REVIEW: #MeetTheChefs dinner with Mark Moriarty at Selfridges

I knew when I was getting old, but thought I was still young  – when I realised I started using hashtags(#) in almost all of my conversations these days, it even made its way into this articles title. I spend so much of my time on social media that its sort of integrated into part of my life. It’s not just the language either, hashtags are an important tool to finding some of the most exciting stuff on the internet – it’s the best way to search out those niches you’re after, wether it be #truffle, #finedining or in this case #MeetTheChefs, which is part of Selfridges Meet the Makers focus across the store. Admittedly a friend of mine invited me to this special dinner at Selfridges but I’d seen it making its way around the media for a few days before, so got very excited when the opportunity to attend came up.

As part of the series of Meet The Chef dinners at Selfridges, one evening was cooked and led by Mark Moriarty. Mark was only recently crowned San Pellegrino’s Young Chef of the year 2015 out of 20 young chefs from across the globe and as of recently was working on The Culinary Counter pop up restaurant with chef Ciaran Sweeney, of which there are only 24 seats in total – all sitting in a square around an open kitchen. With all this news and excitement going on I couldn’t wait to plough through this exclusive modern Irish inspired menu. We started our journey with some warm, beautiful brioche bread and medley of amuse bouches & snacks to prepare our palate for what turned out to be a flavour explosion. The scallop imitated puree with savoury dipping cigars was particularly memorable.

I was a little sceptical first about my meal being cooked by Mark Moriarty and it was mainly because of him being so young, but from the moment he opens his mouth there isn’t a 21-year-old boy in sight but instead a very confident chef. Our menu started with a beef tartar mixed with oysters and radishes. A lovely fresh and vibrant dish. The oysters were barely traceable in this dish but a single oyster leaf sat perched on top. It looks like a leaf, but tastes exactly like an oyster. A very odd taste sensation which my palate wasn’t expecting. Star dish (or at least one of them) from the evening was the absolutely stunning house smoked salmon, baked potato, leek and egg. The silky looking salmon was smoked on top of the roof by Mark himself before service in a make shift wine box and cooked in a water bath prior. The texture and flavours were stunning as he built layers upon layers of concentration into the fish. The what looked like a filled potato skin was filled with the creamy leak mix and shaved egg yolk around the plate added a little fullness to the dish.

To be honest when Mark was explaining our next dish, I got a little lost, dazed and confused. There were so many ingredients, cooking techniques and surprises I didn’t know what was going on. Thankfully I only have the hard task of eating it and not cooking it – apparently it can take over a week to prepare our celeriac baked in barley and fermented hay, which is then all smoked to perfection. Dollops of hazelnut emulsion were a dream, while glossy yellow butter sauce tasted like something I have with my morning cuppa – burnt toast & butter. The dish was incredibly rich and like nothing I’ve ever eaten before  – but it’s something I’d want every human being to try. It’s quite extraordinary what Mark has created and I can see why he won the San Pellegrino Young Chefs Award by presenting this dish to the panel. A must try if you ever get the chance.

Equally as rich and just as delicious was the slow cooked, blackened piece of pork, with just as slowly cooked bacon & a thick parsley sauce. Again the dish had so much concentration of flavours I can’t honestly remember the last time a plate of food gave so much. The meats were both incredibly smoky and that slow cooked piece of pork was so blackened on one side the skin had become a slither of singed flaky and smoky goodness. Rich and filling  – this is exactly the sort of thing you’d want to be eating with winter making its entrance – it’s just a shame my cooking skills won’t be recreating it at home.

If I had to pick my least favourite dish, it would probably have been my dessert, though by no fault of Mark’s – I’m just not the biggest fan of rice pudding, in any form. Here it was served alot creamier and smoother, laced with a good old Irish classic – Guinness. If you’re a rice pudding love I’ve not doubt you’ll have endless enjoyment with this dish – I did with those mouth-watering cubes of fudge topped with whisky gel.

I can certainly see why Mark was crowned chef of the year by San Pellegrino and I’ve no doubt that in the next few years or so this young chef will have a star-studded restaurant of his own. Not only is it worth following this talented chef around the country, but also worth remembering that hidden in the depths of Selfridges is a sumptuous, hidden restaurant called The Corner Restaurant which will be hosting many more top chefs in the future. I for one can’t wait to see what else they have in store.

8.5/10