Cooney Claims Iron Chef Gong

Kieran Cooney, head chef for Sodexo at Medtronic in Galway, won the battle of the chefs competition for his starter course at the second annual ‘Come Dine with Me’ charity competition in Galway City late last month. Kieran was presented with the inaugural McCarthy ‘Creative Iron Chef Champion’ trophy in recognition of his achievement. The seven course gourmet extravaganza raised over €30,000 for four local charities in the west of Ireland. Kieran and his team at Medtronic prepared a seasonal game parfait with marinated smoked duckling, port, mulled wine redcurrant jelly, orange fillets, micro Mesculin, honey roasted walnuts, sweet pickled purple cauliflower, orange oil and grapefruit balsamic reduction. Using melba toast, the dish was presented in the style of the fountain located in Galway City’s world-famous Eyre Square, which represents the sails of a traditional local fishing boat called the Galway Hooker. Each of the 417 guests were asked to rate each course, with the highest scoring dish winning the trophy. Kieran said, “I was shocked and delighted to hear my name called out as the winner!”