Two culinary caps for An Port Mór in restaurant awards

Two culinary caps for An Port Mór in restaurant awards


Mallon hails local produce after scooping Connacht awards

Áine Ryan

IT’S a culinary oasis hidden down one of Westport’s dinky side-streets but now that An Port Mór has been named the Best Restaurant in Connacht and its head chef, and owner, Frankie Mallon has claimed the coveted cap of Best Chef in the province, the secret is out. Well, with such clientele as former president, Mary McAleese and Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and coverage by the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine, Cara, and The Washington Post, it is not just the discerning foodies of Mayo who have indulged in its signature recipes.
And with last week’s two accolades at the Irish Restaurant Awards, presented by the Restaurant Association of Ireland in association with The Sunday Independent’s Life magazine, Mr Mallon is bound to have a busy summer season in his Brewery Place eaterie.  
The secret for Frankie Mallon is a simple recipe which blends creativity with the best of local produce and more than a soupcon of hard work by his dedicated kitchen brigade and front-of-house staff. His gastronomic artistry includes such dishes as Crab Cakes in a Seaweed Polenta, Grilled Fillet of Curraun Blue Sea trout and Scallops, Coffee, Almond and Black Pepper Bread, Pigs Cheeks and Kelly’s Black Pudding and Apple Sauce.
Frankie Mallon opened An Port Mór five years ago after working in several restaurants in Westport and further afield.
He tells The Mayo News: “My biggest influence in my cooking career was Paul Rankin, that is over 20 years ago when I was a commis chef.”   
“Local sourcing of our food products is a priority for us and we are delighted that 90 per cent of our menu is sourced in County Mayo. Our clientele loves the fact that ‘we get the flavour of the county’ as the McKennas put it,” Mallon says.
To add to its accolades, An Port Mór has been included in John and Sally McKenna’s 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland 2014 and their new publication, Where to Eat and Stay on the Wild Atlantic Way.  
Another provincial winner from Mayo in the prestigious awards, held in Dublin last week, was The Restaurant at Belleek Castle, Ballina, for Best Hotel Restaurant while Leenane’s historic Renvyle House Hotel won the Best Customer Service award.  

Mayo connections
Other winners with Mayo connections were Saba, which is owned by Westport native, Paul Cadden who received the Best Seafood Experience in Ireland award and O’Grady’s on the Pier in Barna, which has a Clare Island family connection.
The overall winners were Kilkenny restaurant, Campagne for Best Restaurant and Neven Maguire of MacNean House and Restaurant for Best Chef. Westport and the Clew Bay area was on the shortlist for the Best Foodie Town award but Dingle won the gong.
Speaking at the awards, PΡdraic Óg Gallagher, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said this year’s awards had been ‘the biggest, brightest and the best’ with ‘over 19,000 nominations for Ireland’s favourite restaurants, chefs, gastro pubs, hotel restaurants, restaurant managers and ‘foodie towns’ throughout the country’.
“Ireland has so much to offer to the culinary tourist, and these Awards remind everyone of the quality and class of Irish restaurants and Chefs. The Irish restaurant scene is vital to the economy, employing 64,000 people and generating revenue in excess of €2 billion per year, it’s great to celebrate the work that all of our restaurateurs around the country do to keep this aspect of our culture alive and kicking,” Mr Gallagher said.

MORE www.irishrestaurantawards.com.