LIFE


THE CHEF A native of Mourne country in Northern Ireland, chef Danni Barry is only the second female chef in Ireland to gain a Michelin star. Her career began at Deanes, Belfast in 2003, where she remained for four years. A stint in restaurants in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the UK followed before she returned to Belfast to take the helm at Deanes Eipic in 2014. She gained the Michelin star within eighteen months of the opening and has retained it for the past two years. In October, she announced her new venture, Clenaghans restaurant in Moira, county Down.


“Deanes has been a massive part of my career but the opportunity to put your own stamp on something is always going to appeal to a chef. Clenaghans is an old stone pub in a 17th century building and it’s full of character.”


Local, seasonal produce will be the backbone of her new menu and for this chef, Ireland offers a wealth of special ingredients. “Our dairy produce is one of my favourites. Our butter, milk and cream; having travelled all over the world, I know that it’s not the same anywhere else. We use Abernathy butter handmade by a local producer – she’s doing phenomenally well. All that rain and those green fields makes for happy livestock.”


An avid forager, she can be found trawling the coastline for seaweed, sea vegetables and herbs like arrowgrass and sea purslane. “They are full of flavour and nutrients. I use a lot of dulse, it’s so versatile: you can dry it and use it as a snack or mix it through the bread. It’s


adding that extra level of flavour.”


“Some of the things that we forage for you might only get for two or three weeks of the year and then it’s gone. As a chef you look forward to that. Sloe berries, blackberries come out and we’ll make a vinegar and jam... and then they’re gone.”


A champion of Irish makers, she rattles off a number of standout producers. “Up north,


which connects chefs so you can bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other.”


“It’s better when we work together,” she goes on. Fingal Ferguson is making bespoke knives for chefs because one guy got one and now we all want one!”


Heading up an all-female team while in the kitchen at Eipic, she says the industry is more inclusive than ever. “You have people like Jess


“Irish food is quite hard to define because there is so much diversity. Migration only helps: people bring different cultures and more knowledge.”


we have Lough Neagh eels, they have been farmed for years, the smoked eel is fantastic and you are starting to see it on menus. Then there is sheeps milk yoghurt from Velvet Cloud: So many people are lactose intolerant and here’s an alternative that’s delicious. We have more charcuterie coming through, which I find really exciting. Ispini are winning awards for their charcuterie products. We are looking at our small producers and really valuing them.”


“I don’t know that there has ever been a better time to work in food in Ireland, with people like JP McMahon who is bringing chefs from all over the world to his conference in Galway, Food on the Edge and initiatives like the Chef Network,


48 INNOVATION IRELAN REVIEW 18 INNOVATION IRELAN REVIEW


Murphy in Kai in Galway, a New Zealander, who runs the best restaurant in the country and to know that I can speak to her creates a community of female chefs which raises confidence.”


This exchange of information and skills means that our cuisine is constantly evolving. “Irish food is quite hard to define because there is so much diversity. Migration only helps: people bring different cultures and more knowledge – that’s only a positive thing. Ireland is very welcoming, it’s small and everything is very accessible. There are loads of reasons people are drawn here. The hospitality that comes so naturally here, you don’t get anywhere else.” @clenaghansrest


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