It was a stint at two Michelin star Heston Blumental- owned restaurant and one of Ireland's foremost technical chefs that helped pour fuel on Gareth Crawford's culinary fire.

He was even offered an open door to return to work at London's Dinner by Heston.

But Gareth instead left the world of big, bold, casual Mexican food behind at his former restaurant Cú on the Lisburn Road to reach out to the world of private fine dining. The award-winning chef's new business, Saison, has turned its attention to small bites, and a multi-course tasting menu, with a focus on seasonality and local ingredients.

"There's no denying that if you are considering booking a private chef to your house or a private location, that it's a premium service,” he said.

"After three years at Cú, it was not working in that location [anymore]. I really wanted to be doing fine dining, the in-house experience. I love that sort of food and the creativity - working with a range of ingredients sits better with my creativity and how my mind works."

Some of his recent dishes include a perfectly-formed and seasoned one (or two) bite beef tartare, sitting in a little piece of crisp pasty with rich yolk for company, and an equally as well-seasoned crab and corn bite.

A scallop dish brings forth light, clean flavours of the ocean, still slightly translucent in the centre, atop a rich, yet delicate and perfectly emulsified beurre blanc, while a slice of venison is a lesson in game and red meat cooking. There’s a lot of technique on show, such as a crispy, wafer-like blush pink shell with beetroot and precisely piped St Tola goat cheese.

“We bring the entire restaurant to the client, who has to do nothing at all,” he says. “And I deliver the tasting menu, with full explanation of each dish, with staff also looking after the front of house.

“It’s about bringing the food and entire experience to the client, with zero work [for them].” Gareth’s former restaurant Cú recently shut its doors after three years. “

“The original plan from the start was just to get it off the ground — I’ve a big interest in Mexican food, and thought the city needed a bit more, and better,” he said.

“I had thought, I’ll give it three years, then move on — then it will run itself. But with the economic climate, it became clear that wasn’t going to be the case. I had to be there all the time.