No 'F words' in evidence as Kevin cooks up a storm

The winner of Meath Tourism's 'Mmm' word competition, Navan man Kevin MacNamidhe, took centre stage at Jules Restaurant in Trim Castle Hotel last week to cook up a storm for his specially invited guests. The 'Mmm' word competition was run in conjunction with the Meath Chronicle to promote the first-ever Meath Food Affair which recently attracted close to 1,000 people to the hotel. Under the watchful eye of head chef, Sean McDonald and his team, Kevin fulfilled his ambition to cook in the high-octane atmosphere of one of Meath's busiest hotel kitchens and was put through his paces as he prepared his very own six-course menu from scratch for his guests. He was picked as the stand-out winner from hundreds of entries as the 'Mmm' word captured the imagination of Meath's aspiring chefs. Kevin himself has always had a passion for cooking though his background is in media, where he has produced and directed many programmes about food. Far from being overawed on the night, Kevin cooked a sumptuous six-course meal which included a starter of 'tian of prawn with tomato coulis', a main course of 'stuffed breast of chicken with sherry and peach sauce' and rounded off with an exquisite and a most daring 'goat's cheese ice-cream with kumquat and bittersweet chocolate sauces'. "Kevin was the outstanding winner of the 'Mmm' word competition which capped off perfectly our successful Meath Food Affair event," Michele Whelan of Meath Tourism, remarked. "He brought wonderful enthusiasm and culinary expertise to his big night. We would also like to pay tribute to Noel Comer and his team at Trim Castle Hotel who rolled out the red carpet for Kevin." Visit www.meathtourism.ie to see the Meath dining special offers in the county's restaurants.