Chef and gardener source food from ‘over the hedge’

WE have all heard of food miles but sourcing food from ‘over the hedge’ really is something else. Rob Curley, an award winning chef, has created a unique dining experience in County Antrim like no other where he has teamed up with the Slemish Market Garden to create the Slemish Market Supper Club.

The Slemish Market Supper Club is literally a few hundred metres from the market garden kitchen where all of the fruit and vegetables are grown with every single seed planted by hand by gardener Frank McCooke, 60, and his son Matthew, 33, who is a partner in the business.

The fun and creative dining club attracts a movement of people who want to be close to the source of the food cooked and who want to hear the gardener and chef talk about what’s on their plates and how it was grown.

Not only that, but, this movement of people are travelling from right across Northern Ireland to the heart of Ballymena to create new friendships where people dine in a family style dining environment.

The supper club, which is often over-subscribed, will find out in May if it has won ‘Best Private and Club Dining’ award at the All Ireland final for the Irish Restaurant Association Awards which will take place in Dublin on May 8.

Speaking about the uniqueness of the supper club, Rob said: “There is nothing like this out there. Guests coming to the supper club don’t know what’s on the menu until Frank and I get up at the beginning of the evening to talk the guests through the ingredients used and what dishes they will be eating.

“It’s totally a joint effort to create a surprise six course menu comprising of a drink, a wee bite, a starter, a fish course, a meat course and dessert.

“The bespoke menu changes every time according to what is seasonal. The market garden is literally over the hedge from me. If it’s raining I pop over on the bike and if it’s dry we talk over the hedge quite a lot. At the start of every season Frank and I talk about what is grown for the season ahead and then I think about what dishes I can create. Then I know to source salmon, trout, duck, game and goat – all from the Glens of Antrim where possible.”

But what Rob has totally nailed in the Slemish Market Supper Club are menus which tell the story of the area, the people and the place.

Key to this is Frank McCooke and his business partner and son Matthew.

Frank said: “People don’t often understand how we grow our produce here. Our chickens are very important to us because they obviously supply us with our free range eggs. But, also, whatever piece of land we need worked on we send the chickens out on to the land and they clear it for us so it’s ready for planting. Once that’s done, we move the chickens on to another stretch of land. Everything we do uses traditional farming methods. We don’t use fertiliser, pesticides or use hydroponics.

“Rob, Matt and I discuss what’s been planted throughout the year. Our range of produce includes beetroot, carrots, parsnips, peas, salad crops, tomatoes, which we are famous for because we use a secret ingredient, pumpkins, squashes, chillies, garlic, apples, plums and much more.

“We are an open market garden and our customers come from far and wide. We very much do our own thing and we stay away from food trends. What Rob has created is really wonderful. He moved to Ballymena from Dublin and what he has worked so hard to create has really snowballed.

“But we are all quite old fashioned in the way we approach things so, for me, it’s up and out at dawn and back into the house late at night. It’s a real family affair too because the Slemish Market Garden is a father and son business but it was my wife Linda who set it up 40 years ago. Matt’s wife is American and works at Cafre so Lori too has great influence on the business and bring us new ideas.

“And the people who come to the supper clubs don’t even know each other but we all sit round like a big family and everyone knows each other by the end of the evening. It really is a lovely dining experience.”

Rob, who is a member of Live It Experience It, has over 20 years’ experience in the restaurant trade having worked previously in L’Ecrivain ( 1 Michelin star) and Shanahans On The Green in Dublin. He has done a lot of  food demonstrations at large and small food festivals and he won Ulster Local Food Hero at the Irish Restaurant Awards 2016.

He puts his heart and soul into the Slemish Market Supper Club. He has sourced plates which have been made from wood from Ballymena and Glenariffe. These plates were made using trees which had to be cut down due to the ashback disease and so he has given them a new purpose  and function.

Rob added: “The supper clubs are near enough every month. We announce the dates on Facebook. The next one will be held at Follow Coffee on Greenvale Street in Ballymena on April 29 where yet another bespoke menu will be served up. People can either reserve their place through our Facebook page or call me on 07547804975. It’s all about food, fun and friendship.”

Slemish Market Supper Club has also been invited to showcase what it’s about with Rob’s good friend Chef Gorka Arrieta at the prestigious Gastonomic  Pintxo/Miniature Congress in Vitoria-Gasteiz the capitol of the Basque region in Spain in 2018.

Slemish Market Supper Club is a Live It Experience It member. It was nominated for Northern Ireland for Best Local Food Story at the Food and Drink Awards 2017. Rob was also nominated for Local Food Hero and Best Private Dining Club in the Ulster category of the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2017.

Live It Experience It’ is a cluster of tourism businesses working together to promote our region through water, air and land based activities, food and drink and great places to stay. If you would like to become a member business in our ‘Live It Experience It’ club please submit your information through our online form here http://liveitexperienceit.com/become-a-member-of-live-it-experience-it/. Pitch your business and meet like minded tourism businesses who you could cluster with. #liveitexperienceit

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