LAST UPDATE | 10 Apr
RORY MCILROY PULLED off a bit of a risky fart this week. At a press conference in advance of hosting the Masters Champions’ Dinner in Augusta the Holywood-born Pro threw out a half-serious comment about choosing to go “less Irish” with the menu because he “wanted to enjoy” the dinner himself.
The air may have been scented in self-depreciation, and McIlroy got away with the cheeky quip, but something more pungent lingered: does McIlroy really believe a more Irish menu would make this prestigious private dinner less palatable?
Crafting the Champions Dinner menu. #themasters pic.twitter.com/l4oilo7905
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2026
Hosted by the current titleholder, who personally designs the menu, the exclusive dinner has been an annual tradition for almost 75 years and lifts the curtain on each year’s tournament. Only past Masters champions and a very select number of club officials, are granted a seat at the table and, for the most part, the plates tend to be peppered with personality and personal heritage.
Basque golfer Jon Rahm served a menu of not only Spanish produce but family recipes in 2023, from Basque crab salad and ‘Mama Rahm’s’ lentil stew to picky bits of txistorra (chorizo) and Idiazabal cheese. Sergio Garcia did similar in 2018, serving Spanish lobster rice and tres leches cake.
Swings from the first round. #themasters pic.twitter.com/aqt5yMJdPv
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2026
Hideki Matsuyama flew in much of the ingredients from Japan to Georgia for his 2022 dinner, which started with sushi, sashimi and yakitori before a main of Miyazaki wagyu beef and Japanese cheesecake and Amaou ‘King’ strawberries to finish. Sheffield-born Danny Willett went full Yorkshire pub lunch in 2016 with mini cottage pies, prime rib of beef with Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings, followed by classic apple crumble and custard.
Aside from a side dish of champ and devils on horseback (bacon-wrapped dates), his Mum apparently used to make, McIlroy’s menu bore little homage to his Northern Irish roots. Maybe, unlike the rest of us, he was bred and buttered on yellowfin tuna carpaccio, wagyu filet mignon and foie gras, but the menu lingers little on Ireland and leans more Stateside, where McIlroy has been permanently based, in Palm Springs, Florida, for well over a decade.
Missed opportunity for Irish fare
Far be it from a restaurant critic who knows nothing about golf to throw his two cents at the situation, but, yes, it does feel like a missed opportunity, particularly given the precedent set by the non-American Masters winners over the years.
It would have been phenomenal to see Young Buck beignets, dillisk-dressed Millbay Oysters and Portavogie prawns on McIlroy’s menu. Maybe a main of Peter Hannan’s salt-aged Delmonico followed by Armagh apple tart with Clandeboye yoghurt and Fifteens and Monto chocolates to finish, chased by a Single Malt from Killowen or Bushmills.
Naturally, those of us extremely passionate and vocal about Irish produce, who relish every opportunity to sell the renaissance of modern Irish cuisine on the world stage, are disappointed. Northern Ireland produces some of the finest ingredients the island of Ireland affords, but should we really be lamping expectation on a golfer, expecting him to signal culinary cues and ambassadorship when he has never particularly espoused such? This is an American golf tournament, not the Northern Ireland heat of Great British Menu, and this is McIlroy’s dinner party, not Ireland’s claim.
Shouldn’t he be allowed to serve a menu that broadly appeals to his guests’ palates, rather than solely please his own, anyway?
Pleasing everyone is impossible, and this is not an isolated incident, either. Let’s not forget similar consternation bubbled over President Connolly’s inauguration dinner last November.
Many observers lambasted the use of farmed salmon, “blood” avocados and dubbed the menu entirely out of touch, “a throwback to the Nineties”, set at odds with the modern, vibrant and progressive Ireland Connolly was stepping up to represent as its first citizen.
Conversely, the state dinner welcoming Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in 2011, hosted by then President of Ireland Mary McAleese, felt like a fitting triumph of Irish ingredients.
Overseen by Michelin-starred chef Ross Lewis, Executive Chef of Chapter One at the time, it brought together the best of Irish, from Wexford Beef to Meath Strawberries, West Cork dairy to stone-ground Kilkenny flour.
McIlroy may have been entertaining golf royalty, but the very nature of his dinner in Augusta differs wildly from symbolic dinners marking inaugurations or visiting heads of state. However, that doesn’t discount it from the discourse. Was he demeaning Irish produce by choosing peach, shrimp, elk sliders and sticky toffee pudding, or was he just serving his version of a death row dinner?
If Shane Lowry follows in his footsteps to clinch victory and host the dinner, maybe we will have clever takes on spice bags, crisp sandwiches and the Midlands all over the menu, but McIlroy’s choices reflect his own unique personal experiences.
That may look skewed from the perspective of where we stand here in Ireland, but pretty perfectly reflects the golfer from Co. Down who turned pro at 18 and went international, spending half his lifetime beyond these shores.
It’s his party, anyway — you weren’t invited.
Patrick Hanlon is an Irish food, travel and culture journalist, and is one half of the award-winning duo GastroGays. More on Instagram.