From Chennai to Cork. The Superb Annam Supper Club

From Chennai to Cork

The Superb Annam Supper Club

Mango Tango!

Isn't great to eat out with a group of friends? But how about eating out with a group of strangers? No problem. Especially if the strangers share your love of food and soon they are not strangers at all.

There were nine of us "strangers" at the Annam Supper Club in Douglas the other evening and it turned out be a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience. The Indian food was cooked and served by Banu and Ruth who run the supper club and its associated Cookery School.

We introduced ourselves and the ice was soon broken — the gorgeous Mango Tango cocktail (mango with vodka and more!) was undoubtedly a help — and soon we were telling about food experiences, all the while nibbling from the bowls of Turmeric popcorn.

Starter

It is also a BYOB club, so we were soon indulging in our favourites tipples, mainly beers and wines. I had stopped at the Cotton Ball on the way and picked up a few bottles of their own Indian Summer and, though the Indian in the title had little to do with the country, the beer paired quite well with the various dishes.

Starter was a delicious delight. It was Vadai Thengai Chutney and that translates into Deep Fried lentil dumplings served with a coconut chutney. We slathered on the chutney, under advice from Banu, and used our fingers to speed the dispatch of the tasty dumplings.

On then to a very impressive main course indeed, quite a few elements here. The main part was Chicken Biryani with three supporting dishes in Yennai Kathirikkai, Salna and Vengalya pachadi. Many of you will have come across Biryani, basically rice cooked with spices and meat.

Biryani and friends!

There are many different kinds of Biryani and you may read about the main ones here. This particular version though is Banu’s signature dish.

The Yennai Kathirikkai is Aubergines in a spicy tangy sauce, Salna ( a traditional accompaniment to Biriyani; ours was a light curry sauce with some lamb pieces) and Vengalya pachadi (a cooling onion raita). The trick here is not to eat any element in isolation. Mix and match the textures, the flavours, the heat and the coolness. Superb!

The dessert was another delight, served in a small earthenware pot. It was named Badam Kheer, an almond saffron milk pudding. Loved every little bit of it. Then we slowly sipped the rest of drinks and finished the various conversations before saying goodbye to these friendly strangers!

The club is run by Banu and Ruth and the cooking veers "towards South Indian most of the time with inspiration from Chennai a good deal". Why? Because Banu is from Chennai and she can best cook and teach the food she knows best.

And Banu is not the only one with a high regard for her area.  Food in Chennai is very popular and rather unique. The city regularly features in top ten food lists by major publishers such as Lonely Planet, National Geographic and the BBC’s travel section. More details on the city and its food here.

Ruth and Ban are busy girls. Their next event, a mix of movies and food, is coming up this Friday at the Beggarman and you can see the details here . Their next Supper Club is on Friday April 17th. You’ll get all the details, plus info on cookery courses, on their Facebook page.

Chilling Out at Greene’s. Supper Club Is Launched

Chilling Out at Greene’s

Supper Club Is Launched

Some very surprised expressions on diners’ face in Greene’s Restaurant  last night as the McCurtain Street venue launched their Supper Club. The surprise came when customers put the Tomato and Parmesan Cheese straight into their mouths after it came out of Chef Bryan's McCarthy's liquid nitrogen container. But that pained surprise soon turned to pleasure as the coolness vanished and the flavours spread around the palate.

The supper club was up and running and manager Arthur Little said it would be run on a monthly basis. He hinted it won't always be a dinner and wine matching event. He suggested they might do a little mushroom foraging, maybe seaweed foraging, and then come back and eat the bounty. “It is your Supper Club too,” he told the packed restaurant. “We are open to suggestions, and looking for ideas from customers”.

The wines for the event came La Bascula and they were ably represented by ED Adams MW. La Bascula works with vineyards and producers around Spain and Ed takes an active part as winemaker.

But it was a wine that they didn't make that he praised most highly on the night and that was the Casta Diva Muscatel 2011. “This is very special,’ he said. “El Bulli had it on their own label and we are delighted to be able to sell it. It comes from near Benidorm. Aromas of orange and almonds and it is very fresh, a very lovely natural pure wine. Take it with any blue cheese and you have a match made in heaven.”

Chef Bryan and Manager Arthur keeping an eye on the Liquid Nitrogen.

It was served with the chocolate course but we kept a sip for the cheese board, all top notch Irish cheese, and it did indeed go very well with the Cashel BLue. The wines are distributed in Ireland by Tindal's who had Damien Archer-Good on hand.

Another highlight for me was the Heights of the Charge Rueda with two of my favorites grapes, Verdejo (70%) and Viura, in the gorgeous blend. Indeed, all the matches were spot on right down to the lovely drop of Dow’s Nirvana Port that we finished on.

The multi-course meal was, as you’d have expected, packed with good things from Bryan McCarthy and his great team. Many of you will know of his Pork Belly, of his Feather Blade, and his chocolate desserts. Wasn't that Miso Glazed Rump Cap, on the same plate as the beef, delicious?

Hard to say but I think the highlight was the Marinated Tuna, a magnificent treatment of that big fish. And the good news is that you’ll be seeing it on the menu in the immediate future. So do watch out for it and for future Supper Club Events. You may join the Supper Club, for free.

The Bascula team tasting Viura and Verdejo.
On the right, Pork Belly and, bottom, the very cold Tomato & Cheese.

Wine Tasting Dinner

Cava on arrival.

Tomato, Parmesan cheese.

Local Rare Breed Pork Belly, Black Pudding.
Apple, cider, crackling popcorn.
with Turret Fields Monastrell (75%), Syrah, 2012

---
Dashi custards, Marinated Tuna.
Picked seaweed, Soya Jelly.
with Heights of the Charge Rueda, 2012.

---
Passion Fruit Sorbet, Lychee Foam.

---
Duo of Miso Glazed Rump Cap and Feather Blade.
Carrot, onion, Leek ash, Black Cabbage, Kale.
with the Charge Tempranillo 975%) and Garnacha, 2011.

---
Star Anise, White Chocolate, Mandarin confit.
Epsom of Creme Catalan.

---
Chocolate Praline Creme Tart.
Salt caramel, Vanilla ice-cream
(made with Alto El Sol & Ivorian Single Estate Barrie chocolate)
with Casta Diva Muscatel 2011.

---
Cheese Board
with Dow's Nirvana Port.

Super Steak at Electric Supper Club

Electric Supper Club

It is a high table with high backless stools. It can accommodate eight, more. Take a seat, lean in and chat. This table is made for conviviality. For drinking. For eating. And there are a bunch of these tables in the bar at Electric, all eminently suitable for their newly introduced Supper Club, three excellent courses for just twenty euro.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are try-out days at present and once Christmas is over, expect to see the Club operate every night. Eight of us gathered there last Wednesday to try it out. And each and every one enjoyed the get together, the chat, the drink and above all the food.

Electric is self-billed as the Theatre of Life, a billing well justified. This theatre has three stages, the bar, the restaurant and the fish-bar. Like any theatre, the sets change. And so it it is here on the Mall. More renovations are imminent and that lovely room that houses the Fish Bar will become even more important in the Electric Show. No lack of imagination from the directors here!

So okay, back to Wednesday night and our three acts. Starter was a Mixed Leaf Salad with Butternut Squash, Blue Cheese and House dressing. There are no choices here so how would the blue Cheese go down? Very well indeed at our table and the staff tell me that this is the constant reply. Just one little variation to the starter. In order to add a little crunch, it now includes some sliced almonds.

For now the main course is Chargrilled 8 ounce Irish feather blade steak, twice cooked Chips, Asian Slaw, and Electric Steak Sauce.  This is quite outstanding. The steak, marinated in cider, is incredibly tender (no bother to older teeth!), unbelievably flavoursome. The Slaw provides a healthy crunch, the chips an irresistible if less healthy munch. And that steak sauce is superb. I think they should start selling it on the street, at the markets.

The Chocolate Mousse may not have quite received the unanimous approval of the other courses - some people just don't like chocolate - but, for me, it was a sweet finalé to a lovely meal. Most of our gang were on the gorgeous Montepulciano, the house red, but with a bar at hand, you have a huge choice of libations.

The Supper Club idea has been “borrowed” from Electric’s Dublin off-shoot, Sober Lane D4. Looks like a winner, no matter the location!

Come to the Supper Club

Come to the Supper Club

Banu and Ruth, of the South Indian Supper Club,  have been in touch to tell me they "have lots of events and evenings planned for the next few months that hopefully some of you will be able to attend". 

"Our supper clubs are going from strength to strength. We had our last one on Saturday night in Banu's house. It was fully booked and all had a great time! The dates for the next evenings are:

12th April - Saturday

3rd May - Saturday

14th June - Saturday

These events cost €35 for 3 courses plus a welcome cocktail and are lots of fun and very sociable! Please contact us for details (annamkitchencork@gmail.com). 

Our Indian cookery classes, which are proving a huge hit, are running on Monday evenings, and are held in the Cookery Cottage on South Douglas road. They run from 7-9pm and cost €25 for 2 hours. A 4 week cookery class will also be commencing on the 9th of May. This will cost €99. Banu will be teaching a range of Indian cusines during this class. Please contact us for more details. Also please do not forget to mention 48 hours prior to attending if you have been to any other of our classes so that we can make sure recipes aren't repeated. 

We are also now offering event catering. In conjunction with Lishh catering in Turner's Cross we are able to provide home cooked, tasty, authentic Indian food for your parties and events! Please spread the word!

We have also attached a recipe for you to have a go at at home. Let us know how you get on."

Spicy Potatoes South Indian Style
Ingredients

4 large potatoes

1 tbsp. oil

½ tsp black mustard seeds

1/4^th tsp asafoetida powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ to 1 tsp red chili powder

Salt

Method:

Peel and cube potatoes

Cook in boiling water until soft

Drain well

In a frying pan, heat oil

Crackle the mustard seeds

Take off the heat

Add all the spice powders with the salt

Add potatoes and coat well in the spiced oil

Place the potatoes on a baking tray or an over proof dish

Bake in preheated oven at 200 C for 3- to 40 mins until crisp and golden

Serve hot

Fenn's Quay is the place to be

Fenn's Quay is the place to be

Autumn 2011 - Venison, Pumpkin, Red Cabbage, Brussel sprouts...

Mark November 16th 2012 in your diary. 

Fenn's Quay is the place to be that evening. Head Chef Kate Lawlor tells us why: "On that night, Fenn’s Quay will be inviting Seasons Supper Club to Cork after successful runs in Dublin. Former Master Chef contestants Conal and Richie will be taking over my kitchen for the night to serve up a 4 course menu." 

Modest Kate is one of the leading Head Chefs in Cork, Nash 19's Pamela Kelly is another and the duo will be combining their kitchen skills to come up with surprise extra courses. Cost is €40 for the meal (wine not included) and bookings are to be made via bookings@seasonssupperclub.com

Seasons Supper Club is a nomadic pop-up Supper Club run by Bridin Carey, Conal Markey and Richard Speedie. The three cooks met during filming of Masterchef Ireland in 2011 and all share a love of great food in a relaxed atmosphere, where the focus is on the enjoyment of the evening with friends or family. They try to create an environment where the food is only one aspect of a great night out.

All ingredients are sourced locally where possible, and menus are designed based on the season featuring the great produce to be found in Ireland. The cooks work closely with each venue’s Head Chef to design the menu and ensure a memorable night.

To date there have been three nights; two for Autumn 2011 - hosted at Brasserie Le Pont, and one for Winter 2011 at Eden Restaurant. The nights were all sold out and they have had positive reviews in both the Irish Times and Sunday Times, and on popular food blogs around Dublin.

For Autumn 2012, with Bridin on Maternity leave, Conal and Richard are partnering with No.5 Fenn’s Quay in Cork and are also running 2 nights in Dublin, in Medley, by Andrew Rudd, which will be the first non–restaurant events. Both Dublin nights sold out within two days of announcement and Cork is beginning to sell rapidly too.

You can find pictures, previous menus and details of future events here

You can also find them at:
https://www.facebook.com/SeasonsSupperClub
https://twitter.com/seasons_supper