La Cascade
La Cascade was the previous restaurant of Sheen Falls Lodge, a hotel outside the town of Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland. It is a fine-dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star each year in the period 1993 to 1998.[1]
La Cascade | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 1991-2018 |
Head chef | Heiko Reibandt |
Food type | Modern Irish |
Rating | Michelin Guide |
City | Kenmare, County Kerry |
Country | Ireland |
Website | Official website |
During the period the restaurant was awarded the Michelin star, the head chef was Fergus Moore.[2]
The restaurant changed name to The Falls in 2018 when it and the hotel changed ownership.[3]
House
The site of the present-day hotel Sheen Falls Lodge and thus La Cascade was originally occupied by an old farm house, Sheen Cottage, as early as 1764.[4] It belonged to the Irish estate of the Marquess of Lansdowne.[5]
In 1777 a still-existing bridge was built over the falls next to the house. During the nineteenth century, the house and the grounds surrounding it were leased by different gentlemen.[6] In 1854 Frederick Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown purchased the lease from George Woodhouse. Ashtown invested £ 1.000 in building a new fishing lodge, which incorporated the walls of the smaller Sheen Cottage as its southern part. Ashtown spent little time there but sublet to various tenants.[7]
In 1879 Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne bought the residue of his lease.[8] Thereafter the Lansdowne family used it as a hunting and fishing lodge. In 1948, Lord Bruntisfield bought the site and largely rebuilt the house before selling it again in 1962.[9]
In 1966 the estate passed into the ownership of a Manchester business man, who tried to turn Sheen Falls into a commercial fishery.[10] Without success, he sold the property to an international corporation, from which it was purchased by the Danish-born entrepreneur Bent Christian Høyer in 1988. He started with the construction of the 5-star hotel Sheen Falls Lodge, which was opened in 1991.[11] In February 2013 the hotel was bought by the international hotel group Palladian Hotels and Resorts for €5 million.[12]
References
- Michelin Online Republic of Ireland
- Eyes on Ireland reinventing Irish cuisine
- Ronald Quinlan (November 8, 2018). "Co Kerry's Sheen Falls in €17m sale to Asian investors". Irish Independent.
- Gerard J. Lyne: "The Lansdowne Estate in Kerry under W.S. Trench 1849-72", Geography Publications, Dublin 2006, p.478, ISBN 0-906602-81-5
- Details about the Petty-Fitzmaurice Estate (Marquess of Lansdowne) from the database of the Moore Institute (NUI Galway)
- Valerie Bary: "Houses of Kerry", Ballinakella Press, Whitegate 1994, p.221, ISBN 0-946538-08-5
- Gerard J. Lyne: "The Lansdowne Estate in Kerry under W.S. Trench 1849-72", Geography Publications, Dublin 2006, p.478, ISBN 0-906602-81-5
- Gerard J. Lyne: "The Lansdowne Estate in Kerry under W.S. Trench 1849-72", Geography Publications, Dublin 2006, p.478, ISBN 0-906602-81-5
- Marc Bence-Jones: "A Guide to Irish Country Houses", Constable and Company Ltd., London 1988, p.259, ISBN 0-09-469990-9
- Valerie Bary: "Houses of Kerry", Ballinakella Press, Whitegate 1994, p.221, ISBN 0-946538-08-5
- Information provided by the Sheen Falls Hotel
- "Former De Vere boss-Paul Clark heads new international hotel group" in Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 20. February 2013