Slemish Market Supper Club by Rob Curley

Chef Rob Curley

Chef Rob Curley is originally from Dublin, Ireland but now living in Ballymena Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland and has over 25 years experience in the restaurant trade having worked previously under the great Michelin Chef Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain & Shanahans On The Green in Dublin, Ireland to name but a few.

Chef Rob won "Best Emerging Irish Cuisine" for County Antrim at the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2018, 2019 and "Ulster Local Food Hero" in 2016. His Slemish Market Supper Club was nominated for "Best local food story" at the Northern Ireland Food & Drink Awards in 2017 and "Best private & club dining" at the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2017.He represented Ireland at the World Tapas Championship in Valladolid Spain in 2018. He has represented Ireland at the World Paella Day Cup 2021 in Valencia and The World Patatas Bravas Championship 2022 in Palencia Spain .Also up for Best Casual Dining and Food Innovator at the Food and Wine magazine Restaurant of the Year Awards in November 2023. In September he collaborated with Les Gens Heureux Bistro in Tours, Loire Valley France for a Irish, French menu to celebrate the Irish rugby team in their host city Tours. 

Slemish Market Supper club is a fantastic pop up dining experience, showcasing the fabulous produce available from Antrim and the surrounding area.

Hosted in a different venue around Ballymena or as far away as Spain every month, award-winning Chef Rob Curley oversees the creation of a mouth-watering six-course meal for diners to experience. Each dish features produce selected for quality and taste from local suppliers which are combined to demonstrate the high level of food on the doorstep.

Featured in DiscoverNI and Discover Ireland’s ‘Taste the Island – a Celebration of our Food and Drink’, every ingredient is selected to allow both locals tourists from outside the region to experience our food and traditions of the sea, rivers, lakes and lands which is important to the area’s gastronomy.

Slemish Market Garden is renowned for its extensive range of fresh, flavourful produce and Chef Rob sources his ingredients from them and other local suppliers to create dishes for the supper club of exceptionally high quality wild and local ingredients. Each Slemish Market Supper Club can take up to a week to prepare, from locally sourced produce such as Antrim potatoes, Lough Neagh Pollan and seaweed from Rathlin Island and Carnlough.

The bespoke menu consists of a drink, wee bite, starter, fish course, meat course and dessert and changes each time to make the most of regional and seasonal produce.

Lasting up to three hours, diners usually sit together around a long table giving them the opportunity to meet new people as well as enjoy fabulous food and drink.

For Chef Rob, the aim of the dishes on the Slemish Market Supper Club is for each plate to tell a story. Every ingredient is chosen to paint a picture in the diner’s mind and spark their imagination as well as their palate, with Chef Rob on hand to personally explain the dish, how it’s cooked, and the suppliers used.

Northern Ireland is renowned for its food and hospitality and the Slemish Market Supper Club combines these qualities in fun, creative and innovative dining extravaganzas throughout the year. With special events at Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day, Taste of Antrim and Attack of the Killer Bees theme nights, there’s something to suit everyone.