Young Chef of the Year: Five must-have festive dishes

YOUNG chef, Shauna Murphy, 26, will have much to celebrate over Christmas dinner this year.

In October, the Castlemore, County Limerick native, who works in Cork, was named as the 2023 Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year after a well-fought battle with five other young chefs. The final challenge was to create an original two-course menu feature lobster or crab and a natural sheep’s milk yogurt called Velvet Cloud. This is Shauna’s award-winning menu:

Main: BBQ lobster with vanilla brown butter bisque reduction and citrus carrot purée, served with a side of barley with lemongrass foam and crispy carrot.

Dessert: Date pudding with Velvet Cloud sheep yogurt ice cream, burnt apple, hazelnuts and whiskey caramel.

When she’s not busy beating a path to culinary stardom, Shauna is a Chef de Partie at the illustrious and newly-anointed Michelin-starred restaurant, Terre at Castlemartyr.

It’s an experience that is teaching her more than just how to cook or cook better, but about ingredients, the value of teamwork, and how to develop her own identity as a chef.

But, away from the glitz and glamour of awards and Michelin stars, ultimately at home is where Shauna gets to cook food that comforts and delights. The food at Christmas time is imbued with tradition, memory and emotion. In the Murphy household, Christmas travels between houses: her mum’s home, her brothers’ home and her aunties’ home; but each festive feast still carries its own special dishes that Shauna simply could not be without.

These are her top five must-have festive dishes!

1. Sausage Stuffing

Think: big pig in blanket, but with the flavour volume turned way up! This is Shauna’s signature dish of sausage meat flavoured with breadcrumbs, softened onions, spices and apple, wrapped in streaky bacon, covered with foil and roasted in the oven until golden. Remove from the wrapper and cut into thick slices.

Shauna’s top tip is to make way more than you ever thought is enough because you’ll keep going back fore more! Great in sandwiches or served up with salads.

2. Roast Potatoes

Roasties are absolutely essential and worth taking care over to get them absolutely perfect. Shauna prefers using Rooster variety potatoes as she finds them versatile and reliable. Simply par-boil, drain and allow them to steam. This helps to dry out the potato a little before roasting and result in a roastie that’s fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Load onto a hot tray with goose fat or olive oil (for vegetarians), salt, pepper, dried herbs like thyme or rosemary, and garlic. Roast until crispy perfection, and finish with a final sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.

3. Brussels Sprouts

“I’m going to lose votes over this,” Shauna says, but I agree with her: Brussels Sprouts, if cooked right, there’s nothing quite like how delicious they are! Quarter the sprouts and blanch them until two-thirds cooked. Drain, and season with cayenne pepper, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Toss together with bacon lardons and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until crispy and sweetened. Surely a vote winner!

4. Roast Ham

Shauna says that she much prefers a bacon t to a big ham, and that she never really knows how long its going to cook until she looks at it! A general rule of thumb I follow is 45 minutes per kg plus an extra 20 minutes.

When boiled to perfection, remove the bacon from the cooking pot, pat dry, score the fat into diamonds with a knife and stud with whole cloves. Shauna then mixes up a quick glaze in a saucepan from apple sauce, honey and Dijon mustard. 

Pop into a very high oven for 10-15 minutes or until the glaze has gone golden and a little burnished around the edges.

5. Sticky Toffee Pudding

Shauna’s winning pudding at the final of the Euro-toques was based on her favourite homemade pudding of all: Sticky Toffee Pudding.

“I did a version of it for the competition; I think it’s always been with me – like I was born with it! It’s the best dessert because it’s warm and cold at the same time.”

Shauna’s secret is to soak the dates in a really strong brew of tea – like you would with making a tea brack – to give them a richer, more luxurious taste. Maybe controversially for Corkonians, Shauna’s tea of choice is Lyons, because, she says, “the magic only happens with the pyramid teabag!”

Served with excellent vanilla ice cream: Murphy’s, if you can get it, Shauna says.

For more about Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year competition at www.euro-toques.ie

Have you heard of Terre, Cork’s latest restaurant to receive a Michelin star? www.terre.ie

Follow Shauna’s culinary adventures on Instagram @shaunasmurphy.

This interview features in our WoW! Christmas Food special out today, Wednesday November 29 - be sure to pick up your copy today.