“The better the ingredients employed the better will be the final results. It is therefore false economy to neglect this very important part of the culinary art”. Seamus Commons likes to quote these lines from Escoffier as epitomising the groundwork of his cooking, and they are particularly apt for a chef whose work aims to create a kaleidoscopic taste adventure out of the multifarious uses of single ingredients.
Seamus Commons creates essays in taste, adapting techniques and cooking methods to deal with different elements of his chosen ingredients. This essay style makes for particularly stimulating eating, and we don't know anyone who puts the culinary word on the plate with more finesse than this cook. He has a particularly hard-working, devoted nature, and has always been dedicated, learning first at Sligo Institute of Technology, before being fundamentally shaped by three years spent as head chef alongside Derry Clarke in Dublin's L'Ecrivain. There are elements of Clarke's style in his cooking, but not too many, and since he returned to his native Mayo – he is a Castlebar man – both the individual panache and confidence of his cooking has grown. As chef in Knockranny House in Westport he is already recognised as the county's leading cook, though his status is truly a national one and, one suspects, will increasingly become an international one.