Epic kitchen supper

Recession or no recession, the tasting menu at Chapter One is worth every penny, writes CATHERINE CLEARY

THERE IS A school of thought that after economic blitzkrieg only the most expensive and the cheapest restaurants will remain. People loath to drop €100 on a mediocre meal rediscover their kitchen tables and save up for less frequent but more special nights out.

And so to the chef’s table, or kitchen table as it’s now called, at Chapter One in Dublin. This is treat time. It’s perfect for a restaurant groupie who wants to peek behind the scenes.

I have put together a ‘kitchen cabinet’ of four other busy women. As we slide into our places around the smooth lacquered stone table there’s a sense of anticipation and a glass of champagne. The kitchen is in front of us and you can look up from your plate to watch the effort and concentration going into the food. Nothing flashy happens, no oil is tipped onto burners for telly-friendly bursts of flame. No one is swearing or visibly sweating.

Chef and co-owner Ross Lewis comes to talk us through things. The bluefin tuna came off a boat the week before, landed at Castletownbere, he says, part of a tiny sustainable quota for this massively overfished species. It’s “worth trying”, he says. This turns out to be excellent advice.

First there’s an amuse bouche, (and it’s no fecky folderol), a small portion of wild fennel and coco de Paimpol bean soup with a white truffle cream. It takes confidence to serve an unshowy soup as a teaser, albeit one with luxury ingredients. These are gorgeous mouthfuls of creamy aniseed with bite-perfect white beans.

Next comes a delicious non-alcoholic cocktail as a palate cleanser with lime, mint, lemongrass, elderflower and cassis.

The assistant-sommelier, Yann, has turned friendly sheep dog and is marshalling decisions from a group that is verging on dithering. He can slow down the kitchen if we need him to, he says. I imagine him tugging manfully on a relentless steam engine on our behalf. Three of us decide to go for the wine tasting menu to go with the food.

A starter of feta mousse on a fresh tomato purée arrives. The cheese has been whipped to a glossy cone that looks like unbaked meringue. It’s light, sweet and salty all at once. A softened green and violet baby artichoke sliced in half lengthwise is served beside it. The Bordeaux white L’Abeille de Fieuzal 2007 to accompany it is a glass full of sun-warmed nettles.

Next comes a sweetcorn soup: the primary ingredient comes from an Offaly grower and is available for just four weeks of the year. This is a creamy and sugary symphony, with no cream or sugar in it – just the starch from the corn. Two small ravioli of bacon and cep mushrooms cut the sweetness with pitch-perfect notes of salt and smoke. It comes with a perfect partner taste of Australian Clairault Chardonnay Margaret River 2007.

Next it’s the foie gras terrine, which comes as a slab the size of a lipstick case with a layer of Madeira and duck jelly on top, an ice wine verjus and pear and hazelnut salad. A crisp-on-the-outside, pillow-soft inside toasted brioche comes too. The Loire Valley Domaine de Baumard, Côteaux du Layon 2006 rounds all the flavours off with a muted sweetness.

Then for the tuna. The raw belly meat has been seared and peppercorned outside and sliced into generous slices. There are organic beetroot slices and sprigs of coriander cress and a wasabi and sesame dressing to round it off. When food is this good, you have to close your eyes to focus on what’s happening in your mouth. It is a series of rolling flavours, each separate and intense, and it is how I imagine the world’s best sashimi tastes. A petrol-like Mount Horrocks ‘Watervale’ Riesling from the Clare Valley is the robust partner.

The main courses arrive: slices of mallard on top of a game cassoulet. Two spikey flying saucers on the plate turn out to be chocolate ravioli with blackberry innards. The meat is pink and juicy in the middle and perfectly cooked. It comes with buttery mash and cabbage.

The second option of rabbit loin is rolled in pancetta. It comes with a rabbit shepherd’s pie on the side, and a carrot and black cumin purée. It’s also wonderfully judged. The rabbit is served with a Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Innocent Bystander 2009. The duck comes with a meaty Spanish Monastrell Syrah La Bascula 2008.

Next the pastry chef brings some cones of coconut sorbet with a marmalade of mango and pineapple. By now there is a pleasure and pain principle going on here: so much food and so little space left to put it.

For dessert, a generous chocolate souffle is scrumptious and comes with a quenelle of pistachio ice-cream. A Maury Grenache Mas Amiel 2007 is its spouse.

The second option of poached pear comes as balls of pear perched on a layered praline and nougat parfait finished with a flourish of circular tuille biscuit and a sprinkling of gold leaf. It’s a wow on a plate. It comes with a Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Reisling 2006.

Finally there’s a coffee ritual of gentle pouring that produces a light brown brew which tastes like coffee used to taste. House macaroons, nougat and chocolates test the waistbands of all. I am as full as a butcher’s dog. This is not a night for magic pants or tightened belts.

We have eaten for hours and had a full night’s entertainment at under a tenner for each plateful. It’s a culinary marathon.

Here are two tips to survive a tasting menu: drink plenty of water and bring boring companions so you can venerate the food in reverential silence. We manage the first but fail dismally at the second.

And so it turns out once again that Dublin is a town with two degrees of separation. I discover the night before our meal that a good friend named the restaurant. He submitted two names, but one had copyright issues so his second favourite name, Chapter One, went up over the door.

A hugely deserved Michelin star later the story is a happy one. The name that never was may not have gone so stellar. Tasting menu at Readers’ Digest anyone?

The Tasting Menu at Chapter One Kitchen Table is €85 a head for seven courses, with a glass of champagne included in the price. Accompanying wines cost an additional €40 a head.