A Day with Kevin Dunne at The White Gables Restaurant, Moycullen

Willie Shaw, Galway Advertiser

This year the White Gables Restaurant in Moycullen celebrates 20 years in business and I asked if I could spend a day with head chef and proprietor, Kevin Dunne. So many restaurants come and go that I reckoned there must be a secret ingredient to their success particularly when that success is based on a husband and wife team being together day and night. Kevin’s wife Ann runs front of house for the restaurant , the deli and the café.

I arrived on a Saturday morning around 10.30am and immediately was told that half the day’s work was already done. Starting at 7am Kevin and his staff had made nearly 100 brown breads, 50 apple tarts, loads of fruit cakes, chocolate cakes, buns, scones etc. There was also a large spread of food platters ready to go for local confirmation and communion parties. There was even a full salmon cooked in pastry coming out of the oven at a pre-arranged time for the customer to pick up and bring piping hot to their dinner table.

There were trays of mini quiche tartlets bases being filled with peppers, ham, fried onions, coriander and of course beaten eggs. These were then dispatched to the oven and would be for sale in the deli as soon as they were cooked. What I was not expecting was the calmness and well organized operation that seems to be the normal day to day business of cooking in this busy restaurant and also for the café and the deli next door. No shouting, no knives being thrown, not even a small pot being hurled in my direction. Every one seemed to know what their job is and when I asked how the workload is divided the answer was that it varies, each chef does what he or she is best at, with Kevin ready to jump in if anything seems amiss. I am sure there is the odd explosion in the kitchen but I would say that the white gables is the complete opposite of the Gordon Ramsey shouting abuse type scenario that is shown on TV.

Meanwhile the pastry chef was rolling out lovely buttery pastry for making rhubarb and apple pies. No tinned fruit used here, the cooking apples are all peeled and chopped while Kevin was preparing several large bunches of new season rhubarb. I have always thought the apple tarts in the ‘Enjoy’ Deli next door are the best in the west and even though they might make up to 50 in a day it is all done exactly the same as you would at home – no shortcuts.

Next was the prepping of the fish for the dinner menu, they were skinned, portioned and put in a drawer full of ice within easy reach of the cooker. The steaks were also portioned, there was both rib eye and fillets, well aged and serious sized portions, if you could eat one of these and ask for more then you probably need medical attention. They were stored in a chilled drawer within easy reach of the cooking area, ready to hit the gleaming stainless steel griddle as the orders come in.

Time now for a coffee and a chat about the days progress with Kevins wife Ann. Then we headed off to the fruit and vegetable suppliers in Galway. No shopping trolley used here as the order required a pallet truck. Kevin is obviously well known and is only offered the best of what is available, maris piper potatoes for chips, roosters for roasting and golden wonders for mash, boxes of strawberries, melons, broccoli, leeks, cabbage, lettuce, turnips, parsnips, tomatoes, parsley, peppers etc. This trip is done by Kevin every couple of days, just to make sure everything is as fresh as possible. We also call to a butcher where Kevin picks up a particular cut of pork, one that he has been thinking about for a dish he learned in Germany many years ago. He emphasizes that the menu is based on what is fresh and available not the other way around.

It is now 4pm, Kevin takes a 45 minute break and who could argue as he has been on his feet since 7 AM. The restaurant is more or less fully booked for the night and it will be at least midnight before he finishes. Meanwhile the kitchen continues to prep various dishes for the evening.

At just before seven the first orders start to arrive and there is a feeling in the kitchen of ‘lets get the show on the road’ as everything is now ready to rock n roll. As the ‘dockets’ (menu orders) come in, the waiting staff shout out the order while also giving one copy to the starters and desserts section and one copy to the mains section. It is an unusual feeling to be on this side of the operation and when I hear all the special requests like “no mash with this” or “extra vegetables with that “plus all the other little requests that people make when ordering I realize what a nuisance we customers can be. However, there are no complaints from chef, just get on with it.

There are lots of orders for steaks and they all have to go out exactly as ordered – looks easy but I would not like to be the one trying to do it. Sole on the bone, sole off the bone, their famous duck; which is on the menu now for 20 years, john dory, lobster therimidor, lemon sole, pork cordon blue, scallops mornay; all ordered and collected without any fuss or pots thrown in the air. It is not a huge kitchen but every one of the 6/7 staff in there move about like dancers assembling whatever dish has been ordered, all with their own deadlines to meet. I hear the odd quiet expletive but that is it as regards any chaos I might have expected.

I would like to thank Kevin and Ann Dunne and all the other staff for letting me have a birds eye view of a day in their world, it was an eye opener and I learned a lot. This year, The White Gables Restaurant celebrates 20 years in business and I wish them as many more years into the future. They have a Wednesday and Thursday night offer of a 3 course meal plus a glass of wine for €30. For weekend dining be sure to book ahead as it is always very busy. For reservations call The White Gables on 091 555744.