RTÉ One’s Martin & Paul’s Surf ‘n’ Turf: Part 4 of 8
Take two chefs – one with a passion for Surf, one with a passion for Turf. Send them to eight beautiful locations around Ireland to create local signature dishes. Invite twenty people from the area and let them decide the winner. Let Martin & Paul’s Surf n’ Turf challenge begin!
Martin Shanahan (of RTÉ’s Martin’s Mad About Fish) and Paul Flynn (RTÉ’s Paul Flynn: Irish Food) are two of Ireland’s best known chefs. Both have a passion for Irish food and local produce. Martin has become an ambassador for Irish seafood while Paul is passionate about all forms of meat, especially pork. This new RTÉ Cork series celebrates the best of Irish produce in 8 beautiful locations.
Martin and Paul embark on a fantastic trip around Ireland from Cobh in Cork to Glenn Colm Cille in Donegal. But this will be no holiday. They’re being challenged to create signature dishes for every area they visit, using only the best of local ingredients. Martin will create the Surf dish while Paul serves up the Turf. They have 24 hours to source their local produce before creating their unique dishes. Twenty local people will then judge their meals but there can be only one winner – Surf or Turf.
Martin and Paul truly make the most of the eight beautiful locations where they’re being challenged. Paul goes wild rabbit shooting in Cobh, while Martin dives for scallops in Port Magee in Co. Kerry. Paul decides on spit roasted goat in Co. Clare’s Ballyvaughan while Martin goes fishing for Dublin Bay Prawns in Skerries. In Carlingford in Co. Louth, Paul takes inspiration from the mythical Tain and creates a beautiful beef dish while Martin finds some wonderful organic sea trout in Westport in Co. Mayo. Paul finds inspiration in his favourite meat in Wexford’s Kilmore Quay while Martin can’t decide between fresh mackerel and delicious tuna in Donegal.
This is a proper road trip for Martin and Paul and expect lots of laughs. They also get into some hot water as they regularly bite off more than they can chew. At the core of the whole series is a real competitive spirit between the two chefs as they battle to win the Surf n’ Turf challenge.
Episode 4
On tonight’s episode Martin and Paul are issued their challenge by the Valentia RNLI, one of the busiest life boat stations in the country. Leo Houlihan tells them they have 24 hours to source the best local surf and turf ingredients for their challenge.
It turns out Corkman Martin Shanahan has real ties to South Kerry. He got his first ever job as a chef at the Butler Arms in Waterville so he heads straight there to recruit his old boss, Peter Huggard. He’s also very familiar with the supreme quality of Valentia scallops so he decides to snorkel for them.
Paul, meanwhile, discovers Paidi O’Connell’s duck farm in Ballinskelligs. But he decides to take a real risk and team his duck with some chocolate from Skelligs Chocolate. Cue some interesting taste testing with owner Colm Healy. Martin also pays a visit to Valentia Slate to get some great presentation plates for his dish.
Twenty local taste testers arrive to Port Magee’s Community centre to sample the two signature dishes and a verdict is decided upon. But you’ll have to tune in tonight to discover which dish won – the Surf or the Turf.