Gourmet Restaurant in Tipperary, Gourmet Restaurant in Ireland - The Old Convent, County Tipperary, Ireland.

John McKenna—The Bridgestone 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland 2010

"We like the way Dermot and Christine Gannon do things. Other chefs and country house keeps would likely strive to create a "Gourmet Getaway". But Christine and Dermot created a "Gourmet Hideaway" when they opened The Old Convent. It's a small distinction, but a important one. They have fashioned a design style that is both big and bold, and yet minimalistically understated—big white walls undershot with dashes of deep colour. It feels, therefore, like a place to hide away, to find personal space, private time. The cooking is beyond good, and is one of the glories of modern Irish gastronomy."

Eamon Barrett—The Bridgestone 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland 2010

"How's this for a parade of deliciousness: Ardsallagh whipped goat's cheese and honeycomb with beetroot and pistachio; Connemara Smokehouse organic smoked salmon with sushi rice, crab, pineapple and cucumber pickle; butternut quash velouté with thyme flower oil; beech wood cured duck breast with barbecue pork, melon mojito salad, Crozier Blue and pecans; line sorbet with blackcurrant and apple jelly; roast Goodherdsmen beef with truffled ricotta whipped potatoes and yellow oyster mushroom dumplings and, finally, a trio of desserts: lemon possett, Traas' Farm raspberry meringue and hot chocolate. The calmness with which each course of such a parade of food arrives to every table simultaneously should not be overlooked. Staff are exceptional. Breakfast the next morning just puts the tin hat on what has been, truly, a near perfect experience."

Ute Junker—The Australian Financial Review Feb 2010

At first glimpse, The Old Convent looks as appealing as any other Irish country house getaway – an elegant building in a bucolic County Tipperary setting. Step inside and some of the unique touches are quickly apparent: the restaurant, housed in the former chapel, is lit by sun streaming in through the original stained glass windows. What really sets The Old Convent apart, however, is the Gannons themselves. Dermot and his cooking skills are, of course, a key part of the equation. His eightcourse degustation dinners specialise in delivering simple yet inventive, flavoursome cuisine. Typical dishes include Connemara smokehouse salmon tartare served with Dunmore East crab, sushi rice and pineapple pickle, or 20hour slow roasted Goodhersmen organic beef with maple glazed carrots and confit potatoes. The beef is roasted in the 1920s Aga stove that was in the kitchen when the Gannons bought the property. “Dermot’s No.1 priority is working with local Irish artisans, because there are so many people working so hard to create such special things,” Christine explains. Every dish on the menu showcases small local producers, right through to the palatecleansing sorbet: the sorbet itself is sourced from a local icecream maker, while the jelly on which it sits is made using pure fruit juice from the apple farm down the road. The entire ethos of The Old Convent rests on this personal touch, which perhaps explains how, in just three years, two 30-somethings have managed to turn a six-room property into one of Ireland’s best retreats. There are few other places where, on arrival, the owner invites you to sit down for some petit fours and a chat, or where the minibars have been replaced by a self-serve kitchen, featuring complimentary snacks and drinks.

Georgina Campbell's Hideaway of the Year 2010

"We all have times when what’s really needed is a quiet couple of days pampering in a child-free zone—for some this may mean a spa break but, for those in the know, a visit to Clogheen is the business. There’s nowhere in Ireland even remotely like Dermot and Christine Gannon’s restaurant with accommodation. It’s in a beautiful, unspoilt—yet relatively little known—area, near the scenic ‘Vee’ in the Knockmealdown Mountains, and it’s very much itself: an unusual, very comfortable, stylishly decorated, country house with gorgeous rooms, and gardens under development as an interesting amenity for guests, and to grow home produce for Dermot’s kitchen. For good food is the key element at the Old Convent: Dermot, who is one of Ireland’s most talented (and modest) chefs, offers unique, perfectly judged eight course Tasting Menus using the best locally sourced ingredients—organic when possible, although it doesn’t look as if the recently acquired piglets will be heading for the pot! The cooking is stunningly accurate, without a foam, drizzle or a smoke to be seen—and there’s no cheffy arrogance either so, although surplus to requirements, a (tiny) salt and pepper set is offered on tables. Add charming service under Christine’s direction—and exceptionally delicious and original breakfasts—and it all adds up to a dream hideaway."

Tamasin Day-Lewis — Vogue Magazine, June 2008

"We are dining at The Old Convent in Clogheen, Tipperary. The chef, Dermot Gannon, and his American wife Christine have invited us to eat with them in the kitchen. This is the best dinner of the year so far. We move from reisling to chardonnay to red wine. Over the six hours and eight courses I seem to count five small glasses (five units , I think, but how to work out when the wine glasses differ to suit the colour and some I drink less of than others?) As I get older I am getting worse at switching from white to red, from red back to white. Stick with one colour and I have more than a faint hope of not feeling like the butt of an anvil in the morning. The other element is food. I used to drink without it. Now it's a self imposed rule that I don't".

Melosina Lenox Conynghan — The Irish Times, October 2009

"Our meal began with a tiny cone containing smoked salmon, crab, pistachios and beetroot.

The idea had only crossed my mind that I could do with another when the most mouth-watering salad of lamb fillet, ricotta, melon, candied pecans and caramelised garlic was set before me. A velvety soup was served in what looked like a doll's teacup... Breakfast next morning was another gastronomic delight.

The food is sourced as much as possible from around about—the Gannons are lucky that Ballybrado, the organic farm, is just a few kilometres down the road..."

Tamasin Day-Lewis — Sainsbury's Magazine,
May 2009

"Tender, slow-cooked pork belly and cabbage is spiked with Cashel Blue cheese and local apples. I would be happy to dine on this and this alone; it's like angels crying on your tongue, it's so good. Next, roast monkfish tail with lobster macaroni and cheese, local mascarpone and Bill Hogan's Gabriel..."

Maria Moynihan — Irish Country Living,
May 2009

"Dermot is passionate about using local produce in the kitchen, with suppliers including Good Herdsman organic meats, Traas Farm Fruits, Vee Valley fruit and veg and Baylough traditional cheddar. "We are in the Golden Vale, and it makes the job a lot easier when you have really strong producers in the area. You don't mess around with good produce like that, " he explains.

"Our ambition in a couple of years' time would be to source everything within a 60 mile radius of the convent, including our own gardens. Though Jack McCarthy in Kanturk would be one of our favourite suppliers—he's a bit of a maverick and does some really unique products—so we would have to include him."

Fional Beckett — Decanter Magazine,
December 2008

"What makes Dermot's cooking stand out from the crowd is his set multi-course artisan menus full of clever, original dishes, using local organic produce. Not the molecular gastronomy favoured by so many chefs... but a whimsical, playful cuisine delivered with great accuracy and stunning flavour combinations. 'We're not going for a Michelin star' say Dermot. 'We just want to enjoy what we're doing, which is elegant comfort food.' Something we can all aspire to..."

Ute Junker — Quantas Magazine, October 2008

"Dermot cooks the meals on the same ancient Aga cooker that the nuns used to use, but the stove is the only old-fashioned thing about his food... he prepares an eight-course tasting menu featuring the best local produce. His well-executed dishes allow the rich flavours of the ingredients to come through. Highlights may include ricotta gnocchi with wild mushrooms, cashel blue cheese and thyme cream; or a sensational Good Herdsmen organic beef rib-eye steak."

Tom Doorley — The Irish Times, June 2008

"This is a family favourite not too far from where we live. It is also an establishment set in wonderful countryside that is unknown to far too many Irish holidaymakers. It lies in the shelter of the Knockmealdowns, not far from the Vee, and offers not just radical, exciting food but bed and breakfast too. The menu is simple in that there is no choice, just a multicourse sequence of small, perfectly formed dishes in which the standard never seems to falter. The food is full of surprises and has more than a hint of decadence. The servings and pacing are carefully judged, and the atmosphere is friendly with just a hint of refreshing eccentricity."

The Old Convent Wins 2008 Award for Excellence

At a reception held in the Mansion House, Dublin, the 'Georginal Campbell's Ireland' award for 'Best Country House Breakfast' was presented to Dermot and Christine Gannon of The Old Convent, Clogheen, Co Tipperary.

"Every morsel of food served in this beautifully designed and decorated country house has great style, and everything done here is not just done superbly well, but done differently—including their unusual breakfast that begins with a beautiful 'fruit martini' with yogurt, honey & toasted pistachios, presented to your table in a martini glass on arrival: delightful."

John & Sally McKenna — The Bridgestone 100 Best Restaurants In Ireland, 2008

"A kitchen operating in the very top echelons" is how Eamon Barrett described the culinary efforts of the crew at TOC. Mr Barrett had been waiting aeons just to get a table for dinner—getting a room borders on the impossible if you only give short notice—but the long awaited opportunity, thanks to a cancellation, didn't disappoint. Dermot and Christine Gannon have an operation that somehow manages to deliver "comfort food and cutting edge..."

John & Sally McKenna — The Bridgestone 100 Best Places To Stay In Ireland , 2008

"...TOC is probably the hottest address in Ireland right now, and may be the most difficult place to get a room or a table. It's not just the fact that everything is better in The Old Convent that makes it so special. It's the fact that what Dermot and Christine have achieved is both better and different."

Lucinda O'Sullivan — Sunday Indepenent 'LIFE' Magazine, April 2007

"...A faultless eight-course tasting menu, and you certainly wouldn't be looking for chips to go with it! . . .

(The next morning) people were heading out for walks as we came down to more food — martini glasses full of lovely fruits, and delicious eggs Benedict. . . . The inhabitants of John McCormack's fabled Fairy Tree of Clogheen could not have produced more magic."

Mary Leland — Irish Examiner, December 2006

"...The thing is, these breakfasts are worth getting up for: porridge from an organic producer, like the Ballybrado eggs, or bacon, or the pork used for the dinner menu. The smoked salmon is what Dermot calls the best in Ireland, from Graham Roberts in Connemara. A signature breakfast dish is the fruit martini, layers of yoghurt and fruit in a cocktail glass; then there are five different kinds of bread made in the kitchen, French toast, eggs Benedict, fresh juices, plum jam from the local farm and, if you can't hold off until dinner-time's cheese platter, the new 'Select' cheese from Baylough, a producer accross the road from the Old Convent. "Once you've tried that, you'll never take any other cheddar," says Dermot..."

Tom Doorley — The Irish Times, October 2006

"...the tasting menu was great. And the portions and pacing were perfect. The Gannons are a brave pair. There are still a lot of people out there who require a grand plate o' dinner, and they would have no truck with the likes of the buffalo mozzarella popover with Connemara smoked salmon that formed the first course. This reminded me of a light and delicate Yorkshire pudding with a rich, cheesy filling topped with cool smoked salmon and cold creme fraiche. Yum..."