Rory McIlroy's Masters' menu in full, including mum Rosie's tasty appetiser and liquid gold

At the start of a traditional virtual conference hosted by the defending champion on Wednesday, the Northern Irishman revealed his selections for next month’s Masters Champions’ Dinner and it merits the sort of description that he’d normally provide for birdies and bogeys at the end of a round.

“Absolutely,” replied McIlroy to being asked by the moderator if he could share the details of what he planned to serve at the traditional Tuesday night get-together at Augusta National and off he went.

“So the typical structure of Masters club dinner is you serve some appetisers with a drinks reception at the start, and then you move into the seated meal. So first course, second course, and then dessert.

“So, for appetisers, I have done four. Firstly, my mum does these really, really nice dates stuffed with goat cheese wrapped in bacon, so I put those on the appetisers list. So thanks to Rosie for that one.

“In the build up to the Masters last year, I was eating a lot of elk. I got this big shipment of elk, and I was eating a lot of that. And I didn't want elk to be the main course because I didn't know if everyone would like that. So I incorporated that into the appetisers. So I'm doing grilled elk sliders which I think is fun.

“And then another nice appetiser that I think everyone likes is rock shrimp tempura, so sort of a crowd pleaser with that one. And then I wanted to try to bring a little bit of, I guess, the local ingredients in. So I'm doing a Georgia peach and ricotta flatbread with hot honey. So hopefully that will go down well with the drinks.”

Dish from one of his favourite restaurants in New York

It certainly should, as should be what will follow. “As we move on, the first course, my wife, Erica and I, one of our favourite restaurants right now is in New York. It's called Le Bernardin. Eric Ripert is the chef there, and this is a dish from that restaurant. It's a yellowfin tuna carpaccio. It's a really thin slice of French baguette with a really thin slight of foie gras on top of that and tuna carpaccio. So raw slices of tuna on top of that.

“It's a really simple dish, but every time we go to that restaurant, that's the one thing that I have to have. I can sort of change up everything else in my order but that tuna carpaccio is the one that stays. So that's a fun one that the club worked with me on as well. They went up to the restaurant and worked with the chefs, and made sure; that they obviously wanted to get it right for the night, so that's really cool.”

What about the main course? “This dinner, obviously it's an amazing honour to be able to host it,” he continued, as though he was taking part in Celebrity Masterchef. “But, at the same time, I want everyone to enjoy it. I went for two different options for the main course, a wagyu filet mignon for people that want red meat, or a fillet of seared salmon,

“And then for the sides, a lot of different sides. I've gone traditional for Irish Champ. When I was a kid, I used to eat champ by the bowlful. So trying to tie in a little bit of my upbringing there. Some sauteed brussel sprouts. Glazed carrots with brown butter. And then trying to bring a little bit of that local flavor back in, some crispy Vidalia onion rings. Vidalia is not too far away from Augusta, about two a two-hour drive, and a member of a golf course there who had been in that club; a little bit of local ingredients being brought back in.”

With those listening to him close to drooling by this stage, he then revealed his dessert. “I think very much a crowd-pleaser, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream on warm toffee sauce,” revealed McIlroy before talking about his wine selections with equal enthusiasm.

“My favourite part of the menu is you obviously get access to the wonderful wine cellar at Augusta National,” he said, smiling. “So for the wines we're starting off with a 2015 Salon Brut champagne. And then followed by a 20222022 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet, and it's the first-ever white wine that I actually liked. So to have, you know, to be able to serve that is something that's sort of important to me.

‘It’s like liquid gold’

“And then for the red wine we're receiving a 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild from Pauillac in Bordeaux. That is the wine that I drank the night that I won the Masters, so obviously brings back some great memories. You know, Shane Lowry had a little bit to do with getting that wine, so I want to shout him out for that, too. But that will be amazing to serve.

“To finish off, we're going with a 1989 Chateau D'Yquem dessert wine from Sauternes in Bordeaux, as well. Obviously '89, my birth year, and I think every great meal deserved to be finished off with Chateau D'Yquem. It is like liquid gold.

“I wanted to be really intentional with the wines. It's something that I'm really into and passionate about. So, to work with the sommeliers at the club and be able to choose these wines was a lot of fun. And obviously can't wait to host the dinner on Tuesday night, and then obviously be a part of that for many, many years to come. So excited for that.”

He admitted to The Scotsman that it certainly wasn’t a menu that had been thought up “off the top of my head” before being asked if he’d got the bill for it yet and replied with a smile: “Not yet!”