Is it just us or are pop-ups having a moment? Between female-chef inspired Forás and Japanese skewer inspired Sticks this month, and the three we're about to tell you about, pop ups are like the new doughnuts - blame the ridiculous state of rents and key money in the city centre stopping people who want to open restaurants from opening restaurants. Luckily for us that means they're having to get creative about how they feed us, and we're all on for that.
Roots
Chefs and partners Keith Coleman and Aisling McHugh used to run the kitchen at Fia, which was where Keith held his first pop-up "Roots" dinner in 2017 with Cúán Greene (formerly Noma, now head chef at Bastible). Various versions of Roots have been held with different chefs since then, all leaving a trail of dazed and amazed diners in their wake, but it was when Keith did a residency in Green Man Wines in Terenure and scored a 9.5/10 from Catherine Cleary in the Irish Times that suddenly everyone knew his name.
The latest version of Roots (and presumably the ultimate) sees Keith and Aisling come together in "a celebration of culture, heritage and native produce", starting with three dinners at the Hang Tough gallery in Portobello this week. Currently there are only tickets left for Friday night so if you want in be quick, or sign up to their mailing list for details of their next events.
Feed The Pony
Two of the team from Aimsir in Kildare are holding a natural wine night in Host on Monday 2nd September, with the chefs and winemakers flying in from Germany. Rose O'Toole is Aimsir's bar manager and Marty Cooper is front of house, and Marty's girlfriend worked for Noma and Kadeau in Copenhagen, before moving to Palsta in Berlin. Her and a fellow Palsta colleague will be in the kitchen on the night, and while the menu is TBC, they're teasing us with potential dishes like pickled green plums with mirabel plums, and ryebread with salted butter and burnt leek powder.
Winemakers Daniel and Bianka Schmitt aren't currently represented in Ireland, so this will be a first outing for their biodynamic wines from Rheinhessen, and the €65 ticket includes five courses and five wines. Get tickets here.
4 Hands Food Studio
Chef Rose Greene ran the kitchens of internationally renowned Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall and Michelin-starred In De Wulf in Belgium (now closed), before coming back to Ireland last year with her partner Margaux (who also worked at Coombeshead farm) to set up 4Hands Food Studio in Westmeath. They specialise in producing fermented foods like kimchi and kombucha, and want to hold workshops and events on site.
As part of their return they're holding 3 dinners at The Fumbally in October, November and December, using food from their own larder, organic produce, fermented drinks and natural wines. They'll be using techniques like soaking, pre-digestion, sprouting, fermenting, dehydrating and slow cooking, saying it makes their food tastier, nutritious and easier to digest, and will only serve 25 people at each dinner to ensure they can engage with everyone. Tickets are €70 for what sounds like a lot of food and drink, and you get all the details here.
