ABOUT YOUNG CHEF YOUNG WAITER IRELAND 2023

Richard Corrigan

Richard Corrigan’s reputation and fame straddles the Irish Sea: he is undoubtedly the most recognisable Irish chef across both Britain and Ireland. He has opened numerous read more restaurants; gained Michelin stars; he has cooked for Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II; he’s the author of two recipe books; and he regularly makes appearances on radio and television. Notably, winning the Great British Menu three times, he has also been a regular judge on the popular BBC series. Richard runs Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill off Piccadilly, Corrigan’s Mayfair, Daffodil Mulligan as well as Virginia Park Lodge in Co. Cavan, Ireland.

A farmer’s son, Richard began his teenage career in the kitchens and has cooked all his life. He is a vehement supporter of Irish and British produce as well as small independent suppliers. Richard’s chefs only use wild game, wild sustainable fish, and produce such as butter, cheese and charcuterie are primarily sourced from family-run, independent businesses in Ireland and Britain. Bread is made in the restaurant's bakeries and salmon is smoked on Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill rooftop. In short, everything, where possible, is made from scratch in-house. Richard is well known for his generous hospitality and celebrating seasonal events such as St Patrick’s Day, Game Season and The Return of the Oyster Natives in September. Since Virginia Park Lodge’s acquisition in 2014, Richard has devoted much of his time to restoring the Co Cavan estate back to its former glory, growing seasonal produce for his restaurants and making the 100-acre property as self-sufficient as possible. Almost everything is recycled on site including the food and even the glass.

Richard was awarded his first Michelin star as head chef of Stephen Bull in Fulham, London,
in 1994. After opening Lindsay House in Soho, London, he scooped a Michelin star there in 1997. A long list of accolades and awards followed right up to the present day. Twitter

Derry Clarke

Dublin born Derry Clarke trained in the classical French tradition in the Man Friday in Kinsale. He came home to Dublin to continue his training under the direction of John Howard in the renowned Le Coq Hardi for four years. read more He then spent 8 years as Head Chef in le Bon Appetit Restaurant but his aspirations were always to open a place of his own.

Derry and Sallyanne married in 1987 and opened l’Ecrivain Restaurant in July 1989. They have had several transformations and now l’Ecrivain stands on the site of two old Georgian Coach Houses in its own charming courtyard. Derry was awarded a Michelin star in 2003 and held it for every consecutive year since then.

The late A.A. Gill gave a rare rave review of L'Ecrivain. He noted that Derry's Wicklow venison was among “the best deer I've ever tasted”, going on to describe L'Ecrivain as "a very decent, hospitable, friendly, stay-a-while hybrid restaurant".

His recipes are published widely including the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald. He has written two successful cook books, Not Just Another Cookbook and Keeping it Simple. His cooking confirms his commitment to the very best local, fresh produce cooked with flair and imagination. Twitter

Jordan Bailey

Previously a key member of the team in Restaurant Sat Bains, Jordan Bailey opened Aimsir, his first restaurant as head chef, after a stellar career in the UK (Rosewarne Manor in Hayle, read more The Elephant in Torquay) and Scandinavia, gaining and holding three Michelin stars in Maaemo, the renowned Norwegian restaurant of chef Esben Holmboe Bang in Oslo. The restaurant opened in May 2019 and went straight to two Michelin stars. This an extraordinary achievement, something that has never been done in Ireland before – Aimsir is the fastest ever restaurant to achieve a two-star rating in the history of the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland.

Just over four short months after opening, husband and wife Jordan and Majken Bech Bailey and their young, multi award-winning team at Aimsir, were awarded two Michelin stars for their ground-breaking restaurant which opened in the stunning setting of Cliff at Lyons. The recognition copper-fastened an incredible first few months for Aimsir, where the food, service and entire team had already been universally fêted by the media, winning multiple hospitality awards.

Aimsir, which means weather in Irish, which celebrates “what can be grown and harvested, fished and foraged on the island of Ireland. As much as possible, everything served in Aimsir is grown or produced on the island of Ireland. An all-island restaurant, the best producers and growers from all over Ireland have been invited to be part of this new celebration of the most powerful, significant and influential force in this country – the weather.”
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JP McMahon

JP McMahon was born in Dublin and moved Galway City in 1999. He is a restaurateur, chef and educator. He has three popular restaurants under the brand Eat Galway –, Cava Bodega, read more Eat Gastropub and Michelin starred Aniar Restaurant. As Culinary Director, JP manages all aspects of the food side of the business. He chefs, teaches and promotes the restaurants through traditional and social media outlets. He travels nationally and internationally giving demonstrations and lectures.

After working behind the scenes for many years JP and his partner Drigín opened Cava Restaurant, their first venture, in 2008. At the time Tom Doorley said they served ‘the best tapas in Ireland’. They then went on to take over the food aspect of Massimo bar on William Street through their gastropub offering of high quality, accessible food for all. In 2011 JP and his wife Drigín opened another restaurant next door to Cava, called Aniar, which means from the west in Irish. Aniar and its unique philosophy gained a Michelin star in 2012.

JP sits on the Food Council of EuroToques, he is a Food Ambassador for Fáilte Ireland and was invited by Fáilte Ireland to speak at Toronto Hospitality Symposium Terroir in 2013. JP is first Irish person to the represent Ireland with the esteemed Cook It Raw Foundation.

Awards won by JP and Drigín’s restaurants include 2012 & 2013 Michelin stars, Best Restaurant in Ireland FOOD&WINE Magazine (2012), Best Ethnic Restaurant, Georgina Campbell Guide (2012); their Restaurant Association of Ireland awards include Best Emerging Irish Cuisine (2013); Best Restaurant in Connacht (2012); Best Gastropub in Connaught (2013); as well as Best Cookery School from Good Food Ireland (2013).
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Michael Tweedie

Originally from Devon in England, Michael Tweedie has spent his career working in some of Ireland and England's best restaurants. He joined Adare Manor in June of 2017 to oversee read more the creation of the new fine-dining menus for The Oak Room which was then awarded its first Michelin star in 2019. Michael honed his skills as head chef at the five star Ballyfin Demesne country house hotel in Co. Laois, where the restaurant won two AA Rosettes within eight weeks of opening. Previously, Michael rose through the ranks at several luxury hotel restaurants in England, including the two-Michelin starred Gidleigh Park Hotel in Devon under Michael Caines and the Michelin starred Lucknam Park Hotel in Bath under Hwyel Jones.

When Michael joined the team at Adare Manor in 2017, the resort was just re-opening after a 21-month long refurbishment. Since then he has been making waves as head chef at The Oak Room, Adare Manor's award-winning fine dining destination. Having won a slew of awards over the past four years, The Oak Room, which is known for its decadent dishes and gorgeous surroundings, has fully cemented itself as a fine-dining destination in the West. Michael recently introduced a new menu to the restaurant, which he hopes will help the guests to better understand his food style. Instagram

Gordon Smyth

Gordon Smyth's career in food began early, following a circuitous route from Eglinton around the world and back to Co Donegal. Along the way, he had the opportunity to work with such renowned chefs as Charlie Trotter and Daniel Boulud in America, Marco-Pierre White in London, and Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney. They inspired him and opened his mind to what could be achieved. read more After his experiences abroad, he worked at Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan, the 5-star Lough Erne Golf Resort before returning to Co Donegal. Fourteen years ago, he arrived in Redcastle, which marked a watershed for the hotel and the type of dining experience it offered. Redcastle, part of the Harcourt Hotel collection, continued to expand, and Gordon assumed the role of Executive Chef. He established processes, built teams, and contributed to menu development and recruitment across the group.

The recognitions were not long in coming either and included an AA Rosette for the Edge Restaurant in Redcastle and, for Gordon, the accolade of Ulster Chef of the Year 2017. The second AA Rosette Award for The Edge Restaurant was awarded each year since 2018, as part of the AA hospitality award scheme's annual assessment of hotels across the UK and Ireland.

Noel McMeel

Executive Chef

Training at the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College in Portrush, a period with Paul and Jeanne Rankin at Roscoff in Belfast and a 1988 scholarship to the united States helped open some very prestigious doors. They included the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, with Jean Louis Palladin, and a stint at Chez Panisse in San Francisco, working with his culinary heroine, chef-patron, Alice Water. read more Opportunities beckoned in Northern Ireland and he returned to take up the position of head chef at the Beech Hill Country House Hotel in Londonderry. In the late 1990s, Noel opened his own restaurant, Trompets. More recently, he starred at Castle Leslie and his efforts helped earn it a ranking among the top ten places in the world to stay.

Not a man to rest on his laurels, Noel has now moved on to Lough Erne Resort where he is bringing his own particular brand of modern not only to the world leaders. Now culinary director of the new Ebrington Hotel in Derry.

Irish cooking to a new and discerning audience. So what then is the McMeel trademark?

“Absolute simplicity and respect for the integrity of the ingredients is paramount. I believe in letting the flavours sing for themselves. My dishes may appear complex, but in fact they tend to be cooked quite simply, with rigorous attention to the freshness and seasonality of the ingredients.”

Anna Haugh

Anna Haugh hails from Tallaght in Dublin and has been cooking professionally for almost 20 years. She is the chef-proprietor of Myrtle Restaurant located in Chelsea, London, and has named the restaurant after the doyenne of Irish food, read more Myrtle Allen.

She began her culinary career in the Michelin starred l’Ecrivain with Derry Clarke, followed by the last 14 years in London working for celebrated chefs Philip Howard, Shane Osborne and Gordon Ramsay. Myrtle Restaurant is Anna’s first solo venture where she puts a strong emphasis on staff potential and believes an empowered and engaged team leads to the best possible dining experience for customers. The menu is modern European with an Irish influence using the finest Irish produce in a sophisticated but relaxed dining atmosphere. Twitter

Sunil Ghai

Sunil Ghai is an internationally acclaimed master chef and the leading Indian chef in Ireland.

Having grown up in the prosperous city of Gwalior in Central India, he studied at the prestigious Gwalior Catering College graduating among its top chefs in 1996. Before even graduating, he was headhunted by the Oberoi Hotel Group, with whom he worked for five years learning all aspects and regions of Indian cuisine. read more In Ireland, Sunil’s bold, contemporary style transformed the nation’s consciousness and love affair with Indian food. He won numerous awards as Head Chef of the Jaipur & Ananda Restaurant Group, including FOOD&WINE Magazine’s ‘Chef of the Year’ 2009, Restaurant Association of Ireland (RIA) ‘Best Chef in Ireland’ 2013, and the coveted Bridgestone Guide’s 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland.

In addition to helming Pickle, Sunil has also opened Tiffin, with his wife Leena – a neighbourhood deli and spice store – and Street, a casual suburban outpost that offers Sunil’s signature flare to eat-in or take-away.

In all his ventures, Sunil has remained committed to authenticity, integrity and seasonality in his food. Seasons and regions are reflected in his menus, which change to celebrate the particular qualities of non-indigenous ingredients and the traditional tastes and styles that best suit them.

From 2015 to 2018, Sunil served as a Commissioner of Euro-Toques in Ireland – the elite international chefs organisation dedicated to preserving the highest culinary standards and cultural authenticity, founded by Paul Bocuse and other world leading masters in 1986.

Sunil says: “My philosophy is inspired by the rich culinary traditions of all of India, marrying the traditional with ideas that are exciting and new. Many of my influences in the creation of my recipes come from my mother. She has a fantastic imagination when it comes to cooking and I have yet to taste food quite like it. In the kitchen, I found the answers to all my curiosities.”

Sunil’s home city of Gwalior was an ideal starting point for an aspiring chef. Known as the city of music, it boasts over 400 years of royal music patronage which also brought with it the best cuisine from every corner of the nation. "The wonderful thing about growing up in Gwalior was the eclectic influences all around you. It’s a melting pot of culinary delights from all over the many different regions of India,” says Sunil.

Awards for Pickle

Best World Cuisine, 2016, FOOD&WINE Magazine Awards
Best Ethnic Restaurant, 2017, Georgina Campbell Awards
Best Indian food in Ireland, 2016, Yes Chef Awards
McKenna’s Guides 100 Best in Ireland (formerly The Bridgestone Guide) Twitter

Michelle Darmody

Michelle Darmody is an entrepreneur and food journalist who founded the award winning bakeries The Cake Café and Slice. Both quickly became market leaders in all things read more cake as well as gaining a reputation for well sourced savoury dishes which placed small Irish food producers and local suppliers at the centre of quality driven menus.

She also established Our Table, the social enterprise supporting people living in Direct Provision, with Ellie Kisyombe, a food project aiming to highlight how asylum seekers in Ireland are not allowed to cook for themselves, thus losing a vital link with their culture.

Michelle is currently undertaking a research project exploring food literacy in Ireland. She has extensive experience of project management having completed major projects in IMMA, with the Arthur Guinness Foundation, and various other cultural institutions. Michelle is also a weekly columnist for The Irish Examiner as well as a regular commentator on food, culture and travel for a variety of Irish print and broadcast media. She is the treasurer of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild; author of The Cake Café Bake Book; and is regularly asked to speak on food issues by the Irish media. www.michelledarmody.com

Robert Lee Mulcahy

Robert is the Chair of Young Chef Young Waiter (YCYW Ireland & Monaco) and divides his time between Dublin and the South of France. read more His ventures have spread across a number of sectors from technology and food to education and art history, having studied at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.
He served as President of the European Catering Association, which included development and operations for inter-college culinary competitions and Awards.

Robert’s Masters in Business Administration has been put to good use in his pro bono work for VSO Ireland (Voluntary Services Overseas). As chair of the VSO Champions’ Board,
he developed and managed vital fundraising initiatives, to support their work in 36 countries across the globe. His remaining time is spent as a non-executive director and adviser to private clients. Twitter