Cook Book Reviews

Is it art, craft or theatre? All three perhaps, with food as the medium and the emphasis on art? That’s the kind of thing that diners tend to ponder on at The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, Co Waterford, where gifted Dutch chef Martijn Kajuiter’s astonishing food has been wowing the critics since this old hotel re-opened as an exciting contemporary destination in 2008, when it was our Newcomer of the Year.

Written by Martijn Kajuiter and the respected journalist Alex Meehan, with truly stunning in-season photography by Shane O’Neill, Let’s Go Disco (published by The Cliff House Hotel, hardback, €45) is a predictably unconventional book, starting with the title – apparently it’s their rallying cry in the kitchen ‘when it’s time to knuckle down and get things done’.

And like the hotel itself - a luxury destination which thrives despite having opened on the cusp of recession - Let’s Go Disco bucks the trend in the world of hardback food books too, as Martin is not a TV chef, as yet anyway, although he did make an appearance recently in MasterChef.

And talking of MasterChef, if you have an aspiring one in the family this is the perfect gift, as it’s educational as well as inspiring and thought-provoking. (Don’t plan to post it out to too many people though, as it weighs in at 2kg.)

There is realism - chefs photographed smoking (hmmm…); the stained fingernails that may be an uncomfortable reminder of how much handling this kind of food involves - but this is a book about the philosophy and teamwork in The Cliff House kitchen and, while it’s light years away from being a recipe book in the usual sense, Martijn is at pains to point out that there is no compromise in the way his 36 dishes are described: and each complex dish is itemised like a numbered map, with mini-recipes to match. I was interested to see this as, from the diner’s perspective, I have wondered if it might enhance the experience to have guidelines on the best order to undertake the tasting of such minutely detailed dishes.

Local foods in season provide the foundation for this extraordinary cuisine - and they even grow some produce themselves in a cliff-top polytunnel and raised beds beside the hotel – but that could easily be forgotten when faced with the sheer complexity of the work on the plate.

Interestingly, although strikingly modern, Kajuiter’s cooking is also reminiscent of the elaborate works of the ground breaking chefs celebrated in earlier centuries, such as Careme (1784-1833, “The King of Cooks and Cook of Kings”) and Escoffier (1846-1935). Plenty of food for thought here, let’s just hope there won’t be too many imitators.

Available online from: www.thecliffhousehotel.com and on sale at The Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore, Co Waterford, and The Cliff Townhouse, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.