If in a few years you are paying big bucks for a meal served up by Jack Lenards from Wicklow, remember that you read about him first in Irish Country Living. That’s because last week, he was named the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year,

This is no mean feat. One of the most prestigious culinary competitions celebrating Ireland’s best emerging culinary talent. It takes place throughout the year culminating in a final between six of the best at their Dublin Cookery School before an awards presentation at a gala dinner in the Intercontinental Hotel.

The challenge put to Jack and his competitors this year was to devise two original dishes, inspired by seasonal produce including Irish venison and a selection of raw milk cheeses. They could use one or a combination of the raw goats cheese and sheep milk cheese from Silke Cropp and her son Tom’s Corleggy, Mike Thomson of Mike’s Fancy Cheese Young Buck, the mature farmhouse cheese Cloonconra Aibí by James Gannon and St Tola, the soft goats milk cheese from Inagh Farmhouse Cheese made by Siobhan Ní Ghairbhith.

Jack Lenards, Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year 2018.

For Jack, it was his main course of roast loin of Sika deer with barley risotto and Douglas Fir double IPA and a dessert of poached apple, Tawny cider sauce and grated Young Buck cheese that impressed the judges who noted his flair, imagination and skill in execution.

Speaking to Irish Country Living just after his win, Jack, who was mentored by chef Ahmet Dede at Mews says he thinks his success came from keeping things simple. “I was in the competition last year but this year, I completely changed my style of cooking. Last year my dishes were quite complex, everything was done fresh on the day and I put myself under a lot of pressure. This year, I stripped everything back, focusing on the ingredients, showing off the produce and allowing them to sing.”

So it was off to his local Delgany Grocers to source the ingredients, forager Monica Gonzalez for local pine and elderberries and when it came to the beer, it was off to Hellfire Club for a local IPA.

Developing the dishes did have its challenges for Jack however, because although he is a fan of Irish cheese, his taste pallet doesn’t quite warm to powerful blue cheese. “The raw milk cheese was difficult for me, but like in all good restaurants such as Mews, I had a team working with me. We would sit down after a shift, open a box of cheese and they would describe the taste profiles they experienced to help me match the flavours.

“Then it was down to letting those flavours shine, creating dishes that were full on flavour and done correctly. No gimmicks or weird techniques, just everything cooked well and presented nicely. It really was all about the produce”

And Jack has a real appreciation for the products. For the last 10 years he has been working with his mother and grandfather at their allotment in Enniskerry so he has a real appreciation for farmers and producers after a decade growing his own vegetables. Jack started his career in Chapter One and has also worked in L’Ecrivian and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud before moving to Mews.

Stojo cup.

Stojo: on-the-go collapsible cups

Yes, yes we know, we’re not supposed to use disposable cups anymore. And when you see the stats you realise why. Recyling List Ireland reported in July that 22,000 coffee cups are disposed of in Ireland every hour, which works out at 528,000 every day, or 200m every year. And what you might not be aware of is that single-use coffee cups are not included in Recycling List Ireland and cannot be put in the recycling bin. While many recycling cups carry the recyclable logo, the actual cup is not recyclable in Ireland, and must be disposed of in general waste. The logo refers only to the rigid plastic lids, and the cardboard sleeves which can be removed and placed for recycling.

If that made you sit up in your seat, you might want to think about Stojo. Just launched in the Irish market, it takes the whole idea of a disposable sup to a new level as they basically collapse into a flat-packed coffee cup. Ultra-portable and leak-proof, they take up less room in a handbag than your mobile phone and then expand when you need a caffeine hit.

It was three clever New-York based friends that came up with the idea but speaking about the Irish market, Jurien Swarts says: “The so-called ‘latte levy’ will make a big difference to reducing the amount of disposable cups going to landfill each year. We’re on a mission to end disposable culture. Big change comes through small, purposeful, incremental steps. Stojo embodies this belief, and we feel the appetite for progress and change is really evident in Ireland right now, so we are delighted to launch in the market.

The Stojo comes in two sizes, the ‘Pocket Cup’ (€12.95) and the ‘Biggie’ (€16.95). You’ll find them in Brown Thomas, Arnotts and Avoca, as well as stojo.com.

The Twelve, Galway.

Thanksgiving dinner

I’ve always wanted one of those delicious looking Thanksgiving dinners, it must be all those images of turkey landing on beautifully decorated tables, just as we start thinking about our own Christmas dinner. If you’re like me – or more appropriately you have an American connection – then you’ll find that every year more and more restaurants around the country are offering that memorable meal on 22 November. Two of the most impressive are in the west, so far west in fact, that the next stop is America; the Twelve Hotel in Galway and the Lodge at Ashford Castle.

The Twelve is hosting their Thanksgiving dinner in association with Tindal Wines, designed as a thank-you for the riches of the season and the region.

With select wines introduced on the night by Harriet Tindal and Pascal Playon of Tindal Wines, and menus designed by head chef Martin O’Donnell, the evening pays tribute to the traditions of the season. The evening kicks off with a prosecco reception accompanied by snacks of oyster crackers, aïoli and seaweed followed by real autumnal American dishes such as Uncle Matt’s pumpkin arancini and green egg-smoked turkey roulade with chestnut stuffing. All courses are paired with Italian wines and the evening costs €75 per person.

On the shores of Lough Corrib, the Lodge at Ashford Castle, the sister and more informal property in Ashford is also taking a day to be thankful, and chef Jonathan Keane is really going traditional. We’re talking warming pumpkin soup, perfectly roasted turkey and sweet and sticky pecan pie, a perfect Thanksgiving dinner without the washing up. The evening even kicks off with a cocktail of ‘Spiced Pumpkin Eggnog’ and costs €70 per person.