Food Champion: Freelance Chef and Consultant Anthony O'Toole

I started working in a kitchen when I was 13-years-old, so I’ve grown up with food! I worked my way up to helping run a kitchen with the head chef, then did a degree in the culinary arts in Dublin. I kept working in kitchens in Ireland and France, before I segued into marketing. I also spent time doing front of house, before doing a masters in culinary innovation. Now I work on my own, as a private chef and in consultancy, in both branding and design.
I’ve actually worked with a lot of producers, and helped them smoke salmon, grow vegetables, milk cows and so on. I want to understand all aspects of food production. When I’m creating a menu, which is a really important part of honing what a restaurant has to offer, it’s all about telling the story of the ingredients and the people who make them. I’ve been doing that since I was very young.
I’m really enthusiastic about local ingredients, like Ireland’s genuine wild salmon, and our lamb, which varies in flavour around the country. And Irish cheeses are pretty spectacular. Sitting on top of a hill, overlooking a valley, with a picnic of our fresh fruit, salmon, and Irish soda bread – with good country butter and a nice bottle of cider – is a magical experience that visitors to this country should enjoy. But I’m also really excited about Irish beers and spirits and how best to use them in cooking.
My focus this year is on food tourism, and helping hoteliers, chefs and producers to tell their story to visitors. There are so many great things happening, that I really want the world to know all about it.

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