Chefs
Philippe Farineau
Head Chef at Mount Falcon Hotel in North County Mayo won Best Chef in Connaught at the Irish Restaurant Awards 2011 while The Kitchen Restaurant scooped the award for The Best Hotel Restaurant in Connaught. Having left his native country of France and his beautiful city of Paris, Philippe came to Ireland to work in a number of the country’s finest hotels including the K-Club, Ashford Castle, Dromoland Castle and Hayfield Manor where he held a range of culinary positions, culminating with his appointment as one of the country’s distinguished Head Chef’s. Philippe’s philosophy in relation to his culinary offering is to source the finest produce, prepare it simply and serve it appropriately and is best summed up as "Irish Produce, French Heart".
Phillipe will be preparing the starter course for this year’s awards ceremony.
Noel McMeel
Executive Head Chef at the Lough Erne Resort, Noel has studied & worked in Paris, New York, Boston, Washington DC, California and Ireland.
Noel's style of food is fresh and uncomplicated and he has dedicated his entire career to a very simple goal: finding, preparing and serving fresh food in season and sharing his knowledge with others. His undeniable talent is a passion for good food and an eye for perfection that has consistently seen his innovative cooking commended by reviewers and fellow chefs alike.
"There will always be the latest thing in the food world, but for me these words that are in vogue at the moment - organic, fresh, taste, simple, changing seasons, local, actually cooking and knowledge - will always be the latest food trends. I have always been convinced that the best-tasting food is organically grown and harvested in ways that are ecologically sound, by people who are taking care of the land for future generations. After all food like that speaks for itself." says Noel.
Fred Cordonnier
The third generation of a family of bakers and pastry chefs, Fred takes his cooking philosophy from his French gourmet heritage. As a young man he followed the traditional route to learn his craft, completing a three-year apprenticeship under a pastry /chocolate master before taking his first job in a Michelin-starred restaurant on the French Riviera.
From there Fred moved to London and continued to gain experience, working with some of the best-known pastry chefs of the time. Following two years with Raymond Blanc at the two Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Fred arrived in Ireland. He spent nine years at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud the only two Michelin-starred restaurant in Ireland. Following that he worked at the U2-owned Clarence Hotel, before opening a small restaurant in partnership with the owner of the Brown Bear in County Kildare. The restaurant was named "new comer of the year" in 2010 and won many great reviews. Fred places great emphasis on finding the very finest ingredient and says "the chef is not the star, the produce is and it must be treated respectfully". He sources as much produce as possible from local artisan suppliers and is delighted to have the walled garden at Ballyfin as a resource in which he oversees the growing of many of the herbs, salads and vegetables for the table. Fred will be preparing the fish course for this year’s awards.
Graham Neville
Born in Dublin City, Residence Head Chef Graham Neville attributes his particular culinary style to his passion for locally sourced, Irish ingredients and his classical French training. Beginning his culinary career at a very young age, and training in various Dublin restaurants during his secondary education, Neville had an intimate understanding of the intricacies of running a highly organised kitchen before advancing his culinary career. Following his professional training in the Culinary Arts at DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Neville spent a number of years working in the United States, primarily in Chicago where he designed progressive French cuisine at both Tru and Les Nomades, two of the city’s finest restaurants, both valuing an artistic and free-thinking approach to food. On his return to Ireland he worked for seven years at Thornton’s restaurant, under Kevin Thornton, the only Irish chef to have been awarded two Michelin stars. Neville sites both his extensive travels and his experience at Thornton’s as having been formative in what he values in food.
