Elk as the key to Masters success: who had any i-deer? Rory McIlroy will serve starters made from the meat of the North American animal at Augusta National next month in tribute to his food of choice before winning the Masters last year.
The wine McIlroy drank to toast victory, food which conjures memories of his childhood in Belfast and a dish made by his mother, Rosie McIlroy, also feature in the Masters champion’s dinner for 2026. In a nod to the Masters venue’s attention to detail, McIlroy revealed that chefs from Augusta made a special visit to a New York restaurant to replicate his favourite tuna recipe.
McIlroy will begin his Masters defence from 9 April. Two days earlier, he will host fellow past winners in the annual gathering in the Augusta clubhouse. The reigning champion picks the menu. When unveiling his choices on Wednesday, McIlroy’s grilled elk sliders – served with caramelised onion jam and roasted garlic aioli – turned heads.
“In the buildup to the Masters last year, I was eating a lot of elk,” McIlroy said. “I got this big shipment of elk and I was eating a lot of that. 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.” In the same area of the menu are Rosie McIlroy’s bacon-wrapped dates.
Wagyu fillet mignon or seared salmon will follow yellowfin tuna carpaccio. “One of our favourite restaurants right now is in New York, called Le Bernardin,” McIlroy said. “Eric Ripert is the chef there and this is a dish from that restaurant. It’s a really simple dish, but every time we go to that restaurant, that’s the one thing that I have to have.
“So that’s a fun one that the club worked with me on. They went up to the restaurant and worked with the chefs, and made sure; they obviously wanted to get it right for the night, so that’s really cool.”
Champ, a traditional Northern Irish side, is an accompaniment. “When I was a kid I used to eat champ by the bowlful,” McIlroy said. “So trying to tie in a little bit of my upbringing there.”
McIlroy has a love for wine and Augusta’s famous stock. Four are on his menu, including Bordeaux from 1989 – the year of his birth – and 1990. “That is the wine I drank the night that I won the Masters, so obviously brings back some great memories,” he said. “I wanted to be really intentional with the wines. It’s something that I’m really into and passionate about and started to collect wine over the past decade. To work with the sommeliers at the club and be able to choose these wines was a lot of fun.”
