Today heralds the beginning of one of my favourite weekends of the working year. Since 2019 I have been travelling north to The Olde Glen Bar in the great county of Donegal to partner with former colleague and long time friend Ciaran Sweeney, who has been cooking some of the country’s most delicious food for more than 15 years.
Having trained in the UK and Dublin, he returned home in recent years to partner with Cormac Walsh and bring fine dining to one of the oldest and best pubs in the world. The combination of charming venue, affable host and hugely talented chef, twinned with stunning local ingredients, has put this area on the culinary map, it also helps that it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Thankfully, the team still respond to my annual text to come up and cook for one weekend of the year. On Saturday night, we’ll have a full house feasting on Mulroy Bay Scallops, Greencastle turbot, McBride crab, Ballyholey vegetables, the famous cabbage from Gortahork and Horn Head honey. Tomorrow evening, the same. It‘s also customary for the chefs to hydrate after service in the bar before rehydrating again the following morning in Sheephaven Bay. This is the weekend that reminds me why I love this work: cooking great ingredients for great people in a beautiful corner of this wonderful county.
While we work away cooking for the crowds this weekend, I thought it appropriate to showcase some dishes from the area. First up is a very Irish dish using one of our greatest ingredients. Crab meat has to be the Atlantic’s greatest export, tossed with a hint of mayonnaise and some herbs with plenty of salt and lemon juice – eating does not get any better. The McBride family have been fishing crab from Downings Pier for generations, and it‘s the best I’ve tasted. I’ve matched it with a take on potato bread that Ciaran has been cooking to great acclaim for years. It‘s a cross between a traditional potato farl and yeast white bread, with the comfort factor of a sour blini. It is delicious. He has never given me his actual recipe, but I think it‘s close. I can’t imagine a better way to start a meal in the summer sunshine.
I can imagine how to continue it, however. The Casey family have been running the acclaimed Rosapenna Hotel in Donegal for more than 50 years. Frank snr set standards that live true to this day, with the hotel now in the capable hands of sons John and Frank jnr. This is the sort of place that gets the important things right, every time. Hospitality, ingredients, service and warmth. Their lobster Thermidor is legendary; it only makes an appearance when local lobster is available and the price is right. It‘s cooked how Frank snr likes things: the classic way. The lobster is blanched and the meat cleaned out while retaining the shell. The sauce is made with cream, a dash of brandy, mustard and gratinated with a touch of cheese to stringy perfection. Served up in the grand diningroom overlooking the sunset and the sea, you’re winning. Beat a path and make sure to request the Thermidor when you’re booking.
Recipe: Crab mayo with charred potato bread
