-1- Irish Times* Circulation: 82059 Saturday, 28 February 2015 Area of Clip: 30300mm² AVE: € 5,716.85 Page: 8 Page 1 of 1

Young chef and celeriac win judges over made from a piece of celeriac opened on Dawson street. brined and then dehydrated for “I loved the buzz of the two three weeks so that it looked years there. We had the chef like a truffle. “Celeriac is clearly and the young chef of the year a big part of your life,” the MC in 2013.” He describes Viljanen for the night joked. as “a stunning chef, with a palate Judge Clare Smyth from Restaurant like I’ve never witnessed. took a He taught me all about this Catherine deep sniff of the dish before tastingstyle of cooking.” it. In a final flourish, A monthly pop-up and cooking Cleary hay-smoked tea was served in stints during the week in Moriarty’s grandmother’s teacup,James Sheridan’s Canteen restaurant Irish Lives a wedding present from are a quieter work rate than in recent years. “I love Mark Moriarty's 1956,he told the judges. cooking but I also love family Judge Atul Kochhar had said and friends as well so I’m trying passion for food won he was looking for a dish in to get a balance. It’s very hard which vegetables were the star to attract people to the industry him a top contest and meat was a garnish. when it’s all about crazy hours. for chefs this week Oliver Dunne from ’sThere is a part of that but if Bon Appetit wanted to you’re clever you can balance it - see something he hadn’t seen quite nicely. And I’m trying to before. The fourth judge, Dan do that with the pop-up.” CATHERINECLEARY Doherty, predicted the winner Moriarty told the judges he would be “the guy who’s right wanted to “push on a new wave Mark Moriarty’s home economics on the edge”. teacher, Brian Dooley, told of modern Irish food”. Taking Several hours and nine dishes last week’s San Pellegrino prize him he should start at the top if from nine other contestants he wanted to be a chef. “So 1 later, Moriarty took the trophy. drafted a letter with my mother, Forty people who bought which is a very Irish thing to tickets for Moriarty’s pop-up do, and sent it to what I consideredwill get to taste the dish tomorrow at the time to be the top 10 night in the Canteen at restaurants.” Blackrock Market. The Culinary The letter opened the kitchen doors for the then Counter, which Moriarty 15-year-old transition-year student runs with fellow chef Ciaran from Blackrock in Sweeney, has popped up twice into two-week work stints in before,in George’s Street Arcade three of those restaurants: with (“which was just crazy - no , running water”) and in Forest and Neven Maguire. “I was really Avenue. “We’vebeen serving it well looked after and that inspired[the celeriac dish] and people me even further.” just said they really liked it and This week the 23-year-old they couldn’t believe it was just won San Pellegrino best young vegetables.” i Mark Moriarty prepares a dish, watched by Stephen Gibson, chef in the UK and Ireland at a Spanish chef Elena Arzak Neil McFadden and Marc Amand. photograph: brenda fitzsimons competition in London. In was a judge at the Euro-toques June, he’ll compete for the young chef competition which world title in Milan against 19 Moriarty won in 2013. “And she other young chefs. really fell for that dish so I On Tuesday night, in Hatredswasn’t coming blind with it.” Georgian Restaurant, he It’s been 18 months in the turned a knobbly root vegetable making. Moriarty got his interest into a star. His celeriac dish in food from summers fishing included a sauce of raw celeriac juice boiled down and turned with his father in west Kerry. into a cream with butter and He worked during school lemon j uice and topped with hazelnuts.holidays in the Charthouse in Dingle. “Noel Enright was a really good influence. I learnt a lot Celeriac and life there about simple food done A piece of celeriac was roasted well.” like a joint of meat and Moriarty worked with Kevin blow-torched with an “Irish Thornton while he was doing miso” pearl barley fermented the culinary arts degree in Cathal for seven months. A “celeriac Brugha Street and went to salt” was grated over the plate work with Mickael Viljanen in The Greenhouse when it