Out Of The Blue - Out Of This World

How can a shack with a corrugated iron roof and a kitchen so small that the proverbial cat would get concussion, on the Western edge of Europe become a global destination restaurant - rated as one of the places you must visit before you die?

The answer must lie in the perfect combination of clear vision, great ingredients and superb cooking, where the ingredients are treated sensitively and are shown at their best.

Forget the fact that Out Of The Blue is a single story corrugated roofed old cottage and look at the signs on the walls. “Seafood only”. “Nothing Frozen”. “If there’s no fish we don’t open”. Equally important from my perspective is the one that says No Chips, this is cooking as it should be and, when the harbour is the other side of the road you can be sure that the fish will be at its absolute peak.

Naturally the menu reflects what has been caught that day so it’s on blackboards not printed and will vary not only seasonally, but daily. There is no “Specials” board, everything here is special.

Owner Tim Mason says that the decision to open some 10 years ago was a bit of a gamble, no one else had tried to open a restaurant that only served seafood that was always fresh, never had meat on the menu and would open only if the boats had landed. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely as the number of award plaques on the walls demonstrate.

The place is small, even with a recent extension that allowed an extra 2 metres in the main room, so eating is as much a communal event as private and the buzz about the place is terrific. On our visits we have never failed to get into conversation with adjacent tables and that is part of the charm of Out of the Blue.

Once seated we were given the blackboard with the menu for the evening, the Wine List –the only printed item in the restaurant, and a plate of fresh breads, butter and a Smoked Mackerel pate to consume whilst we considered the menu. Actually the bread and Mackerel was so good that we ignored the menu and tucked into the pre-starter and had to ask for more time to choose!

Tim sources his wines from his brother Ben who runs the Wicklow Wine Company and the list, though short, is ideally matched to fish, we chose a house wine a crisp Cuvee Orelie D’Ardeche 2011 which went well with all of our selections.

Tearing ourselves away from the delights of the Smoked Mackerel pate we chose starters: Salmon cured two ways for Mrs K and the Fish Chowder for myself. I am a huge fan of chowder and tend to order it whenever I see it on a menu and OOTB make the best I have tasted. A good mix of Smoked and Unsmoked white fish, Salmon and Mussels came in a creamy soup with a background hint of anise, Dill perhaps or Pernod?. Small pieces of Carrot and Leek added to the mix and I must admit I did ask for a little more bread as an accompaniment.

Janet’s Salmon came with a lemon dressing and a small salad, in which the beetroot really sang out.

Mains were a hard choice, we both could have managed everything on offer but the Seafood Platter was ruled out when we saw the huge portions delivered to the next table. I opted for the Langoustines flambéed in Cognac and was presented with 8 big Langoustines with sides of Beetroot, Carrot, Beans. Cauliflower and Broccoli, Potato and a Potato Salad. I was also given the requisite tools to extract every ounce of meat from the shells and a near record 4 wet wipes alongside the finger bowl. A rich langoustine sauce came with the meal and the fish, cooked to perfection, made a rich, creamy mouthful that I was happy to repeat until the last of the body was eaten and the claws and heads picked clean.

Janet’s John Dory came with sides of Couscous, Beetroot Salad, Celeriac Julienne, Tapenade, Cauliflower and Broccoli, Courgette and Potatoes and Puy Lentils. As with the Langoustines the vegetables added to the dish and the clever presentation encouraged the eating of every last scrap.

We needed a short break before considering the Dessert blackboard so I took off to the kitchen,

Tiny, smaller than many domestic kitchens this really does define galley kitchens, and it is amazing that such a small space can turn out the volume of high quality food that it does.

Jean Marie Vaireaux and Eric Maillard vary the menu between Lunch and Dinner so only the freshest fish gets to your plate. Eric was cooking the evening that we visited and, between cooking several dishes at once he found time to talk to me and even pose for a photo – armed with a can of beer from the fridge.

My kitchen odyssey had allowed Mrs K time to digest her meal and decide that Dessert was definitely on the cards. Checking the blackboard she decided on the Dark Chocolate Brownie whilst Espresso sufficed for me.

The Brownie was epic, I know because I was allowed a taste! Rich dark and gooey with a crisp crust, it was served with a tuile biscuit, whipped cream and Strawberries on the side and two sauces. A tour de force.

On our way out I wanted to speak briefly with Tim, but on returning to the Bar he was nowhere to be seen. “Don’t worry, he’s just slipped to the pub to get some beers for the kitchen” I was told and seconds later Tim returned with a tray of beers for the chefs to enjoy as service ended. You don’t see that often but it shows how much Tim thinks of the staff who deliver such quality food.

To make a great restaurant you need several elements: a clear vision, great ingredients, consistently good cooking and a front of house team who are fully behind the concept. Out Of The Blue has all of these in spades and the regular winning of awards demonstrates this clearly.

Out Of The Blue is an absolute must if you are in Dingle and an essential even if you have to travel there.

Often imitated, never equalled.

Truly Local and Great.

Contact Out Of The Blue (+353) 066 9150811 - omit the 0 in 066 if calling internationally

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Love Food, Love Bristol

The great benefit of holding a food festival immediately adjacent to a mainline station is that you can travel by train, and so we did.

Love Food hold a series of events across the UK so the emphasis is on local producers in each event, the one I attended was in Bristol in Brunel’s Old Passenger Shed. Bringing together producers from the South West and South Wales the Spring Fair really did showcase all that is local and great and the £2.50 admission price was an absolute bargain.

Just 100 metres from the main station at Bristol Templemeads, we were met by an amazing display of fresh herbs, the chance to grab a coffee or a breakfast bacon roll. If that was not to your liking a Thai BBQ or freshly cooked Mackerel was on offer.

Once inside the huge hall a vast range of stalls awaited and within seconds I had spotted old friend from Usk Farmers Market James Swift from Trealy Farm Charcuterie.

James wanted me to meet Ruth Tudor who runs The Meat Course based on the farm.

The two day course is a must for serious food lovers, anyone with an interest in sustainable agriculture and anyone wanting to learn more about production of meat, butchery and charcuterie. I was very pleased to sign up for the course in May and over the two days will get to meet animals and learn a little about their needs during the farming year. There will also be a chance to see a sheep slaughtered (this part of the course is optional) and then to learn about butchery. We covered some aspects at Ballymaloe but there is always room to learn more. Finally we will make bacon and sausages and faggots which we can take home! How more close to provenance can you get?

Details of The Meat Course can be found here www.meatcourse.co.uk and further information is available from Ruth at info@meatcourse.co.uk

After a good chat with Ruth I trotted over to the Love Food Cookery School where demonstrations would run all day. The first was a demo showing that homemade butter could be made with nothing more than Double Cream, a Jam Jar and some wrist action. Butter is the fatty solids from cream and shaking cream in a jar will separate them and leave buttermilk, essential in baking as a by-product. It was as well that there was a large audience keen to participate as the amount of shaking required is more than one wrist can take! Niamh Shields demonstrated Butter-making at the Abergavenny Food Festival but with the sensible alternative of using a Kenwood.

Butter making was just the warm up act for Liz Knight of Forage Fine Foods who was juggling demonstrating, running a stall and keeping an 11 week old baby happy. Fortunately Ruth took care of the latter issue whilst Liz demonstrated how to make Primrose Curd and spoke about foraging in general and edible flowers in particular. Her half an hour flew by and at the end we were rewarded with a taste of the delicate creamy curd. Unsurprisingly a large crowd gathered at her stall and I had to shoulder my way through to buy some Potager for soups and casseroles, and Wild Herb Rub which could take my Pork Crackling to another level!

Cheese was always going to be on the shopping list and in the Bath Soft Cheese Co we hit a seam of West country gold. Made in the Somerset hills the cheeses are all organic and range from a brie style to a soft blue. I chose the Wyfe of Bath which was, on the stall as a taster positively oozing and offering a rich creamy taste. I was offered the cheese at two ages, ready to eat or for maturing. I chose the one which would take another couple of weeks to come to perfection so that I would have a lasting memory of the festival. Helpful consumer advice is printed on their bags along the lines of “Cheese likes a moist atmosphere so keep it in a cave. If you don’t have a cave, keep it in a cellar. If you don’t have a cellar, keep it in a larder. If you don’t have a larder, a fridge will do. If you MUST keep it in a fridge keep it well wrapped so that it doesn’t dry out.” Sage advice and I find that tinfoil works best for fridged cheese though our utility room is usually cool enough for longer storage.

So with cheese salads in mind it was off to see Rupert from Womersley Foods who makes the most amazing “botanically enthused” range of vinegars and dressings. I often add a couple of drops of the Lemon, Basil, Bay and Juniper Berry to a Parsley Thyme and Lemon stuffing for a chicken and the lift given to the stuffing is amazing.

It was the vinegars that I wanted on this occasion the Raspberry in particular but the Cherry also took my fancy after a tasting. This should be brilliant in a dressing or possibly added to egg white for making meringue – will be experimenting with that idea!. Actually the vinegars are so sweet/sharp that I said “I could drink that on its own”. “Try it in a glass of fizz” suggested a fellow customer so a quick Prosecco related experiment later I had a new pre-meal drink for friends.

Talking of drinks led me to the far end of the hall where the Bristol Cider Shop had set up. Encouraged by their snappy slogan “We sell Cider” I embarked upon a tasting session before settling on litre bottles of both Dry Cider and Perry. Again local drinks and both very good. Pork cooked in cider with some of Forage’s rub infused into the liquor would be amazing.

And, on the drinks and foraged foods front, I found Field Bar who make wines with fruits and flowers from the area around Cirencester. Selling through Farmers Markets they have deservedly built a strong reputation and their website www.fieldbarwine.co.uk has a number of recipes for using wines in cocktails. I tried and subsequently bought the Elderflower Sparkling, Ginger and Red Rose Petal varieties and very good they are.

Finally a quick trip to Thoughtful Bakery for some damn fine breads, baked in Bath, and a copy of their book Bread Revolution. I regularly bake bread – see earlier posts – but using the book my own efforts have been revolutionised. Big thanks to Duncan and Patrick for the change they have brought about!

A great day out and some really good producers. The next festival in the South West is at Dyrham Park and then there is one in Brighton in May. As my daughter lives in Hove it would be churlish not to visit her and find out what Local and Great gems the South-East has to offer.

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Charthouse Supperclub

Supper Clubs have become the go to event over the last few years and interest shows no signs of abating.

Originally starting as gets together with friends in peoples own houses the domestic slant was later taken over as pop-up restaurants held in houses. So far so good and pop-ups are great fun, James Ramsden’ s Secret Larder being a fine example of a pop-up or Niamh Shields’ occasional foray into dining as opposed to Markets and blogging.

We are lucky to have three very good Supper Clubs in the area, Raspberry Bush, Supperclub Wales and Supperclwb. These take on a venue for an evening and supply twenty or so diners with a meal that shows off the cooking and the ingredients in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

Recently though a disturbing trend has developed, existing restaurants and dining establishments running “Supperclub” nights where the meal is merely an extension of the primary purpose and the informality of both home dining and pop-ups is lost.

Luckily in chef Wesley Harris we have an exception!

The Charthouse, near Abergavenny, is a well-respected venue producing good food with an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients, and is highly rated amongst diners. Recently Wes announced that on Monday evenings he would be running Supper Clubs, having enjoyed meals there in the past I was very interested but, given my comments about existing establishments where the Supperclub concept was merely a continuation of the prime purpose, I needed to find out more.

My phone call gave me all the information needed to ensure a booking – a limited number of guests, emphasis on informality and a chance to talk with Wes about all things food related.

So on a Monday evening we pitched up at the Charthouse.

20 people would be eating, usually the number is limited to 16 or so, and we would do so in a group as opposed to being seated in individual parties as happens in certain establishments.

The group was well mixed, some regulars, a few first timers and some taking the chance to get to know what is involved in cooking good ingredients and serving a seasonal menu.

Initially we mingled in the bar chatting and making new friends before the meal whilst Wes could be seen in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to the meal.

Shortly large heatproof mats were laid on the end of the bar and a pile of warmed plates joined them before the food was brought in. Two large trays of Fish Pie and two of Purple Sprouting Broccoli and an invitation to help yourself! We piled in and went through to a large open square of tables, seating ourselves next to anyone we wanted to talk to.

The pie had a good balance of fish and was topped with very creamy mash, browned under the grill, and the broccoli set it off well the slightly metallic taste balancing the smooth creamy pie. “Help yourself to seconds” was the suggestion and despite having selected good sized portions most did, there was very little remaining afterwards.

Once the tables were cleared we were invited to collect the dessert.

Again a couple of large trays lay on the bar, this time with a take on Queen of Puddings. A crisp base, a rich chocolate sauce and meringue – poached a la “Iles Flotants” rather than baked as in Lemon Meringue Pie.

This clever twist was immensely popular and the trays soon emptied as “seconds” were consumed by nearly all.

Wes joined us for the dessert, kitchen duties over, and happily chatted about his menus, recipes and plans for future events. He firmly supports the informal sharing basis of his Supperclubs and does not want them to be another night of normal service, rather a chance for an informal gathering with good food. So expect more sharing dishes such as pies, a menu that is not just the daily offering and serve yourself rather tahn be served.

Coffee was served to be taken at table or back in the bar and small groups formed discussing the food, the event and when they would return.

Certainly all those attending thought it great and will be back. There is something special about supper clubs which encourage people to talk and enjoy a buzzy atmosphere. The Charthouse Supper Clubs achieve this, running on Monday evenings - traditionally a slow nioght for the restaurant business -  the Supperclubs at the Charthouse offer a chance for good food, good conversation and a chance to “meet the chef”. You can book on 01873 840414.

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