WORDS Molly Garvey
Today I met with someone who, in nine or ten years, will be a top chef. Irish, 21, in final year Culinary Arts at DIT; Mark Moriarty is already at the top of his game, declared winner of Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year 2013. Luckily for those around him, Mark believes that arrogance has no place in a restaurant.
But what is Euro-toques? The odd-sounding name refers to the European Community of Cooks which represents 3,500 chefs and cooks across Europe. Founded in Brussels in 1986 by Mr. Pierre Romeyer, it was brought to Ireland by Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House in the same year. The Irish Young Chef competition focuses on the development and promotion of Irish cooking, a focus stemming from Euro-toque’s desire to maintain and promote diversity and vitality within the food culture of each nation member. The annual competition provides a chance for chefs between the ages of 18 and 25 to compete in a high-pressured environment and receive critique from successful chefs.
This year the judging panel consisted of Ross Lewis of Michelin-starred Chapter One, Lorcan Cribbin of Unicorn, Marc Amand of La Rousse Foods, Euro-toques President Wade Murphy and Elena Arzak, the head chef of Spanish three Michelin-starred Arzack who was voted best female chef in the world 2012. A daunting line-up. Five competed, working with the theme of “food memories”. All competitors are employed in high-end restaurants around Dublin, Mark working at The Greenhouse on Dawson street.
The challenge was to cook a vegetarian and a meat dish that corresponded with the theme, as well as working together to cook for one hundred and forty guests at a pre-competition banquet hosted at Google headquarters. Mark’s final vegetable dish was celeriac baked in salt and fermented hay, hazelnut, celeriac and toasted hay tea. When asked about the process of arriving at a final dish, he says that flavour combinations are the first thing to consider, then you experiment and simplify. The ingredients were all of Irish origin and the use of hay evokes Irish cooking techniques from the middle ages. He chose classical flavours when composing his meat dish; roast pheasant, brussel sprouts, a sprout farci consisting of a sprout stuffed with a mix of leg meat and offal, game chips and bacon cream. This was also a play on bacon and cabbage. Having come runner-up in the Irish Young Chef 2012, the best tactic for 2013 would be to cook the familiar perfectly, according to Mark. He also had the advantage of knowing the necessity of a water bottle on the day of the competition. Nerves can cause dehydration which in turn makes it impossible to taste anything!
Having received praise from such impressive head-chefs, it seems that the future could be bright for Mark. I ask him what his plans are upon graduating. A year in London, a year in Spain, a year in Sweden. De Wulf in Belgium is also of interest. Then maybe, having accumulated enough varied experience abroad, return to his roots. Irish chefs that he respects include Kevin Thornton, as his kitchen was the first Mark worked in; Kieran Glennan of Patrick Guilbauds for maintaining a standard of excellence, and Neven Maguire, admired for how he has built up his business over the years to the point where he is booked out 5 months in advance.
About to finish college, Mark’s thesis is entitled The Kitchen Athlete. He acknowledges that it is important to find balance in the everyday but also states that working as a chef is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. Passion is needed to endure the long, tough hours and sustained pressure of a demanding kitchen.
With the help of competitions such as Euro-toques Young Chef, Ireland is producing talented chefs eager to learn and ready for national and global challenges. Coupled with the as yet unspoiled raw produce that Ireland is internationally known for, and which Elena Arzack applauded, there is huge potential for an innovative, honest and unique Irish food culture. Let’s hope the young chefs book return flights!
