Kevin Dundon’s name may not be well-known to most Americans, but it is to the Irish. A popular TV and radio personality, Kevin is an Irish version of Bobby Flay: One of those creative masters of the kitchen who can blend the familiar and the new and come up with something truly sublime for the table.
If his name isn’t familiar to you yet, it may be soon. He has just expanded into the U.S. by opening Raglan Road, an Irish pub and restaurant in Orlando’s Downtown Disney and is marketing his own line of kitchenware in America, Kevin Dundon Home.
I say all this because while we were in Wexford we had the pleasure of staying at an 1830s Georgian manor house that he and his wife Catherine have converted into a luxury hotel and fine restaurant, Dunbrody Country House Hotel.
Front entry to Dunbrody House
I confess to having a fondness for those traditional Laura Ashley-style patterns and fabrics, and because of this Dunbrody is probably my favorite of all the hotels we stayed at in Ireland. They have somehow managed to find a way to blend elegance and informality into something that I’d like to call Irish country chic.
As nice as it is, Dunbrody House doesn’t have the snob factor that you might get in other spa hotels. It’s luxe, yes, but with a cozy, make-yourself-at-home ambiance that made me want to indulge myself by curling up in front of one of their roaring fireplaces with a good book. (It was far too dreary for my taste to go for a walk through their acres of woodlands.) I actually got the feeling that Catherine and her staff wouldn’t have liked anything better than to see me kick off my shoes and do that. They were like that.
Our Room
Climbing the stairs to the top floor, the first thing that struck me when we opened the door to our room was how large it was. Dan immediately opened the sliding door and discovered that we had a little balcony overlooking the back garden.
Desk, table with chairs, dressing area, and even a seating area with a view … all very nice, but most impressive was that they had splurged on a nice king-sized bed. That may not sound like such a big deal to an American, but most European hotels just have a couple of single beds pushed together … and somehow we always manage to roll over and find ourselves in the gap in the middle of the night. A real bed, plus fine quality linens? Yeah, we could look forward to a sound sleep.
Kevin wasn’t there during our stay (he was in Orlando) and Catherine had “apologized” by leaving an autographed copy of his newest book, Modern Irish Food, as a gift in our room. As you probably know, we travel with only one small carryon each, so there’s very little room for extras. Yet this cookbook rode along with us for the next 5 weeks until we made it home to Ecuador.
Tea in the bar
Back downstairs, we were invited into the bar to try their special “Mrs. Tea” and canapés. The delicious tea was made up of jasmine tea infused with elderflower cordial and Hendrix gin, drizzled with lemon juice. Instead of the gin I’d expected, it had the subtle taste of tea and flowers. Very nice. If I ever find elderflower cordial I am definitely making that.
Instead of scones or biscuits we were served cute little puff-pastry rounds, each with a dollop of creamy, herbed goat cheese and so scrumptious I could have devoured the entire delicious tray.
Dan and I wandered through the rooms, checked out their wine cellar and finally ended up in the kitchen chatting with the chefs.Apparently those canapés they had prepared are quite easy to make if you have access to puff pastry. All you do is cut out small rounds of puff pastry (a shot glass would work), and bake them on a sheet until they have risen and the top is a crispy, golden brown. Cool, separate the top and bottom and fill them with whatever strikes your fancy, like herbed goat cheese, tuna salad, or a smoked salmon-cream cheese mixture.
Foodies at work: Dining at Dunbrody Country House Hotel
Fortunately (or unfortunately) Catherine cut the tea short in order to invite us into the Harvest Room for dinner. With a celebrity chef as one of the owners it’s no wonder that the hotel has an award-winning restaurant. Food is a bigger deal than normal here.
Knowing that foodies were present, Kevin and the chefs had planned a special meal to show off their locally sourced ingredients, and most of the produce was grown in Dunbrody House’s own gardens.
It was the first time I’d ever tried a white burgundy wine.
Smoked Hook Head potato soup with lime oil
Pan-roasted turbot with brandade, sea vegetables and a butter emulsion
Braised duck breast
Creme fraiche soufflé with wild blackberries
Petits fours to accompany a classic Irish coffee
What else is at Dunbrody Country House Hotel
Besides a hotel and restaurant, the property has a cookery school, with courses that cover everything from the basics to a dinner party for 6.
Nearby, they have converted a barn into a coffeehouse-pub, and another original stone building into an indulgent spa with all the modern conveniences and luxuries.
We’d like to thank Fáilte Ireland and Dunbrody Country House Hotel and Restaurant for sponsoring our stay. All opinions are our own and were not influenced at all by the sponsorship. If you’d like to see more photos of Dunbrody Country House Hotel, please visit our Wexford photo gallery.
