Award-winning chef and Great British Menu finalist Chris McClurg hosted a Culinary Salon dinner at Academy Restaurant in Belfast alongside Ulster University Culinary Arts Management and International Hospitality Management students.
From Hillsborough in County Down, Chris has worked with Chef Paul Ainsworth at his Michelin star restaurant, No6, for nearly a decade. In 2022, he made it to the prestigious Great British Menu banquet with his Derry-Girls inspired dessert entry that used Copeland Gin from Donaghadee in his home county.
Now living and working in Padstow, North Cornwall, Chris spent three years under the tutelage of Jack O’Shea at his iconic London butchery, honing skills that set him apart from the pack the moment he stepped into the No 6 kitchen.
Rising through the ranks over the years, he was part of the team that won their Michelin star in 2013, before making Senior Sous Chef in 2014. In 2018 he was named Observer Food Monthly’s Young Chef of the Year. Chris likes to put his modern stamp on the classics and is always experimenting with new dishes to add to the menu at No 6 where he is Chef Patron.
To a sold-out restaurant at the Academy, Chris shared his love for the kitchen from a young age and supported a team of enthusiastic future hospitality leaders to deliver a menu of potato cheese & onion inspired by Chris’ all-time favourite crisps. This included Fluffy potato scones laced with incredible Northern Irish artisan cheeses, served with a silky smooth white onion velouté and rich cultured butter.
Making the most of our coastal seas Chris served stunning scallops , roasted in the shell with smoked bacon mousseline. True to his beef loving roots, for main course, heavily marbled Denver cut from pasture-grazed belted Galloway, cooked for 48 hours and glazed in a reduction of beef bones. For dessert, a dish inspired by his great British menu winning dessert packed full of flavours of sherry, hazelnut, roasted vanilla and dark chocolate.
Speaking during his visit to Academy Restaurant, Chris said:
“Having the opportunity to curate and deliver such a fantastic hospitality experience in my hometown after over a decade in Cornwall has been an incredible experience I hope to recreate imminently. The facilities at the Academy truly are world class, with the huge support from the students and culinary team here at the university we have been able to deliver an evening of food and drink we can all be so proud of. If these students are the future of NI hospitality, we’re in safe hands.”
The Culinary Salon event, part of a series that enables Ulster University students to work with internationally renowned chefs and food writers to prepare a dinner, has welcomed chefs including Chinese cuisine guru Ken Hom, TV chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver and wine, food and travel writer Marc Millon, reflecting the cultural diversity of the modern hospitality scene.
Michael Gillies, Lecturer and Course Director in Culinary Arts Management, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ulster University said:
“The Culinary Salon series is a unique opportunity to hear directly from talented, award-winning chefs about their passion for the industry, their own career path and their philosophy around food. A Northern Irish chef that has risen through the ranks of the industry, from starring on the Great British Menu to Chef Patron of a highly successful Michelin Star restaurant, Chris is a shining example of just what can be achieved in the sector.”
The Culinary Salon series is made possible through the support of the Savoy Educational Trust and the Oxford Cultural Collective.
Angela Maher, Chief Executive, Savoy Educational Trust added:
“The Savoy Educational Trust is delighted to continue its support of the Culinary Salons series at Ulster University. Just weeks after welcoming the iconic Ken Hom to Belfast, this unique programme is enabling students at Ulster University to learn from some of the best in the industry, including the hugely talented Chris McClurg from No6.”