Latest news with #KevinDundon
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
After hugely successful first year, Taste of Sligo Food Festival is back with stellar line-up
Running from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st September, the annual celebration of food, which is the brainchild of local food hero Anthony Gray, brings top chefs and food producers to Queen Maeve Square in the heart of Sligo town. It's all about the atmosphere and a winning combination of cookery demonstrations, al fresco dining, live music and kids' entertainment as well as dozens of artisan food stalls and food trucks it adds up to a superb experience for foodies of all ages. It's an additional draw, bringing tourists to Sligo for a foodie weekend. 'The Taste of Sligo Food Festival highlights the rich food culture and incredible food tourism experience in Sligo', explains Anthony Gray of Eala Bhán and Hooked restaurants, Taste of Sligo Food Trails and a founding member of Sligo Food Trail, 'It showcases everything that's good about food in this county and brings in top chefs from around the country. Last year was amazing and it's going to be even better in 2025'. Professional cookery demonstrations include celebrity chefs Kevin Dundon, Shane Smith and Sham Hanifa with well-known MC Tracie Daly of Ballymaloe fame. Also starring on the demo stage are award winning local Sligo Food Trail members Alan Fitzmaurice (The Glasshouse Hotel), Becca Sweeney (Hooked), Rafal Chimiak (Eala Bhán), Anthony Gray (Wild Atlantic Way), Aisling Kelly (Sligo Oyster Experience), Afro Caribbean cooking sensation Funké Egberongbe (Funké Restaurant) and Dr Prannie Rhatigan as part of the Spanish Armada Ireland weekend. Sarah Browne (Oysome) is a new local face on the demonstration stage. Stands include a fabulous cross-section of producers with lots of artisan produce to bring home and enjoy on the day. Mammy Johnson's have all the home made ice-cream flavours you can imagine. Drinks are well represented too with Lough Gill Craft Beer catering for craft beer lovers and the Drumshanbo Gin Bar offering delicious options. New this year is the Cool Food School with cookery workshops for 5th and 6th class students. Presented by BTEC-qualified Health Coach Deirdre, the mission is to teach children of all ages about the joys of healthy eating. Workshops will be held before the festival opens on Friday in Eala Bhán. For 2025 a third day has been added due to popular demand and the festival begins this year on Friday 19th September with a tapas-style event running from 4.30 to 9pm. Festival hours on Saturday 20th September are 12-8pm and on Sunday 21st September 12-9pm. Large crowds are expected and advance booking is advised. The Taste of Sligo Food Festival is supported by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Rural Innovation and Development Fund (RIDF), Sligo BID, Sligo Food Trail, Visit Sligo, Sligo County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Wild Atlantic Way and Sligo Chamber of Commerce, Whitesides SuperValu, Expert Electrical and Hawks Rock Distillery. The easiest way to get festival tickets is to book in advance through Eventbrite. The cost is €10 per day or €15 for an early bird three day-ticket (before 31st July). The standard three-day ticket price is €20. Under-12s get free admission with an adult.
Irish Independent
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
The Indo Daily: Sex therapist Grace Alice O'Se – How sex in Ireland has lost the ‘shame factor'
The author and sex educator Grace Alice O'Se joins Kevin Dundon and Caoimhe Young to chat about Traffic Light Brownies, her favourite childhood dessert, completed with drizzled chocolate and M&Ms. Grace Alice talks about the relationship between sex and food and how the conversation around sex in Ireland has lost the 'shame factor'. But she says children today literally grow up seeing pornography from a young age because of the widespread availability of phones and tablets. Grace says: 'There is ways of bypassing safeguards on phones and even if kids don't have phones, their friends have phones.' 'There's a lot of explicit stuff, even on the most widely used social media platforms we all use every day.' In Under the Grill, Ireland's best loved personalities choose a dish from their childhood and Kevin Dundon cooks it up in his kitchen, alongside Maître d', Caoimhe Young.
Irish Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Living with a top chef: ‘We don't have a dishwasher. It's me. I am the dishwasher'
Living with a chef sounds like it should come with perfectly torched mackerel, a fridge full of jarred ferments, and someone whispering 'umami' over your Tuesday lunch. In reality? It's a lifetime as an unpaid kitchen porter, avoiding knives that come with rules, and knowing exactly when to leave the room. But, yes – the food is excellent. 'He's always giving out to me for not using enough butter' Catherine Dundon on Kevin Dundon, executive chef at Dunbrody House Hotel Kevin and Catherine Dundon 'If you're foostering around and taking too long, or maybe on the phone while you're getting dinner, it will be, 'Oh Jesus, just get out of the way and I'll do it myself,'' says Catherine Dundon, who runs Dunbrody House Hotel with her husband, Kevin. 'He's the same with the kids. He'd be nearly over their shoulder going, 'Would you not do it this way?' And they're like, 'I'm 25. I don't need you over my shoulder.' And then we just say, 'Okay, well do it yourself.' He knows he could have it done in 10 minutes flat, and it's taken us half an hour. He often just loses patience and says, 'No, no, no. Just give it to me here.' And I've absolutely no problem with that, I'll just pour myself a glass of wine,' she laughs. It may sound like a dictatorship, but the domestic arrangement is a collaboration, albeit one with battlefield rules. They both cook – Kevin in full chef mode, with butter and cream, using every pot in the kitchen, Catherine with a one-pot shepherd's pie. 'He's always giving out to me for not using enough butter,' she says. 'He'd be turning his nose up at my mashed potatoes.' READ MORE When Kevin cooks for the family, it's not tweezers and dots of sauce. It's big hitters: 'amazing carbonara,' passed on to the kids who now make it for their friends, legendary Yorkshire puddings, and roast pork with crackling. Christmas Day is a solo performance. 'He will do the entire thing, but always, it's: 'Would everybody please leave the kitchen and leave me alone?'' No one's complaining – everyone sits down, every night, and Sundays are sacred. 'Does he let me touch his knives? No' JoJo Sun on Barry Sun, chef/patron of Volpe Nera Ian, Jojo, Barry and Emma Sun. Photograph Nick Bradshaw People assume it's fine dining on demand. 'You're so lucky,' the school mums say. And I say 'No. He doesn't cook that often,'' says JoJo. It's not nightly haute cuisine, but JoJo knows how to work the system. 'If I want something, I ask the kids to ask him. And every time the kids ask him, he will do it,' she says. Especially their youngest – a nine-year-old fish fanatic who eats every type of fish and seafood. 'He thinks his dad's tastes better. Even if I cook the same thing.' When Barry cooks, it's not about theatre. 'He doesn't follow recipes. He can just make it work,' says JoJo. 'He'll clean a little bit. Then disappear.' Offers to take the bins out are made while backing out of the kitchen. He's not a tyrant, though. 'He likes the chat. If he's cooking, he likes people around.' But like most chefs, his kitchen kit is off-limits. 'Does he let me touch his knives? No. But they look scary. They're so sharp,' she says. She's fine with her own cheaper set. Living with a chef is all about balance, she says. 'Barry works 10 or 12 hours a day in the restaurant so I don't expect him to come home and start scrubbing. You marry a chef – you just need to be real.' 'She says I'm always in the way' Dave Murphy on Jess Murphy, executive chef at Kai Dave Murphy and Jess Murphy of Kai in Galway. Photograph: Nathalie Marquez Courtney Jess Murphy doesn't just cook at home – she takes over. She occupies the kitchen like it's a war zone and the utensils are under siege. She may run one of Ireland's best kitchens, but at home, she leaves a trail like a one-woman catering bomb. Jess uses every pot in the kitchen. Dave washes them. He's been a kitchen porter for 25 years. He does the chef whites – washed, dried, folded. He cooks breakfast. He makes jacket potatoes and beans. He also knows when to quietly exit the kitchen. He's not allowed to help. 'She says I'm always in the way.' So he loiters. Offers moral support. Holds a peeler if asked. The knives are completely off-limits. There are two racks – serious stuff, including a pair of Fingal Fergusons and a Damascus steel blade he once dared to wash after a glass of wine or two. He sliced his finger open. Lesson learned. He hasn't touched it since. When Jess cooks at home, it's not just dinner – it's a continuation of service. There are no shortcuts, no half-measures, and certainly no recipes. The pantry is rammed with jars that have long since lost their labels, yuzu paste, fermented black bean sauce, and a rotating cast of odd condiments picked up over the years. One night it's lasagne. The next, donburi. Or maybe she's in the kitchen for hours making bagels from scratch. He doesn't complain. This is the rhythm of their life – Kai by day, chaos by night. Jess doesn't let up just because she's off duty. She never really is. 'There are definitely perks to being married to a chef,' Dave says. 'Jess could be doing a photo shoot at home and I could be eating a turkey and ham dinner in August.' 'It all works out,' he says. Or, as he puts it: 'I wash the knives, I shut up, and I eat well.' 'She cooks, I do the dishes' Arielle Agusto on Daniela Dullius, sous chef at Mae Daniela Dullius and Arielle Agusto. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni She may be married to a chef, but most nights, it's Agusto at the stove. She makes enough for both of them – so there's food ready when Dani gets home late from the restaurant. Her go-to is a curry she learned how to make from an Indian colleague. When Dullius is off, the energy shifts. She might cook two or three times a week. And when she does, she goes all in. They're both from Brazil, but left in their early 20s. Now, in their 30s and living in Dublin, dinner is a mix of Brazilian staples, the food they grew up with, and things picked up along the way, in the US and Ireland. 'She likes to do it all herself,' says Agusto. 'She just says, 'I got it.' I'll occasionally help. I didn't work as a professional chef like her, but I did work in kitchens before. So sometimes I'll cut something, you know, to contribute somehow.' Agusto says Dullius is a tidy chef, who cleans as she goes and the mess is minimal. But she doesn't stick around. 'Whatever she cooks, I do the dishes. We don't have a dishwasher, so it's me. I am the dishwasher.' And then there are the nights where none of it happens. When Dullius walks in the door, drops her bag, and doesn't want to look at a pan. That's when the takeaway routine kicks in. Deliveroo on speed dial – spice bags, Chinese, Indian – anything that shows up fast and doesn't require effort. 'I am the kitchen porter' Ciara Donnelly on Eric Matthews, executive chef and co-owner of Kicky's Ciara Donnelly and Eric Matthews. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill 'He told me early on, 'I'm going to cook for you because it's just going to taste better,'' says Ciara Donnelly. Her mother, a former chef, was delighted. 'You'll never have to cook again.' And she was right – Donnelly hasn't lifted a spatula since. What she does lift is every pot in the kitchen. 'He forgets he doesn't have a kitchen porter – I am the kitchen porter.' He trashes the place, then gets annoyed it's messy. 'He's militant at work, clean-as-you-go. But at home it's mess everywhere and he's the one who made it.' Technology winds him up. He hates induction hobs. 'He just can't use them.' Same goes for ovens, especially when he's baking. 'If something's not right, it's always, 'It's not me – it's the oven.'' He's particular. Very. If she buys dried herbs, she's in trouble. 'He's all about fresh, fresh, fresh. We go foraging for wild garlic. Normal people go to the shop.' There are no tantrums, but he does need total control. 'Even if it's just a Sunday roast, he becomes the most important person in the room. You just get out of the way.' He's made her eat some questionable things. 'Sea urchin pasta – neither of us liked it.' She's drawn the line at kangaroo, which Eric's had on his travels. 'I'm not fussy, but I don't want to be freaked out.' Once he brought home live spider crabs, then left to get ingredients. 'They tried to escape while I was on a team call.' When he cooks, it's slow stuff – roasts, ragù, Thai. 'Things he doesn't make at work.' Sometimes he preps the sauce at the restaurant and brings it home. If he's too tired, they order takeaway from Sam Sab Thai. It's a relaxed dinner. 'We eat in front of the TV. We talk to people all day. We just want to sit down.' 'I clean as she goes. It's a full-time job' Michael Giolla Mhuire on Gráinne Mullins, pastry chef and owner of Grá Chocolates Gráinne Mullins and Michael Giolla Mhuire 'She wants to control the entire kitchen, everything that's going on,' says Giolla Mhuire. 'If I try to get involved too much or suggest something – like how she's cooking a steak or charring broccoli – I'm told to go sit in the livingroom.' This isn't a one-off performance – it's every night. 'She rings me every morning on the way to work to ask what cuisine I fancy. Asian? Right. She'll spend all day thinking about it. Maybe pop into the Asian store on her lunch break. It could be noodles. Duck and gratin. Sweet and sour with rice. Lentil curry with home-made chutney, coriander, yoghurt sauce – and she bakes the naan herself.' He loves it. But sometimes he just wants goujons and chips. 'She's like, 'No. That's unhealthy.'' Takeaway? Doesn't happen. 'I'm from the city – I love a Chinese, a proper Indian. If she's away on a work trip, I go all out. Six dishes. She says, 'But Mikey, mine would be nicer.' And I'm like, 'I want it in a silver foil container, in a brown paper bag, and I want to eat it on the couch.'' There are no shortcuts. 'It's extravagant. The amount of food she buys, the quality, the prep. All of it from scratch. Honestly, it's like being in a fine dining restaurant every night. Sometimes it's too much – because we never get to sit down. She's still cooking.' And it's not just the food. It's the mess. 'The amount of utensils, jars, sauces, condiments, microplanes – it's all over the place. I clean as she goes, constantly. It's a full-time job. I'm the KP. Just not officially.'
Irish Independent
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Dr Eva Orsmond: ‘Irish women need to look after their bodies and stop putting their kids before their health'
Orsmond, who was on the panel of experts on the now-defunct Operation Transformation, also said she went on her first diet at the age of 11 and makes no apologies for it. The diabetes specialist, who runs clinics in Dublin and Galway, is known for her acerbic tongue and unapologetic straight-talking, and said she is 'frustrated' by Irish women. 'I often ask my Irish clients who the most important person in their lives is? They might say, 'Oh, my husband' or 'My children' and that is nonsense,' she said. 'It shouldn't be like that – that is the wrong answer. It should be yourself. There is nothing wrong with liking yourself – how could you like someone else if you don't like yourself? 'And really it should be your partner and not your children, because children should come afterwards. I really believe that. 'There is nothing wrong with liking yourself, because how could you like someone else if you don't like yourself?' The Finland-born doctor said she started dieting as a schoolgirl, on the advice of her mother, and has no regrets. 'I like being slim because it is good for me and to be honest, I am quite vain. I was on my first diet with my mother when I was 11 to lose a few kilos, so dieting is in my DNA,' she said. 'I cannot complain about my childhood because I didn't have so much, but the best thing I would say that my mother gave me was respect for my body and looking after myself. 'I'm very vain, I like to look as best as I can. That doesn't mean that I go to the gym with make-up on or look great all the time, but I like to fit into nice clothes'. Orsmond is the first guest on the second series of the Under the Grill podcast, with celebrity chef Kevin Dundon and co-host Caoimhe Young. In each episode, a well-known Irish personality chooses a dish from their childhood and Dundon cooks it up in his kitchen, setting the scene for some warm conversation. Orsmond, who has two grown-up sons, worked in her homeland, as well as in Bangladesh and Namibia, before moving to Ireland in her mid-30s and making Dublin her home. She said she has great admiration for Irish people and the Irish 'mentality'. Orsmond said she hopes to meet a 'nice Irish man' and loves being in the public eye and being recognised when she is out and about. Irish people are so polite 'Ireland has only brought goodness to me. Irish people are so polite,' she said. 'I think it's once in the last 25 years that somebody has approached me on the road and said something negative. It's actually very nice for somebody like me who is an immigrant. When I came here I didn't know anyone. Nobody. Not one person. 'It's nice because it makes it obviously so homely and there is this thing, you know, when you go to shops and people talk to you. 'There as a lady in Dunnes Stores the other day and she was presenting, you know, some food demonstration and she started to talk to me like we knew each other.' Under the Grill is on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Irish Daily Mirror
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kevin Dundon admits 'talk' about I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here appearance
Celebrity chef Kevin Dundon has revealed there was "talk" he could go into the jungle on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here – but the star wasn't interested. The former Dancing With The Stars contestant – who reached last season's quarter finals with his pro dance partner Rebecca Scott – ruled out ever appearing on the hit ITV reality TV show. 'I don't think I would do I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. I would hate being stuck in a box. I'm so claustrophobic. 'There was talk there a while back. Oh no, no (I wasn't offered). I didn't turn (it) down. There was just talk.' But Kevin said he surprised himself on Dancing With The Stars – and said the show let viewers see the real him away from the kitchen. 'I don't know. It's like, I never thought I'd do that. 'TV wise, I'd love to do a travel show, like a bit of craic travel show, because I think what Dancing With The Stars did was it showed a different side of me. I was a bit more craic. 'Katherine Lynch and myself did a pilot of doing the south of France with Katherine Lynch and an air fryer. It's a pilot. It's really funny, though, because you can imagine, like we're around the beach with an air fryer between us and an extension lead between us because we need the charge.' Opening up about being on the RTÉ One show, he said he didn't realise how rubbish of a dancer he was at the start of it. The 58-year-old said: 'It was like four and a half months of my life. You're just absorbed by it. So, it's like, it's now getting back to normal, getting back into my own routine again. 'We've just started our second series of Under the Grill, our podcast, which is great. 'I did really well. I got (to) the quarter final,' he said, laughing. 'I did get better every week. It wasn't my fault there were two active Olympians participating at the same time. 'The first time I saw myself dance, like on January 4, the day before the show because everyone was telling you, 'you're brilliant and you're great', and then you're in doing the recording in rehearsals and you look back, and you realise that you're sh*te. 'I kind of thought 'this could be a long journey' but I enjoyed every minute of it,' he added.
