The Restaurant is back with another helping of its hugely popular christmas cracker – the 5 star cook-off. Two more 5 star chefs return to the kitchen and go head-to-head to decide who wins this year’s ultimate culinary accolade at the Wineport Lodge in Athlone.
There have only been a handful of chefs who have succeeded in getting the 5 star accolade in The Restaurant, and there have been just three 5 star cook offs in the past (Dermot O’Neill vs Gillian Bowler; Kevin Myers vs Tracy Piggott; Dermot Bannon vs Des Cahill) This year it is the battle of the papers as Sunday World journalist Amanda Brunker takes on Fintan O’Toole of the Irish Times.
In their first visit to The Restaurant both Amanda and Fintan cooked up a storm in the kitchen with their first class menus, and wowed regular critics, Tom Doorley and Paolo Tulio, achieving top marks for their delicious food.
This time, it’s the battle of the broadsheet vs the tabloid, as both Fintan and Amanda take their brand-new menus to the diners and critics once more. Each chef will prepare one starter, one main course and one dessert. There will be no star ratings – as the critics decide on their favourite dish in each course – best of three courses wins the cook off.
Both chefs are dedicated foodies, they are driven and ambitious, and both are in it to win it. But which menu will impress The Restaurant’s regular critics and their special guest, critic TV Presenter and wine expert Jilly Goolden?