Do you have an unused outdoor space capable of accommodating 15 people for a Michelin-starred dinner? Damien Grey, chef proprietor of Liath restaurant in Blackrock, Co Dublin, is on the hunt for just such a space to host a residency for his restaurant, once Covid-19 restrictions allow.
“Nothing is going to stop us is our motto for 2021. We want to get the Liath experience out there,” says Grey. “We want to be ready and know we’ve got an option, when outdoor dining returns.
“We would like to be able to do three sittings a week during the residency. The space needs to have power and water and be under cover, but outdoors. It needs to have a cooking area, but we can bring a lot of the equipment ourselves and rent whatever else is needed.”
Toilets are also required, but need not be too lavish. The restaurant famously did not have its own facilities when it was first awarded a Michelin star; guests used the public toilets in Blackrock market.
Anyone interested in offering a proposed site in the greater Dublin area can contact Grey at info@liathrestaurant.com or by telephoning 01-2123676.
It is not the first time the restaurant has taken its multi-course tasting menu dining experience off-site. In July last year, Grey and his team cooked for invited guests at the Australian ambassador's residence in Killiney. The full Liath tasting menu was served in a restored Victorian glasshouse, at a dinner hosted by the Australian embassy's then Head of Mission, Robert Owen-Jones.
The outdoor dining residency is the latest in a series of innovative responses to the limitations imposed by Covid-19 restrictions that Grey has come up with, from dine-at-home dinner boxes to street food sales. On Wednesday, he sold out the first of a new series of what he describes as “virtual dining experiences”.
Under the banner Liath Uncut, the initiative is based on the restaurant meal kit concept, but with additional video content and interactive elements. Production company Another Avenue, who made the 2019 documentary film Chasing Stars, about Grey’s bid to win back the Michelin star when Liath replaced Heron & Grey, will film the restaurant team cooking the same kit that customers receive.
Those who secured one of the 70 boxes, costing €90 to serve two people, can join the live session and cook along with the chefs. Liath Uncut goes on sale every Wednesday in February, for collection from the restaurant the following Saturday week.
