Review: Meat Mireille – The Bay Tree

It was with some trepidation we sat down on Saturday night to finally taste the results of six months of hard work. It was time to Meat Mireille.

I have never been to The Bay Tree before and upon entry realised it’s a very intimate eatery. It has a lovely welcoming atmosphere with traditonal surroundings off set with interesting pieces of art from both near and far. You can tell it’s a family run business and William and Sue (the Son and mother that run it) never seem to be too far away. Chatting to guests, taking orders and just generally getting stuck in! The restaurant is split into two rooms one slightly larger and directly beside the kitchen, we were seated in the smaller room and I thought this made for a more cosy evening. We sat at an elongated table with a couple to our left and Owen McMahon, the very butcher who had slaughtered Mireille, to our right. On the table they had included some recipes (to try at home) and some info what the night was about. Soon Joel, William and Sue came through to give us an opening speech and history and ethos of the project. Just as they were finishing up the first of our 7 courses came out.

Carpaccio of Fillet – which is essentially thinly sliced beef, tenderised and served with olive oil and lemon juice, this is not a dish I would usually eat but was delicious and made for an interesting and rather unadulterated way to start the evening. Very much melt in your mouth and no-where near as “meaty” as I imagined it would be. Beef has a very different taste when it’s not cooked.

Next up was Potted Tail and Tongue, served on bread with gherkin garnish. This was like a well-seasoned chunky pate and my first taste of “beef” as we know it. Being a cold, although cooked dish, it a nice Segway from our first course to our next.

Our first hot dish was Ox Cheek braised in Belfast Ale, served with local veg and mashed potatoes. This was more a traditional dish, although being served with the Ox Cheek it gave it a richer, deeper taste than one would normally be used to. All the meat served throughout the evening was insanely tender, A real testament to what Sue and her staff were doing behind the scenes. Nowhere was this more evident than in the Ox Cheek dish, which you would automatically assume to be somewhat chewy, not so. Completely fall apart. Delicious  Jacobs Ladder or Short Rib served with mushrooms and ginger in a very light jus. Meat with a real bite to it and the earthy taste of the ginger and mushrooms highlighted the traditional flavours in the meat. Next up was the one that split the crowd! Kidneys sautéed in Gin and Juniper. I have never liked kidneys and that did not change tonight. My mother however who loves them assured me that this dish was excellent. Sorry guys not for me.

Finally our last beef dish was Rump Steak with pink peppercorn sauce to match the inside of the meat, and duck fat fried chips. I was thankful that we weren’t given a large portion of this as by this point I was stuffed but would have tried to eat it all anyway. Fantastic steak, moist & juicy with a slightly crispy outer. On a par with any fillet or Sirloin I’ve had, very little fat and the pink peppercorn sauce helped add to the already great flavours.  What else could we have for dessert but fresh dairy Ice-cream. And a little bit of lemon sorbet to finish.

After we were done Owen the butcher stood up and gave us a wee speech, just about how he’d found the whole experience. How worthwhile he thought it was and how he hoped by educating people, perhaps there would be less waste. As we were leaving we were each given 6 “Mireille” sausages to take home and cook. It was a great end to a great night and a big thank you to all the guys involved. If you’d like to read more about the whole idea behind the evening check out our interview with Joel Kerr, the man who started it all! read about Dad’s Gastro Farm here.