October 1994 Mrs Anne Geary owner of Pontoon Bridge Hotel asked some local chefs to meet with
the idea of forming a Chefs club in county Mayo, There were six chefs present
at that initial meeting and out of it was born the Chefs of Mayo Club.The six chefs made contact with several other chefs working
in County Mayo and by February 1995 the Inaugural AGM was held in the Welcome
Inn hotel in Castlebar. This meeting was well attended and many chefs joined
up. The guest speaker at the Launch of the Chefs of Mayo was the then Minister
for Trade Tourism Mr Enda Kenny TD.
Denis Lenihan {executive Chef at Ashford Castle} elected as first Chairman and during his
time in office the club was set on a firm footing. Chocolate seminars and a
food show were organised. The food show was a showcase of all the finest
produce manufactured and produced locally and was held in the Travellers friend
hotel in Castlebar.
In 1996 Seamus O’Doherty {Executive head chef at the Welcome Inn Hotel in Castlebar} took over
as chairman and while Seamus was in
office the club started the Taste of Mayo fundraisers and appointed Joe McHugh
as Newsletter co-ordinator to compile a club newsletter . This newsletter is
printed,published and posted to all our members and other catering
establishments in County Mayo free of charge. The newsletter is running to
date. Many social events were organised including fishing trips, golf outings,
Go-Karting ,and darts tournaments.
In 1998 Joe McHugh C.W.C. {Head Chef in Flannerys Tavern and Restaurant in
Ballinrobe}was elected Chairman and our constitution was compiled and voted
into being. Club Trustees were elected and our social and fundraising
activities continued . We approached all our local politicians to highlight tax
in equities in the catering sector and tried to make our point with the revenue
commissioners.
To date the club have raised over £20,000 for charitable
causes.
In January 2000 Vincent Conlon {Executive Head Chef with
Campbell Catering at Mayo regional Hospital} was elected as chairman he won
the Healthy eating Competition at the Salon culinare in Galway in February 2000
and other club member award winners
were Tommy O’Boyle and Anthony Kelly.
Chairman : Vincent Conlon
Vice Chairman : Gerry Luskin
Secretary: Seamus O’Doherty
Treasurer: Frank Lyons
Public Relations: Mark Deegan
CLUB TRUSTEES
Seamus O’Doherty
Mary Geary
Anthony Kelly
Sub Officers 2000
Assistant Secretary : Noreen O’Connell
Assistant Treasurer : Stephen Fitzmaurice
Assistant PRO Paul Slevin
Social Officer: Ray O’Neill
Newsletter Co-Ordinator Joe McHugh C.W.C.
A Taste of Mayo
Here we have a group of chefs who tickled some taste buds when they cooked up a gourmet delight at the fifth annual Taste of Mayo in the Dalton Inn in Claremorris on November 17th 2000.
As usual the event wass sold out.
This years beneficiaries are Enable Mayo Claremorris, Chernobyl Children's Project, Mayo Mountain Rescue, and the Mayo branch of the Irish Emigrant Association.
Our picture shows left to right starting at the front:-
Paul Slevin, Frank Lyons, John Crossan Tommy O Boyle and at the back are Ray O Neill Jason Daly, Martin Vahey and Emmett Maxwell.
The Chefs of Mayo held their 5th
Annual Taste of Mayo fundraiser in the Dalton Inn, Claremorris. Almost
£5000 was raised on the night for 5 charities namely
a.. Mayo Mountain Rescue
b.. Enable Ireland
c.. St Vincent De Paul Claremorris
d.. Claremorris Chernobyl Childrens project
e.. Mayo emigrant liason Committee
The brilliant Frank Forde provided entertainment on the night and acted as
MC .
Treasa Duffy and Starbright from Westport also helped as did Lisa
Canny on the Harp.
Over Thirty Chefs participated in the Event. The Dalton
Inn provided all the facilities and ancillary staff on the night and a
wonderful time was had by one and all.
Click here for more photos from the night
Halloween Receipes
Now that Halloween is here we see all the pumpkins in the shops and for most people they are just an item to carve and make decorations from. However the pumpkin is also used worldwide as a vegetable, a soup and even in pies. America leads the way in the use of the pumpkin. It is true that on its own it is quite bland or flavourless but when you spice it up you can make nice soup or vegetable dishes from it. It is believed that the word pumpkin is derived from the Greek word "pepon" meaning cooked by the sun. It is of course the largest member of the gourd family which are technically classed as Melons. It is very high in vitamin A. When carving pumpkin keep the flesh or seeds to use in dishes. Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and seasoned to be eaten like nuts or sunflower seeds. They will brown up nicely in a moderate oven. When they are golden brown season with Cajun spices or other seasonings to make a delightful munchie.
Pumpkin with Spinach and Cheese:
Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove al the stringy bits and seeds.
Season with a little olive oil , salt and freshly ground black pepper, shake a little nutmeg on also.
Bake in a very hot oven until they are tender to the fork.
Cook and squeeze spinach separately and grate Mature Cheddar Cheese.
Arrange the spinach and cheese atop of the wedges and bake until cheese is melted and spinach is hot.
Serve as vegetable dish to accompany Poultry dishes or on its own.
Roast Pumpkin & Ham Soup.
Remove skin from pumpkin , remove seeds and keep aside, remove stringy bits.
Chop flesh and cook in a hot oven for I hour until tender, roast seeds as stated above for garnish.
Blend cooked flesh about 1 lb of cooked squash flesh will yield 4 bowls of soup.
Place flesh in a soup pot and add 2 cups or 1 pint of good vegetable or chicken stock, I pint of scalded milk and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar add a small pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon and season with salt and pepper.
Heat through but do not boil.
Add matchstick garnish or chopped ham and roasted seeds of pumpkin.
Some people like to add a dash of cream or a floater of natural yoghurt.
Pumpkin Pie
Using a pie shell that has already been cooked blind {baked without filling}
Mix in a double boiler over gentle heat 1 ½ cups of cooked Pumpkin meat,
1 ½ cups evaporated milk or heavy cream,
½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup white sugar,
½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon,
½ teaspoon ground ginger,
pinch of ground clove
and 4 slightly beaten eggs,
2 tablespoons brandy or rum.
Fill into pie shell and bake in slow oven until set through.
Ovens will vary so it is best to watch the pie.
Serve with real vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Enjoy
Joe McHugh Chefs of Mayo
Annual Darts Tournament