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Moville's version of Hell's Kitchen a huge success

Posted Monday, April 6, 2009

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Heaven's Kitchen

Moville's Family Resource Centre sponsored a cooking course for a dozen of Moville's male teenagers in St. Eugene's Hall.

The course was given by local chef Brian McDermott who has cheffed at places such as Kealy's in Greencastle.

The course consisted of one evening a week for six weeks and at the grand finale the teenagers, like in the TV show, cooked a meal for 16 adult guests.

I got asked along to sample the fare.

One is pleased to support any schemes involving local youngsters but there was a slight worry about what ten young local lads would cook up.

No Worries

However, I needn't have worried.

First of all three of them plus Brian had to go up to Greencastle to get the fish, which was to be the main course.

They were given an impromptu short course in how to fillet and skin various types of fish such as salmon, haddock, John Dory, sole, hake etc.

The haddock for that night's main dish, which had been brought ashore at 7am that very morning, was collected and then it was back to cook it for the assembled guests.

Starters

They started off with Fresh Canapes of Tomato & Basil.

I must confess that this was something that I wouldn't normally order.

However, I would do so in the future.

I wished that I had been less suspicious and taken more than one when they were offered around.

This was followed by a plate of Traditional Potato & Leek Soup.

It was excellent as was the selection of Home Made Rustic Breads that were passed around to accompany it.

At the start, some of the lads looked a bit apprehensive but this quickly dissolved as they saw how much their guests were enjoying it all.

Main Course

So, it was a good beginning.

But the be all and end all is the main dish.

This was Steamed Haddock with an Orange Citrus Sauce on a bed of Champ Potatoes.

It was accompanied by gratinated Bacon & Leek potatoes with Fresh Seasoned Vegetables.

The first thing I noticed was how well presented the dish was as I saw it being placed in front of the other diners.

So, how did it taste?

It was delicious and cooked to perfection.

Great Sauce

The sauce was great.

I must say that I thought that an Orange Citrus sauce poured on top of haddock just wouldn't work.

But work it did.

It was fantastic and I made a mental note that fruit and fish do go.

Who would have thought it?

I asked for more sauce when I saw the young waiter going around with it.

The potatoes were great too.

I had two extra portions.

I don't know how the teenagers thought it went but to me it seemed to go like clockwork.

Dessert

Now, it was time for dessert.

I could see them prepare them.

They both looked good.

One was a meringue with pieces of fruit and the other seemed to be a cheesecake.

I wondered if it would be considered presumptious to ask for both.

I needn't have worried.

Everybody got both.

Meringue and Cheesecake

The meringue was very tasty and the cheesecake was delicious and I said so to the other guests at the table.

It melted in your mouth.

As a result, the youngster who made it was asked over to our table to explain how it was made.

It was Bailey's cheesecake with quite a few ingredients.

It was all finished off with coffee and tea.

One guest said that a glass of wine and a cigar would finish it all off nicely but, of course, he was joking.

It was in St. Eugene's temperance Hall after all.

Excellent

I have to say that the food was really excellent.

As I told them on the way out, if the 'restaurant' was open all the time I would definitely come there regularly and would recommend it to other people as well.

It was that good.

Without upsetting local restaurateurs, I would say that it was as good as anything I've been served in Moville.

Said Brian McDermott "I must say that I've seldom enjoyed anything so much as working with this group of guys. As you could see, I just stood back and let them work. I've run cookery courses for more than a hundred people recently but this is the course I enjoyed most. It's also great to be hailed with "Hi Chef!" as I walk about the town. It's unbelievable that this is the result of just six weeks' work".

What Every Woman Wants

As everyone know, what every woman, young or old, likes more than virtually anything else is to have a man cook for her while she puts her feet up.

The young men who served up this delicious feast were Conor McCormick, Ciaran McCormick, Matthew McGibney, Lorcan O' Donovan, Ian Doherty, Michael Coyle, Christopher Doherty, Ciaran Moore, Kevin Farren, and Brian Harvey.

So, if any of the town's young women are looking to have a good, well cooked meal (and maybe even a romantic evening), why not ask one or more of the guys "When are you going to come round and cook me a meal?"

It seems that at the Dress Rehearsal yesterday a few things went wrong like the cheesecake being put in the oven rather than the fridge but on the night it all went perfectly.

Second Course

There will be a second cookery course for teenagers of both sexes in the 14-17 group starting later this month.

From what I heard them say it seems that this group of teenage boys had a lot of fun.

For futher details about both adult and youngsters' classes see www.cookeryschool.ie

I would recommend to people that they ask Brian McDermott if there are any seats going for the grand finale of the next course.

I've already enquired politely about getting invited again.

What could be better, a great meal for free in pleasant company.

I was so delighted with what I had eaten that I even made my tip 20%.