1 Michelin Star Chefs: Mike Tweedie, executive chef, The Oak Room

Mike Tweedie is the executive chef at The Oak Room, Adare Manor's one Michelin-starred restaurant. 

Mike was born in in Devon. He honed his skills with prominent chefs including Hywel Jones at Gidleigh Park, and Michael Caines at Lucknam Park, working at Ballyfin Demense in Laois and at The Greenhouse in Dublin before settling in Limerick.

The Chef and his food

Since taking on the leading role at the manor hotel and golf resort in Ireland, the chef has come into his own, introducing a new, traditional Irish menu. 

Working mostly with local artisan producers, the food at The Oak Room is what one would call ingredient-led, with just three to four ingredients making up each dish. 

While garnishes change often, the protein stays the same for as long as it is in season: dexter beef, Tipperary quail, while respecting traditional flavour pairings.

Stand-out dishes include quail with asparagus and walnut; wild turbot with seaweed; Dooncastle clams and caviar. ts

Customers can choose between an a la carte menu - with five options for each course - and a market (tasting) menu, with different courses on both to ensure that guests staying at Adare Manor don't wind up eating the same thing twice. 

Set on the grounds of an 850-acre golf course, Adare Manor was the Earl of Dunraven family's primary place of residence until it was sold in to an investment consortium in 1982. In 2015, JP McManus bought it for £25m. 

The Oak Room

The restaurant was closed for renovation for 21 months - costing between £59m and £85m - with an extension built to accomodate more guests and allow for bigger functions like weddings and conferences. 

The investment paid off, as Adare Manor won its bid to host the 2026 Ryder Cup - expecting a crowd of 35,000 each day.

The restaurant  and its kitchen were given a revamp, too, emphasising the original 19th oak wood-panelled walls - which gave the restaurant its name - as well as the period art work and chandeliers, the interior walls, a dark green colour, bring the outside in.

But if that's not immersive enough, one can sit on the glass-enclosed terrace.