Last Supper Galway 005 : Jess Murphy
Words: Emily Mullen
“Who doesn’t love mayonnaise? Mayonnaise is my first love, I was born to love mayonnaise”
In our series called the Last Supper, we ask people from all across Ireland what their last meal would be their chosen city before they departed for St. Peter’s pearly gates. Handpicking starters, mains and desserts and everything in between, from the vast store cupboard of indigenous cuisine, past or present.
Completely fictitious and absolutely ridiculous it’s an unlimited budget series that relies purely on imagination. In mining the brains of these people, we hope to uncover some hidden gems, forgotten food slingers and make everyone a bit emosh in the process. Next up is Jess Murphy, co-founder and head chef of the bib gourmand encrusted Kai, who likes her meals on the right side of kitsch and who has dreamt up one of the most stunning Last Suppers on the far side of the Shannon.
First off where are you having your Last Supper?
I’m having my Last Supper at Blackrock Diving Tower in Galway, something nice and outdoorsy. It’s like a beachy area, it’s such an iconic little part of Galway. An absolute crème de la crème set up would suit, with a white linen tablecloth, ten million wine glasses and five sets of cutlery.
Who are you having your Last Supper with?
I’d probably have Rory O’Connell, Peter Sztal and Frank Kavanagh from Cloud Picker Coffee, Alison Richie, Gillian Nelis (editor of Food & Wine Magazine), Alex Meehan (freelance journalist), Andrew Meehan, Enrico Fantasia (founder of Piglet Wine Bar). You know with famous people you meet them and they end up being dicks, I’m very wary of that because it’s happened to me a couple of times, so now I just stick to the people that I really like and my foodie heroes.
Will the conversation around the table purely be about food?
Only about food, it will be the dorkiest conversations on earth.
Who is serving you?
Serving us would be Elaine Murphy from The Winding Stair because she is just such a legend.
How are you kicking off your Last Supper?
With a Buckfast negroni, I’m just a Buckfast fiend.
What are you having for your starter?
A prawn cocktail, it’s my favourite. These things are around for 300 years because they are fucking delicious. Fresh prawns, and who doesn’t love mayonnaise? Mayonnaise is my first love, I was born to love mayonnaise I have the physique. Anything to do with mayonnaise is yum.
Are you having the prawn cocktail from anywhere specific?
No it would be a prawn cocktail that a clone of Rory O’Connell made, so it would be an imaginary chef who made the prawn cocktail just to Rory’s liking.
Mains, what are you having?
Lamb chops with mint sauce, served with Summer new potatoes with fresh mint and loads of butter. Then an heirloom tomato salad.
How do you take your lamb chops?
They’ve been marinated, and I’ll have them medium-rare grilled on the barbecue. These lamb chops are coming from Roscommon from Castlemine Farm and the clone of Rory is cooking them.
No rest for Rory’s clone!
Rory’s clone was expensive he’s got to pay the rent
Did you pick lamb because you’re a Kiwi?
No, I generally just love any kind of chop, like I love pork chops, lamb chops, and it’s quite shit ‘cos you never really see them on a menu.
Your dessert?
My dessert will be a trio, it would be a 99 from Rabbittes Daybreak in Salthill, then I’d have peach melba and then I would have some dates stuffed with blue cheese which are stunning. Reuven Diaz from Eastern Seaboard [the since closed Drogheda restaurant] are making the stuffed dates and maybe Auguste Escoffier could make the melba since he invented it after he had a crush on an opera singer called Nellie Melba at the Savoy Hotel in London and he created the dessert after her.
What are you having for drinks?
I’d like really naff cocktails like tequila sunrises and Singapore slings, really non-trendy ones. They are probably being made by the lads in the Bierhaus down the road, they are doing amazing cocktails. Wine would be anything from Shane Murphy’s Neighbourhood Wine.
What are you having for afters?
Afterwards, we would be having a selection of the most amazing Irish cheeses from Sheridans and a bit of Irish honey.
Any music?
Aaron from Cafe Rua would be the DJ, he would be spinning Toto classics.
You can find Kai on Galway’s 22 Sea Road, the restaurant will be opening on July 6th for Lunch and Dinner for more information visit their website here.
