Cork chef's first cookbook was a labour of love

FIVE years ago, the idea for Goldie didn’t exist. Sure, there were discussions on working with fish in a way that made the most of every shimmering sea creature landed into the kitchen, but which chef could do it?

Who could be entrusted with a brand-new restaurant pioneering a whole catch, gill-to-fin concept in Ireland?

Aishling Moore was just 24 at the time and had been working at Elbow Lane under the tutelage of Executive Head Chef of the Market Lane Group of restaurants, Stephen Kehoe. Turns out, appointing this young chef was an inspired move.

From the moment Goldie opened in 2019, the spotlight was placed firmly over Aishling and her team. Covid came just six months after opening.

The period of flux that followed provided sufficient room for Aishling to breathe; for her to find confidence in what she was doing, her flavours, style of presentation, and how to truly approach the cookery of fish in a way that could stand out, stand apart, and demonstrate why fish is worth eating.

What has emerged is a self-assured chef imbued with a confidence that comes from understanding her cuisine completely.

Prestige follows her around like a groupie; awards and accolades piling up in the trophy cabinet. In 2023, at 29 years old, she was awarded Best Young Chef in Ireland by Food and Wine Magazine and assumed the role of Deputy Head of Eurotoques Ireland Food Council.

She has been invited to bring her Goldie gospel to famed restaurants in Canada, and more recently world-renowned restaurant The Dead Rabbit in New York with fellow Irish chef, Mark Moriarty.

This year, Aishling will turn the page on a new decade and celebrate her 30th birthday. At the end of April, she launched her first cookbook, Whole Catch, published by Blasta Books.

If Miss Moore thought 2023 was a big year, she had better buckle up for 2024…

“It’s a hard thing to process. We’re very much, as a team, focused on what’s the next thing; we never rest on our laurels. I think I need to work on that as a person – enjoying the moment. If I’m not, I can’t be sure my team are, and they certainly deserve to enjoy it,” she says.

Five years in, and Goldie has become an important part of the city’s culinary landscape.

“I feel like Goldie belongs to the city,” says Aishling. “I love that it’s a resource for people; somewhere people can come and meet. 

Goldie will always be a casual restaurant; I have no ambition at all to change that, but I think I understand exactly what we are now. It has taken five years to do that.

“I’m a lot more self-assured, I feel comfortable in what my style is and the style of the restaurant. That being said, it’s about what the customer wants - it’s not about what I want to cook, that’s what influences our menus more than anything.

“We’ve tapped into what people want to eat in a seafood context; we’ve tapped into what a casual dining restaurant in Ireland should be, and fish just happens to be our cuisine.”

Aishling is a chef who genuinely thinks deeply about things and puts her words into actions. She has been a part of the Eurotoques international community of chefs and producers for many years, and her appointment as Deputy Head of the Irish chapter affords her the opportunity to do more of the mentorship she is passionate about.

“I love being involved with Eurotoques, and we put on a really good Young Chef competition last year. It does make you relax a little bit about the future of Irish food, that you have people in a room who have ambition, dedication and professionalism,” she says.

"There are a lot of people who care about improving what we do as chefs, and I really like being in the room for that because I want my restaurant to be the best it can be, but I also want this industry to be the best it can be.

I want there to be as many opportunities as possible for young people coming into this industry, too.

Being a beacon for what’s possible, Aishling says although she always knew she wanted to write a book someday, it’s exciting to have achieved it before her thirtieth birthday.

“I was approached by Kristin [Jensen, publisher at Blasta Books]. I was surprised, to be honest, but I always knew I wanted to write a book for sure. I knew very early on when we opened Goldie that we were learning every single day. When you’re putting yourself under limitations like that and pressure like that, it just produces great results. You figure out really helpful things that I haven’t been sharing as much as I would like to, because I didn’t have time or the vessel.”

Now, all of that is contained inside the pages of Whole Catch. The book contains just over 30 recipes, including condiments, methods for curing fish, how to prepare whole fish such as mackerel, hake, squid, and how to shuck oysters.

“Trying to decide on just 30 recipes was difficult,” says Aishling, “and they had to be recipes I felt were right for the reader.

“The way we’ve been able to get to where we are in Goldie is by developing stocks, sauces, garnishes, pickles and condiments that work with a variety of fish. Good restaurants are about consistency, and the essence of quality is consistency: how do you do that when your primary product is irregular, a wild animal, and easily affected by the weather?

“How I was able to control the uncontrollable was by developing those condiments, and that allowed us to focus more on the fish: getting the yield up, the shelf life right and how far could we extend it, dry aging. I wanted to offer things that I knew would definitely work and would work with almost everything.”

While it’s not realistic to think we will be in our home kitchens every night of the week filleting snap-fresh fish and dry curing it to perfection, Whole Catch is about providing the reader and the cook at-home options for simply having a go.

“I don’t think everyone is going to be filleting mackerel every other night, but I do think there are people out there who want that option, and there are people out there who fish and don’t know how to prep it so end up giving it to someone else who does. I also think there are people out there who would like to take a stab at giving it a go.”

It’s also about changing the way people think about the flavour of fish. Do we really know what Cod tastes like; she asks.

“If you ask the average person, what do people say? We don’t have a language for fish; there’s no vocabulary for describing fish.

“Hake sometimes has a minerally flavour, and cod has one of the most interesting flavours of any of the fish in the sea. When I’m preparing pollock, sometimes I’ll find sea truffle in their belly - one of the best tasting seaweeds you can have, and that will affect its flavour when its cooked.”

Of course, the paradox of living on this island is that access to fresh fish is not always easy. 

“Not everyone has the English Market on their doorstep, or a supermarket with a great fish counter, or a farmer’s market with a fishmonger. But it is about being organised with fish; you can have a stash; smoked haddock, for example, freezes really well.

My job is to get people to eat fish. In Goldie, we’re trying to appeal to people who love food, not just people who love fish. What we do is the way I think we can do that best; that excites me.

The final chapter in Whole Catch isn’t about fish at all! Aishling’s recipes for condiments are the same as those used in Goldie, but she says their versatility means you’ll find yourself using them every day with everything.

“Condiments are a way I could add value because they don’t always have to be served with fish. The Café de Paris butter we’ve become known for also goes great with chicken schnitzel, steak, veggies, and on toast with eggs in the morning.

“The dream is that these recipes fall into a cook’s rotation; to be useful and versatile. For a long time, Irish fish cookery has been chowder, fish pie, and creamy buttery heavy sauces. I love them, but things we do without dairy make people happier than things with do with dairy!”

As for a favourite recipe, Aishling swims between Crab Madame - her take on the classic Croque Madame, Mussels with Cider and Watercress, and Oyster and Kimchi Rockefeller.

“I love cooked oysters, it’s a great way to introduce them to adults and kids. There’s a lot of oyster producers now that will ship to your house, so you can really impress your friends. They’re not expensive – a euro an oyster! They are so delicious, and a food that you can feel really good about eating.”

Whole Catch was a labour of love, but something that Aishling felt compelled to achieve. Between the pages are a treasure trove of expertise, but it’s not just about the recipes or the how to, it’s about getting us to think differently about the fish we eat, where it comes from, and how to get the best flavour out of it. It’s a manifesto for good eating.

“I really hope Whole Catch will help people with their food choices. Regenerative aquaculture is a huge theme in the book and something that’s very important to me. 

At the end of the day, I wanted to write a book that I thought people wanted to read about on this issue. I really hoped it would be what was needed and necessary. Knowledge really is power!

BOOK LAUNCH

On Mary 7 at 6pm, Vibes & Scribes are hosting an event to celebrate the launch of Whole Catch by Aishling Moore.

Caitlin Ruth, who has also penned a book, called Funky, will be joining in the conversation, led by WoW! Bites writer, Kate Ryan.

Tickets are €5 which can be redeemed on the night as a voucher in the shop, there’ll be a drop of wine, and both Aishling and Caitlin will be preparing some snacks based on recipes in their books. Tickets are via Eventbrite

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS FOR AISHLING

· 5th May, Food For Thought, Dublin

· 19th May, Ballymaloe Food Festival, Cork

· 15th June, Taste of Dublin

· 18th August, Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co Laois