This year judges Derry Clarke, Lucinda O'Sullivan and Myles McWeeney sampled all the dishes on Thursday evening and came up with their top three, the winners included Chophouse in third place, Green Hen in second place and The Dylan in first. While I didn't get to sample every dish I did manage a good few and I came up with my own top three that I'd like to share with you. I rated each dish in terms of flavour, presentation and use of ingredients. I'm not a food critic though so unsurprisingly my favourites were different to theirs!
Railway Lamb Curry from Jaipur
Jaipur cooked the Wicklow Lamb for 12 hours until it was fall apart tender. It was gently flavoured with masala spices and coupled with chickpeas. The curry was served with a chapati to mop up all the delicious flavours. Indian food would be one of my favorite cuisines so this one was a real winner for me.
Scallop, Black Pudding, Pork Belly and Cauliflower from Anair
Anair from Galway was one of the visiting restaurants this year. I was so glad to have the opportunity to try some of their food because I'd heard such great things about it. The pork belly was probably the best I have ever tasted, it had a lovely sticky texture but was still really juicy, just perfect. The scallop was cooked exactly how I like, bronzed but still slightly gelatinous. I would have loved some more of the black pudding puree as I thought it brought the whole dish together, regardless, it was still fantastic!
Crispy Hens Egg with Black Pudding, Peas and Wholegrain Mustard from Pichet
This was my favorite dish of the whole festival. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a perfectly cooked runny egg with black pudding. In my opinion it's a perfect combination. The black pudding was tender and not overly spiced, the crispiness surrounding the egg created a nice contrast to both the pudding and the tender egg. The pea punctuated the lushness very well and I'm sure I tasted some cubes of jellied apple extract which provided a nice lift to the dish. I've always been impressed by the food in Pichet, this was no exception.
L-R Fish and Chips from Dylan. Lamb Cutlet, Spinach and Roast Garlic and Buttermilk Puree also from Dylan. Hereford Prime Rump with Twice Cooked Chips from Chop House. Leek and Parmesan Risotto from Il Primo.
Just because I have picked out my top three it doesn't mean that the other dishes weren't good! In terms of comfort food we enjoyed the rump steak and chips from Chop House. For value for money it was a tie between Il Primo's fabulous leek and Parmesan risotto and The Dylan's generous Fish and Chips. I had a few disappointments too, mainly restaurants that I wasn't able to visit! I missed Pho Viet as they were only there on Thursday and for some reason I missed Hot Stove entirely.
L-R Mushroom Risotto from Pichet. Beef Cheek Cannelloni from Il Primo. Sirloin of Beef on a Waterford Blaa from Brasserie Le Pont. Duck in Tamarind Sauce from Baan Thai.
Of course Taste does not just offer the opportunity to try fantastic food, there's lots of drink options too with masterclasses being offered by O'Brien's Off Licences and also the Beaujolais producers. Chefs like Darina Allen, Neven Maguire and Clodagh McKenna shared their skills with the public with different demonstrations and the EU sponsored Food for Thought Theatre hosted by Catherine Fulvio discussed traceability and food safety.Taste of Dublin has yet to let me down in the five years I have been attending, I'm already looking forward to going next year. I'd really recommend checking it out at least once. For news of the event and early bird discounted tickets keep and eye on their website
