Autumn Preview: Ernie's from Graham Herterich
Tourism as it should be, The Shackleton Experience, Athy
“It’s a celebration of Irish food. And a homecoming.” says Graham Herterich of his new venture, Ernie’s, the café he will operate in the old Town Hall building in Athy, as part of the new Shackleton Experience.
Graham Herterich is an Athy native, growing up at Number 4 Duke Street. “Living above our family’s pork and bacon butcher shop, and indeed living on Duke Street, has massively influenced the person, chef and baker I am today and for this I am forever grateful,” he wrote in his masterly book, Cook.
With Ernie’s, Graham both thanks, and rewards, his home town, because Ernie’s promises something special when the doors open on October 10th.
“Everything is handmade,” says Graham. “If you find a clove in the Croque Monsieur, that’s because the ham is home-baked.”
Not only is it handmade, that Croque Monsieur will be made with Coolattin Cheddar, voted the Best Cheddar Cheese in the world.
The Ernie’s sausage roll will be made with Herterich’s black pudding and pork along with little shards of apple. Kilkenny smoked trout from Goatsbridge farm will be served on stout bread with crème fraîche, a herb and lemon oil and some potato.
If you have spent the morning snagging turnips or minding small children, then the sustaining barley broth comes in two riffs, finished with lamb and mint, or with chicken and herbs, and it is a broth for the Gods. Graham can never resist revisiting his favoured North African flavours, so there are za’atar waffles with beetroot labneh, roast carrots and pumpkin dukkah.
Of course, Herterich is best known as a baker of sweet things, so there will be an Explorer Brack, with seasonings that reflect Ernest Shackleton’s travels, there will be an Everything Scone, and a lime and coconut scone with a spiced rum cream cheese and mango and pineapple.
And there is an Irish Coffee Cake for which the nation – every man, woman and child – would happily walk all the way to Athy. When we tasted the cake, at the end of a lengthy exploration of all the planned dishes, every single one of us scoffed every single scrap of this masterwork.
We were invited to a preview of the menu and marvelled at the way in which Herterich ennobles the simplest of things that we take for granted – brown bread; scones; brack; toasties; broth – into something seriously wonderful. Café food, yes, but not like we know it. This is café food with creativity, not compromise.
We expect magnificent cooking and baking from Graham Herterich, but what is especially gratifying is the decision of Kildare County Council and the Athy Heritage Council to choose one of the most radically talented food creatives in Ireland to cook the food for a public venue.
Traditionally, it is caterers, not cooks, who get these gigs, so what is happening in Athy is truly dynamic. Two great experiences – Shackleton’s voyages and Herterich’s cooking – for the price of one. This is a template for every tourist destination.
Ernies will open October 10th, 2025
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