The Chef Sessions – welcoming Michelin to Dublin with a festival feel

The Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland Awards arrive in Dublin on Monday 9th February, in partnership with La Rousse Foods, and Ireland’s hospitality industry is rolling out the green carpet, and turning up the volume.

With hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs and food media descending on the city for the ceremony at the Convention Centre, Host has been working with friends, clients and some of the most exciting kitchens and bars in Dublin and elsewhere to create a lively, walkable programme of pop-ups and collaborations, giving visitors, and Dubliners, something new to experience across the Michelin weekend.

The result is The Chef Sessions: a series of one-off events, collaborations and late-night gatherings across the city centre – not just from chefs, but we needed a name – designed to add a little sparkle, a little craic, and a proper sense of occasion to the days around the awards. From chicken in a basket and hot dogs to breakfast muffins, toasties, spice bags and discoed Chinese, this is the industry welcoming the industry, and the public, to the personality of our contemporary food scene.

All of the venues are within easy reach of each other, helping create a loose, festival-style trail for chefs, media and food lovers to dip in and out of across the weekend, from Saturday night through to Monday’s last event.

More events may still be announced, but for now, here’s what’s confirmed for The Chef Sessions:

Marcus O’ Laoire x Thom Lawson at Rei Momo

‘A Substantial Meal’ – new-school chicken in a basket & DJ

Rei Momo, 56 Drury Street, Dublin 2, D02 HT29

Saturday 7th February, 6pm til late

€20 per basket

From the 60s until the year 2000, Irish venues looking for late-night licences had to serve ‘a substantial meal’. The Special Exemption Orders menu could be rough and, until things got ravey in the 90s and the substantial meal often meant the clubbers’ gums, that menu was curry, which you could wear home, sausages for cheapskate clubs, or – paydirt – chicken in a basket. Legally, the venue was supposed to turn off the sound and up the lights, a frightening scene in Ireland in the 80s and 90s. Thankfully that rule was regularly ignored or it would have decreased the country’s birth rate.

Multitalented, and backbone to Dublin’s dining and decks scene, Marcus O’Laoire is a lad who knows his way around chops of both kinds. Kicking off the Michelin weekender on Saturday night, the substantial meal, created in partnership with his brother in music and food, Thom Lawson at Rei Momo, is a Bistro Brazil take on chicken in a basket – dende & urucum half chicken, malagueta chimichurri and chips in that classic red plastic basket. From 6pm til late, with a mandatory raffle ticket, nobody will be turning down the music in Rei Momo.

Barry Sun X Hang Dai

Hang Dai, 20 Camden Street Lwr., Dublin 2, D02 T275

Sunday 8th February, 2 sittings (4-5pm/7.15-8.30pm)

€80 pp for supper with a cocktail or glass of Champagne

This collab sits somewhere between FFS why didn’t anyone think of this before, and something you’d come up with on your 5th martini. For those unfortunates who’ve never made it out to the dream neighbourhood restaurant and chef’s chef, Barry Sun’s brilliant Volpe Nera in Blackrock, and for the legions of fans who have, Barry is bringing his light and elegant touch into the perfect city centre home, hosted by Will and the team at Hang Dai. Dropping his mid-Med accent and focusing on his Northern Chinese roots, Barry partners with the Hang Dai chefs on a buzzy, casual, family-style supper. Like the rest of this emerging weekend roster, it will be casual, with two supper sittings featuring plenty of small plates (Volpe Nera oysters, dumplings in broth, char siu tart and chicken siu mei) and sharing platters in the middle of the table of crispy pork, black bean steamed sea bass, typhoon cabbage and aubergine mapo. There’s green Sichuan pepper ice cream to finish and then there’ll be cocktails and dancing afterwards in the Gold Bar upstairs at Hang Dai, with a DJ and an extended Champagne list.

Cúán Greene & team Ómós x Frank’s 

Franks at Frank’s 

Frank’s Wine Bar, Camden Street

Sunday 8th February, from 5pm

€10 per hot dog

Cúán Greene, chef-owner of upcoming Ómós, spent a large slice of his early career working in two of the most well-known, challenging and diametrically opposite kitchens on earth – Noma and Geranium, in Copenhagen. Anyone who knows the Danish capital knows that some of its tastiest food is as far a cry from so-called Nordic as is possible. It’s also some of the only grub a hungry young chef can actually afford to live on in that town – hot dogs. Cúán is partnering with the team in Frank’s for his take on hot dogs on Sunday night – two dogs, one a classic pølse, the other seasonal, and a little more left field. Franks at Frank’s are €10, served from 5pm until they are all gone, first come first served and walk-ins only, and can be paired with that other, more contemporary Danish staple – natural wine from Frank’s super list.

Mark Moriarty x Egan’s x Bar 1661

The Mother of All Breakfasts in the Hand

Egan’s, 17 Aungier Street, Dublin 2, D02 XF38

Monday February 8th, 10.30am to 1.30pm

€25 pp for breakfast muffin and choice of drink

Monday is mostly the weekend for Michelin-starred heads and for many in hospitality. For those who were out on Sunday night, or those planning to get a clear run at the day on Monday, then start at Egan’s on Aungier Street with the top shelf collab between the man with the plan – chef, TV host and author Mark Moriarty – Dublin’s most regarded cocktail bar, Bar 1661, and a drop of Midleton Rare. This dreamiest start to the week is based on Mark’s take on a certain Golden Arches breakfast staple (a M*rkMuffin if you will) of double sausage and egg muffins featuring Rick Higgins’ pork sausage patties with melted lardo, Irish cheddar and spicy dill pickled mayo. Dave Mulligan from Bar 1661 will be serving up Belfast Coffees and Bloody Monks while Oisín from Egan’s will be pulling pints in this modern Dublin pub, and the muffins will be served until sold out. The €25 pp includes a sausage and egg breakfast muffin and either a Belfast Coffee, a Bloody Monk or a Midleton Very Rare Irish Coffee. Midleton will also have their 2024 vintage available to taste neat at Egan's.

Rob Krawczyk x Row Wines

A Starry Toastie by Restaurant Chestnut

Row Wines, Coppinger Row, Dublin 2, D02 Y973

Monday 9th February, 1pm to 3pm

€12 toastie, €5 glass of wine 

Rob Krawczyk didn’t lick it off stones. His dad Frank is essentially a Polish by West Cork Gandalf of charcuterie, so cured meats are in his son’s blood. In a happy about-turn from the simple sophistication at the gorgeous gem Restaurant Chestnut in Ballydehob, Rob has created a toastie in partnership with the crew at Row – kassler with sour cabbage and mature Gubbeen on sourdough. To celebrate Ireland welcoming Michelin to Dublin, Row are opening early, serving toasties from 1pm to 3pm, and are generously pairing a glass of wine for only a fiver. 

The Sisters of Smithfield

Sister 7 @ Fidelity, 79 Queen St., Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 DW3R

Monday 9th February, 8pm to 12am

Swanky Swanky Spice Bags €22

Chef Chun Li and DJ Sally Cinnamon will be adding extra swank to the long weekend with luxe spice bags at Sister 7 and incredible tunes to go with them. The ridiculously rich Swanky Swanky Spice Bags feature Irish lobster, Irish confit duck, master stock braised Irish short ribs, with mini edamame bean spring rolls, and parmesan potato puff all for €22. Legendary DJ Sally Cinnamon is on the decks, scholar of sound, at the helm of some of the best Irish dance parties for over 25 years.

Together, The Chef Sessions offer a snapshot of the energy, humour and generosity of Ireland’s food community. There’s chefs cooking for chefs, bars opening early or staying late, and kitchens collaborating simply for the love of it.

And this is just the beginning – we’re sure there will be more gigs to add.

As Dublin welcomes Michelin for the first time, this is the city’s hospitality scene doing what it does best: opening its doors, putting on a show, and making sure visitors, and locals, have a few great stories to bring home.

Welcome to Dublin. Let the sessions begin.

#MichelinDublin

#TheChefSessions

Each venue will be managing their own ticketing and booking, to book see their individual websites, bios, and socials for details.