At a St. Patrick's Day breakfast hosted by Enterprise Ireland I sat down with JP McMahon, Officially appointed ‘Ambassador of Irish Food’, and recipient of the only Michelin Star awarded in the West of Ireland. Chef is the culinary director of the EatGalway Restaurant Group, which combines the efforts of his three restaurants,EAT Gastropub, Cava Bodega and Michelin-starred, Aniar, all in Galway Ireland.
Welcome to the Voice of Retail special St. Patrick’s Day edition!
Continuing along the lines of retail tourism and the deep connection between food, restaurants and retail experience , I had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with J.P. McMahon, chef, restaurateur and owner of Michelin stared Aniar Restaurant (http://aniarrestaurant.ie/ ) along with Cava Bodega and Tartare Cafe and wine Bar, all in Galway Ireland.
Chef was visiting Toronto in his role as an officially appointed ‘Ambassador of Irish Food’ at an event hosted by Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Canada Chamber Of Commerce held at the The Chefs' House at George Brown College (great venue!!) treating locals here to an amazing breakfast:
Kelly's Gigas Irish Oysters
House-smoke Clare Island Organic Irish Salmon
Poached Eggs, Seaweed Hollandaise
Spinach
Potato Farl
Butchers of Distinction 9 http://www.butchersofdistinction.ca/ ) Irish breakfast sausage, bacon and Black & White Pudding
Woodruff Custard Tart
Nice video of Chef JP here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7aI8vdYTiA
We sat down to talk about Chef JPs approach to dining and retail, food trends in Ireland and the close parallels to the Canadian restaurant and food scene and explore new trends such as cannabis infused menus.
Next, a brief chat with Neil Cooney and Lizzie Curran from Enterprise Ireland to discuss the work that goes into making St. Patrick’s day a global phenomenon culturally, politically and in retail.