This week the head chef in ‘The Restaurant’ is Waterford-born magician, Keith Barry. Keith is a master of illusion and his talents have brought him international fame. But tonight he leaves the world of illusion behind gets to grip with reality creating a 3-course menu for a restaurant full of diners and critics.
Keith is more used to making things disappear than making food to eat, although he does hope that the diners will love his food enough to make it disappear – fast!
There will be no sleight of hand or trickery involved as Keith himself devises his menu and prepares it himself. A team of chefs can assist him (Dave Workowich on starters, Stephen McAllister on Mains, Louise Lennox on Desserts and Stephen Quin the Kitchen Porter) Can Keith serve a magical meal tonight and win a 5-star rating from the critics? Or will his food fail to entrance the diners?
Keith himself has a hearty appetite and eats everything ‘I have a really open palate, a lot of people are really fussy about what they eat, actually I can’t think of anything I don’t like’
He is a big fan of shellfish and that just had to feature on his menu ‘I chose the starters because really I prefer shellfish as opposed to just fish, so I’m looking forward to cooking those’.
Keith’s main courses fuse his love of old fashioned food with the modern ‘I’m giving people a choice with traditional Irish food and I suppose, modern cuisine, and it’ll be really interesting to see which they go for and the end result, whether they like it or not’
Keith’s desserts also reflect his love of the tradition and the modern ‘I chose my all time favourite dessert which is apple tart and ice cream and then obviously, I’m a little bit health conscious and I just went for simply flambeed fruit for the other side’.
Keith’s second dessert really confused the diners and critics, as it was named ‘Billy McComb Surprise’. Keith named this dish to give a clue as to his identity. The late Billy was a friend and hero of Keith’s, and was himself a magician from Belfast. The dessert named after him was a colourful combination of caramelised pineapples and bananas with a pyramid-shaped Pina Colada Parfait, that had just a ‘little’ Jack Daniels added to it, to honour Billy.
Keith Barry’s Menu
Starters: Cockle Chowder
Chilli and Garlic Prawns and Scallops
Main Course: Crubeen Casserole
Turkey Stir Fry
Dessert: Warm Apple Tart and Vanilla Ice-cream
Billy McComb Surprise