The Stuffed Olive

As soon as Trish Messom gets the scent of a new cookery idea, then she is off on the trail of new-found deliciousness. Whether it is Nicola Lamb’s brown butter brioche, or a new riff on Danish Brunsviger cake from Ravneet Gill’s book I Love Sugar, or a funky new idea from Michael James for Thai green curry chicken sausage rolls, then Patricia has to cook it, master it, revise it, and offer it to the customers of Bantry’s The Stuffed Olive. She can’t not explore, inquire and be inspired, and it is this dynamic energy that powers the kitchen in this indispensable West Cork destination. At this stage of their career, Trish and her girls, Sarah and Grace, and the rest of the team, could coast by cooking their classics, day after day. We all want the lemon polenta cake, and the Irish whiskey tea brack. We will dine out on the chicken and leek pie, and the chocolate, ricotta and cherry cake. But then we will see the new special – Cobb sandwich on potato bread; bruléed custard bun; apricot and citrus olive oil cake; aubergine, chickpea and mushroom tagine – and, sure, we just have to have it. We have to have it because Trish’s hungry sense of enquiry and discovery makes our hungry lives so much better. And that is why everyone loves The Stuffed Olive.