‘I’m still numb that we made Michelin guide’: Cork restaurant added to prestigious list

Q: Meeran, food is very personal to you, talk me through what it means and how you see the food has evolved over the last couple of years to get to this point.

A: The last couple of years has become very personal. We used to have a lot of quirkiness here and there, but the last couple of years we have gone very deep into traditional South Indian dishes and then tried to westernise them in a way by adding my elegance to it, using a lot of European techniques.

So that’s how, with each dish, the flavour profiling stays very authentic, but then the cooking and garnishing techniques are very classic French.

Since we have gone down this route, as I have never worked in an ‘Indian’ restaurant before, I always try to think what I want to put on the menu from what I remember growing up eating.

Then it becomes extra personal to me, because everything comes from a lot of values in my head of things that I liked or didn’t like that I might like now, and making that distinct using local/Irish ingredients is very important to me and us.

So, it’s a combination of all three different things which gave us something very unique, which we believe in the last couple of years has gone down deep into this formula, and it’s been good for us.

Every little thing makes me happy because there’s a lot of me involved, the food of my parents and food from my memories, so that’s extra satisfaction now.

Q: How do you feel about a publication as prestigious as the Michelin Guide recognising, understanding, and appreciating the food of India.

A: Everything came together, and now getting into the Michelin Guide where it is like the ultimate recognition, and for them to recognise us and say this is nice. That has become very personal.

I don’t know how to feel. I’ve been numb since I heard!

One of the main reasons why I changed the food from what it was years ago, to what it is now the past two years, was when I was on holiday in Chennai visiting my family, that’s when it sunk in that there are a lot of traditional values and a lot of traditional history behind the food and the ingredients that grow there.

We are known for our spices historically, but I have a chance now to showcase that into a very fine platform, to put my food out there in a very elegant way that people will appreciate it and know the story behind the little things that we put in there.

Then I came back and decided that was the way we were going to go forward. That gave me that ultimate satisfaction that I am giving people something unique, it’s giving us an edge and gets us noticed because it is different, we’re cooking with the ethos of using local Irish ingredients.

Q: You have hit on something that is so personal, storied and beautiful to look at and eat, that it’s going to attract attention in the end for all the right reasons?

A: Yes. I was very cautious about that because I am taking risks on both sides in terms of putting my food out there, and it’s very easy for people to come and say this smells like curry, but on the other side, I’m risking a business when Ciaran, the owner, has given me the full freedom to execute my idea without question.

So, I wanted to be cautious on both sides to make sure I don’t dampen both values. That puts extra pressure on me, which is needed.

But now, after getting this recognition, it seems that we are going in the right direction.

Q: What’s next for you and the restaurant?

Every single award and nomination over the past three years has led to this point, the universe is telling me I am going in the right direction.

I still want to travel and take my food as far as I can. I must continue to do that with my honesty and passion.

We have gotten into the Guide now, and that is hard to get.

Q: How has Ciaran responded?

A: He is delighted. The Rare journey itself is very much run on a belief more than revenue. Because this is more like we both believe in this project, and in the first two years, with covid and back-to-back lockdowns, we didn’t make any profit, but then he still believes because he’s the one to make the final call, but he kept believing.

We kept changing, we were à la carte when we opened, then we went to a tasting menu using local ingredients, then two years ago, when I said that this was the way I wanted to go, he completely supported me in that journey and put blind faith into me and allowed me to do what I wanted to do.

That gave me a lot of confidence and he is extremely delighted.

Q: How do you think this is going to change the profile of the restaurant?

A: Rare is trying to do something out of the box and bring something unique, it is always risky and recognitions like this are the testament for the guests who come in and say that this is in Michelin, which is the ultimate recognition for hospitality.

So, we think and hope that this will impact us in a big way. It gives us the momentum to proceed further and push harder onto the next stage.