Frankie Mallon is one of those chefs who get it. He knows what is good, he knows what works. He learnt well from good chefs and teachers like Guy Savoy and Paul Rankin, and in the narrow warren of rooms that is An Port Mor, he shows that he knows what people want. There is nothing extraneous in his cooking, so everything is designed to hit the spot, like classics such as cod with a fine herb crust and a white wine, cream and chive sauce, or the great Achill sea trout with Clew Bay mussels.
His food has the rigour of Martin Shanahan and the logic of Maura Foley, and you see it in his pairing of ingredients, like Glebe Brethan cheese with Inishturk crab in a light, satisfying tart, or his signature starter of pot-roasted pig's cheeks with Kelly's black pudding and apple and vanilla sauce. This is rocksteady food, the right food in the right place in the right town from the right chef.
