I got a tweet from Nigel, or @nigelpim as he’s known in twitterworld, to say that there
was a competition to be “chef de Jour” or chef for a day in Fenn’s Quay.

I spent an agonising couple of nights sitting at my laptop wondering about combinations of
dishes, trying to take into account the fact that if I was cooking for a
restaurant full of people, a soufflé would be too much pressure! (maybe next
time!).

I was also thinking that the night that I would be cooking would be close to Thanksgiving
so I wanted to give a nod to my American Friends.

Finally I settled on;

Amuse
Bouche: Spicy Sweet Potato Salad, with a Cranberry Shot

Starter:
Venison Sausage served with an onion marmalade and crostini

Main
Course: Coq au Vin, Celeriac Mash & a spinach and wild mushroom salad

Dessert:
Warm Spiced Plums, with Oat shortbread Biscuits, Cardamon Cream & Green Tea
Parfait.

So I tried to combine some wintry flavours with a little twist on every course.

Kate, Head Chef in Fenn’s Quay is the nicest chef I’ve ever met, she is sooooooo
calm.  All our emails were chatty and I felt we were friends before we even met.

I was scheduled to “perform” on the second of 2 nights.  My nemesis, Paul, cooked on the Tuesday and
as I followed his progress on “the Twitter” my heart started to sink a little as he dishes looked so professional and polished.

The day dawned and Nigel and I travelled to Cork.
I had spent the previous couple of evenings making some rather fiddly petit fours to sweeten up my judges.  We
arrived at lunch time and I was introduced to the lovely front of house team who run a very tight ship.

Kate was exactly as she was on the phone and on email/ twitter, very relaxed.  I, on the other hand was up to ninety knowing
I had parfait to make.. veg to prep, and was altogether in a blind panic.

I need not have worried, Kate and her professional crew were great, all the prep went very
smoothly and before I realised we were cooking! I had a couple of friends in
the “audience”, including my not-biased-at-all husband.  The orders were flying in and out, and even
some customers who did not know what was on were asking for my menu.  Before I knew it all the desserts were served
and the petit fours were distributed.

Next the judges went off for a little huddle, deciding my starry fate.  I spent an anxious few minutes enjoying a very
well earned cup of tea.

The eminent judges returned their verdict, each of the three giving a little feedback on
the courses, Margaret Smith, (@umnunmum_cork) an eminent cookery school owner
passionate about cooking and its promotion, Michael Logan (@theleggalamb), wine
connoisseur, and Billy Lyons, a very well known blogger (@corkbilly) gave my
4.5 stars, needless to say the sleepless nights and the worry about my little
menu was all in vain.

What made the day so enjoyable was Kate and her staff, we were so well looked after,
Nigel and I were made to feel very welcome, and I really felt part of the team.  The lovely judges were so kind
about my amateur attempt at being a chef, and for their kind comments I am very
grateful.  To the customers who so willingly ate my fayre, I salute you!

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