on. Between pale and dark. Those golden moments. When the Blaskets and its seagulls are in silhouette. 

Sip and savour and put your arm around his or her shoulder. And whisper: “This is the best golden ale in the world”. And, if she or he is sipping the same paradisiacal beer, there’ll be no argument. For what you both are enjoying in these magic peaceful twilight minutes is truly the umami conjured up by the goddess from the Ballydavid brewery of the wild peninsula. Béal Bán, an beoir órga is fearr ar domhain. Draíocht an Daingin.

Gold is the colour of this magical ale from West Kerry. Creamy rather than crisp, yet light and refreshing with malt prominent earlier on, the hops making a show at the finish. A distinctive beer indeed, very impressive.

I drank this in 2012 at Blair’s Inn and also during a visit to Tigh Bhric where the brewery is based. It was then being described as a pale English style bitter. It was then, still is, a light and refreshing golden ale with a slight malty sweetness and a bitter finish, imparted by a generous helping of hops. Indeed, one could see why the English aficionado would feel at home here.

Paul and Adrienne (the brewer) told us that they use water from their own well to brew the beers, both cask and bottled. The malt is predominantly Irish and the beers are brewed naturally, with no additives or preservatives. By the way, they use local botanicals in the brewing, such as rosehips, elderflower, blackberries and black currants “added to our seasonal beers”. 

Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne is the Irish name for the brewery in the Dingle peninsula. It was established in 2008 to make traditional yet progressive beer. You’ll find them in their brew pub: Tigh Bhric (which also offers accommodation). .

Béal Bán is one of their core range and like the others, Carraig Dubh (porter) and Cúl Dorcha (red ale), is called after local place names. Adrienne is Ireland’s first female brewer.

Elbow Lane Elbow Lager, 4.4%, 500ml bottle

Light gold (cloudy), fountains of bubbles rising, nice white head stays for a spell. Mild aromas. Refreshing on the palate, sharp citrus led flavours reaching the parched parts. I was impressed with the early version of this lager, in 2012, and impressed with this 2020 edition too. Best served at 7-8 degrees.

All the Elbow Lane beers are relatively lightly hopped, mainly because of food matching considerations. With five restaurants in the group, you don't want an over-hopped beer upsetting the food flavours.

This continental style lager is particularly refreshing and owes its flavor to Pilsner and Munich malts and "Noble" hop varieties imported from Germany & Czech Republic. It will complement most lighter dishes, a great treat for beer lovers.

They say: We’re really proud of the beers that we make here in our tiny brewery. There are no additives and we proudly brew according to the principles of the German Purity Law which means that we use four ingredients to make our beer. We hope you enjoy.

The White Hag “Atlantean” New England IPA, 5.4%, 330 ml can

A beer from the north west with an eye to the next parish across the foamy ocean.

A cloudy light gold, but cloudy, is the colour here. Lovely fluffy head but soon there’s little left of it (the head, that is). It’s juicy and fruity for sure, with a creamy mouthfeel, the hops slightly subdued but still a notable presence. Excellent balance though and this smooth ale finishes well and certainly has that second-can appeal. New England may be a long way off but this lovely ale is easily found locally. Go for it!

They say: Drink this beer as fresh as possible, when all the Alpha & Beta oils from the hops are the most powerful. Little to no hop bitterness at the end, utilising hops that impart a tropical, juicy sweetness rather than the classic bitter.

St Bernardus Pater 6, 6.7%, 33cl bottle

It’s a dark brown colour, not quite the chestnut they say on the website. The foamy head is off white and it soon contracts to a very thin cap. A touch of coffee in the aromas. And coffee hints too amidst the fruit on the palate. Time and again in these high abv Belgian beers - and this is far from the highest - you find a delicious harmony between the alcohol and the flavour, and that harmony here extends to the finish.

They say: St. Bernardus Pater 6 is brewed according to the classic dubbel style with a recipe that dates back to 1946. The name of this beer has become a reference for its style, and it is commonly referred to as ‘een Paterke’.

As ever the Belgians recommend a food pairing: St.Bernardus Pater 6 is a great choice to complement pork recipes or contrast against zesty cheeses. It is bottle fermented and best to serve it at 8-12 degrees.

If you come across the Pater 6, and if you see The Bernardus Abt 12 on the same shelf, then don’t hesitate. The Abt 12 (10%) is a quadrupel, full of complex flavours, great fruit and with a superb finish. It is regarded as one of the best beers in the world. In this context, quadrupel means it is stronger than a tripel which is stronger than a duppel like Pater 6!

Time to go fishing folks! Head to Goldie

Time to go fishing folks! Head to Goldie

Monkfish

The much loved salmon, popularly known as Goldie, swims forever on top of the tower of St Anne’s in Shandon, in one of the most elevated positions in Cork City. The fish and ale restaurant named Goldie, in the flat of the city, is already in an elevated position when its comes to matters fish on the plate. Our first meal there a few months back was impressive, this latest even more so.They appear to be getting into their stride. Who knows what heights this creative kitchen will hit in the seasons ahead.

Aishling

Lots of hard work here too. After all, they get the whole fish in here every morning. But Head Chef Aishling Moore is relishing it, the head to tail ethos, the challenge that each delivery poses, plus the freedom to create that it also makes possible. “I’m living the dream,” she said on our latest call.

Cork's Goldie Fish (Shandon) and Goldie Angel (Saint Fin Barre's)

The Goldie Menu has three main sections: Snacks, Small Plates, and Mains. You also have sides and desserts of course. And then there’s the beers, all from their own brewery across the road in Elbow Lane, ales formulated by brewer Russell to “specifically suit the foods that we offer”, three on draught, two in bottle. They do have a matching wine list of course and, on the night, had some interesting special offers on.

Snacks

You can expect to see quite a range of fish on the menu. On our visit last week, squid, prawn, ling, oyster, mussel, salt fish brandade, plaice, ray, and monkfish were all in the mix to some degree or other. No meat here but vegetarians are catered for at all stages including a mains of Piccalilli Panisse, Coolea Cheese sauce, and kale.

We started with beers (Elbow Lager and Jawbone Ale - all their beers are named after Cork lanes) and a couple of snacks. The Chickpea Wafer, fennel and Coolea Cheese, was a delicious wee bite but my favourite was the Salted Ling fish finger, with gherkin ketchup.

Oysters

CL continued on the vegetarian path with a small plate of Beetroot, gherkin ketchup, yogurt and horseradish. Absolutely superb, so good I persuaded her to share. She did well too though as she was full of praise for my Tempura of Oysterhaven Oysters, with ponzu sauce. 

That sauce was magic and indeed I thought the combination well capable of converting oyster haters and when I mentioned that to our server, she said she’d seen it happen here. So if you are a bit doubtful about oysters and you find yourself in Goldie, do go for it. Other small plates on the night included Steamed mussels, creamed watercress and cider and also Salt Fish Brandade, seaweed cracker, pickles.

Beetroot

Now, for the main event. We were both tempted by the Whole Roast Plaice, bok choi, café de Paris but that will have to wait for another night! Instead we went for the Ray and Monkfish dishes and a delicious side (shared) of Sea Salt shoestring chips.

Sauces and relishes here are key - like the ponzu earlier. Now it was turn of a well-judged red wine sauce to work its magic with the Pan Fried Ray and the parsnip. And superlatives too for the oyster velouté  and fennel that enhanced the Pan Fried Monkfish. Umami on the double.

Ray

And those thin little chips were also top notch. Other tempting sides available included Chinese cabbage squid, peanut and tahini dressing and also Roast cauliflower and hazelnut brown butter.

Just a short dessert list. We had tried, and enjoyed, the Killahora Orchard apple port Panna cotta on the previous visit and this time picked the equally enjoyable Blood orange posset, brown butter Madeleine, white chocolate and tarragon ganache. Quite a delightful plateful that we shared.

Then time to say goodbye to the very friendly and efficient crew here. But we did have a peek at the upstairs room that has just been opened for service. Downstairs, it is very bright and modern. Upstairs, there is more by way of decor, lots of foliage. Will definitely take the pressure off downstairs at weekends and would also be a lovely room for a midweek party (up to 15 people or thereabouts). 

Party or no party, go fishing folks! Head to Goldie.

Goldie 

128 Oliver Plunkett Street (opposite Market Lane)

Cork

Open 5pm, Tue - Sat.

info@goldie.ie

+353 21 239 8720

Goldie. Where Fish Reigns

Goldie. Where The Fish Reigns

Sardines

It’s new and cool. Check out those white tiles with black designs opposite the counter. Ease yourself into those comfortable low-backed chairs and, if someone to the side talks to you, just swing round a few degrees and go face to face. But most of all, Goldie is all about the fish.

Crumpet

The clue of course is in the name. Most natives and many visitors will know that the big fish that forever swims at the top of the tower in Shandon has forever been nick-named Goldie. And the city loves its fish both in sentiment and in tasty reality. And Goldies makes that reality even more flavoursome.

Prawn cocktail crisps

The restaurant takes the ‘whole catch’ from the Ballycotton small day boats (so they take whatever is caught on the day, regardless of the quantity and species) ensuring a daily changing menu featuring the freshest produce available. They also buy in the English Market. 

Goldie operates a ‘gill to tail approach’, using as much of the fish as possible. So you’ll see some surprises on the menu, not just the species on offer but also the parts. Anyone for crunchy fish spines?

Lemon Sole

We were prepared to be surprised when we visited the other day. Front of house is very friendly and on the ball here. There’s an immediate welcome, help with the menu if need be and a chat or two over the evening. We were in early and it filled up quickly enough. Another upstairs room is being readied even as the confident new restaurant takes its first accomplished steps.

The window, more or less facing the “parent” Market Lane, shows the words Fish and Ale under the main title. And the beers come from the Elbow Lane Micro Brewery, also across the street. Brewers Russell and Davide have specially formulated the ales to suit food and, as customers of Market Lane and Elbow Lane itself will tell you, they have been very successful in that regard. 

I enjoyed a pint of the Jawbone Pale Ale with my fish. It is on draught as are the others: Angel Stout, Elbow Lager and Wisdom Ale, all named after Cork lanes.

Gurnard

Jawbone

The menu is divided into four sections. Inexpensive options come under Snacks. Next step is Small Plates, followed by Mains, and Desserts (no fish but they do use sea salt!). A quartet of sides available also including Sea Salt Shoestring Chips, Crushed baby potatoes (with scallion and seaweed), Roast Cauliflower (with hazelnut brown butter), and Sea Vegetable kimchi salad (with squid).

There were five snacks on the Friday we called and we enjoyed the Golden Crumpet and seaweed butter and enjoyed, even more, the Prawn cocktail crisps with cultured cream and seaweed, each priced at €2.50.

Harty’s Oyster feature on the small plates but our choices were the Salt Fish brandade, seaweed cracker and pickled celery, a very tasty combination indeed (7.5). The similarly priced Seared devilled sardines with pickled celeriac were superb, so good I thought briefly (it was raining outside) I was back in the old town of Albufeira enjoying a plateful in the hot sun with a glass of wine. By the way, they have a wine list with most of the whites very well suited to the fish.

Panna Cotta

The superb mains were yet to come. I’m a sucker for Gurnard but rarely come across it when eating out. The Pan fried Gurnard here (21.50), with bok choi and lasooni butter, is a delight. Simply delicious, especially with the sauce.

And the chicken butter sauce with the Pan Fried Lemon Sole (22.50) was also a winner. There was a decent chunk of swede (how often do you come across that veg in restaurants?) on the plate as well. We could have had sides but resisted the temptation as we were determined to go through all three courses.

Budino

As it turned out, the strategy worked very well indeed. We completed the three and felt good for the fourth! Just a short list of sweets but two were enough for us. The Pom ‘O apple port Panna Cotta with caramelised apple and crumble and the Achill Island Sea Salt and caramel pudding with hazelnut biscotti were each that bit different to the usual dessert and a lovely finalé to a superb fish dinner.

Goldie is the result of an exciting collaboration between Aishling Moore (25), former head chef of Elbow Lane, and Stephen Kehoe, (39) executive chef of the Market Lane Group. 

The Chef Sessions. Bone marrow, lambs hearts, cauliflower stalks, tripe, pigs tail, pig skin pasta, and more.

The Chef Sessions At ORSO

Bone marrow, lambs hearts, cauliflower stalks, tripe, pigs tail, pig skin pasta, and more.

Bone marrow

In a remote restaurant in Sweden, Chef Magnus Nilsson saws a bone lengthways as his customers look on. The marrow is scooped out and mixed with other ingredients, a bowl for each guest. Fäviken* is the name of the restaurant and it is in the world’s top 50. No such theatre at ORSO on Monday evening when the Market Lane young chefs presented their latest Chef Sessions, the first one open to the public, but we did have bone marrow, lambs hearts, cauliflower stalks, tripe, pigs tail, spent grain brioche, pig skin pasta, even a stout wort fudge.

The focus here in these sessions is very much on using the previously unused, rarer cuts of meat, little known fish, and on avoiding food waste. But the focus, and the challenge, is sharpened by the imperative to cook and present the unusual to a very high standard. The confident crew did very well indeed and their nine course meal took us beyond the familiar comfort zone and was a delicious delight of taste and imagination.

Heart

Served with some excellent beer (their own) and organic wines, this turned out to be a thought provoking nine courses of excellent dining. Keep an eye on the Market Lane and Chef Sessions social media accounts for future events (which may have a different theme but with the same talent behind this “evolving, exciting eating”).

Last Monday's theme was underlined by the welcome drink, Blood Orange Fizz, a delicious cocktail of Beara Gin infused with waste from segmenting blood oranges and topped with Prosecco. Bread and butter was served, the brioche made from spent grain, a by-product of their brewing process. The delicious cultured butter is a fermented butter. Then smoked Cods Roe “criminally underused in our opinion” was served as a mousse on a squid ink cracker. At this stage we were enjoying a bottle of their Jawbone cloudy beer, a superb drink with the food.

Smoked cods roe on squid ink cracker

Then a combination of classic Cork and classic France: Tripe and gribiche. The tripe was slowly braised, pressed, cooled and cut unto rings before dusting with flour and deep-frying. Looking at it, you’d have thought you had calamari on the plate. Then came the bone marrow, served and roasted in the bone and topped with an oil based sauce, flavoured with parsley capers and lemon. Another excellent pairing.

Their own beer

Next up was the Coffee Grounds Baked Beetroot, Hive Mind Honey, ricotta, and malt cracker. Hadn't heard of Hive Mind before but they are a County Cork company, a kind of co-op really, that for a fee will look after hives for you at their location and give you the honey at the end of the season; more info here.  Market Lane have invested in hives and the honey here came from a fennel meadow. The ricotta was made using leftover buttermilk from making the cultured butter and the malt cracker was made from malt from the Elbow Lane micro brewery. And, by the way, all these ingredients came together very well indeed.

The following dish, Pigs Tail and Garlic broth, was also full of flavour. The tails, with the inner bone removed, had been slowly braised, pressed and pan-fried while the broth was made from the skins of roasted garlic which is often wasted. I thoroughly enjoyed that one. 

Tripe..

Welcome

Another interesting combination followed: Cauliflower stalks, parmesan rind custard, and smoked ham. The stalks had been "confited" in duck fat and the cheese sauce garnished with ham crumb. Time for a palate refresher then and that was a Cucumber sorbet, pickled watermelon rind. Apparently, there is a fair bit of waste with cucumbers and here the outer skin and inner seeds were used to good effect.

Pig skin “pasta” with clams got us going again. Had really been looking forward to the next one and the Lambs heart, potato fondant, kale and lamb demi glace didn’t disappoint. Far from it.

Baked beets

Burnt toast and “barmalade” parfait Barry’s Tea ganache was the tasty dessert. Citrus fruit waste from the bar was used to make the “barmalade” and the white chocolate ganache came from used Barry’s Tea bags. “Using used tea bags you get a more caramel flavour and lose the harsh tannin flavour from the tea”. All a bit complicated to the outsider but no bother at all in cleaning that plate!

Cauliflower stalks..

We had, a long time back, started on the wines, both by Le Caveau. The white was a Judith Beck Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) from Austria while the red was Inspiration by Domaine de la Ville Rouge in Croze-Hermitage and both were excellent.

Dessert

The coffee then appeared along with a selection of “petit fours”. More invention here. The coffee and walnut was filled with a coffee grounds infused custard. The Beetroot aqua fava Macaron saw the egg white in the recipe replaced by water from Chick pea tins. My favourite was perhaps the Angel Stout wort Fudge. Wort is a by-product of the brewing process, a sweet and malty one.

Just another surprise on the night. At the start, Conrad Howard of the Market Lane group had promised us “a treat” even if many of the ingredients were by-products, discards, or waste. He was spot-on. So well done to all involved, to Lorenzo Luzzani, Chef de Partie in Market Lane, Janos Schmidt, Chef de Partie in the Castle Cafe and Liam Flynn, grill chef in Market Lane and to young Aishling Moore sous chef at Elbow Lane, who once again headed up the team. They also benefited from the regular input of the Group's executive chef and Elbow Lane owner, Stephen Kehoe.

*  The 'Chef Sessions’ are the result of an intense collaboration among the young chefs working in the Market Lane Group’s four restaurants (Market Lane, Elbow Lane, Castle Cafe Cork & ORSO Kitchen & Bar) who, over a six week period, create a menu to present on the night. CorkBilly was a guest at ORSO.

* For more on the story of this remarkable restaurant and indeed for behind the scenes accounts of restaurants past and present from around the world, do try and get your hands on In The Restaurant (Society in Four Courses) by Christoph Ribbat (2017). I got mine in the local library.