08/16/2024
Chef Noel McMeel, Culinary Director of the new Ebrington Hotel in Derry, Ireland, is known as the “King of Modern Irish Cuisine” because he is the pioneer of using seasonal, local, fresh Irish ingredients. He is also the author of the third-best cookbook in the world, Irish Pantry, and is a famous Irish TV broadcaster.
Chef Noel grew up on his family’s farm inspired by his mother's traditional home cooking; but long before he became a chef, he was the all-Ireland traditional Irish dance champion from ages 14 through 17. He could have continued to dance, but cooking was his passion. McMeel received a scholarship to the prestigious Johnson & Wales University and went on to work in some of America’s most famous restaurants, including Le Cirque, Chez Panisse, and Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate, where he met the Clintons. McMeel – that’s his real name – was once told by an American agent to go to McDonald's and sell his name as a “Big McMeal.” McMeel laughed it off.
For this interview, I flew to Ireland and drove to his home in the beautiful countryside of Northern Island. Here, Chef Noel McMeel lives with his partner, Dessie; dog, Bailey; cat, Tittles, and twenty-one chickens.
What brought you to cooking?
I always wanted to be a good cook. I loved food. For us, food was very much a thank-you, made from my mother's and my family’s hands: the jam, the bread, the cakes. The ham came from the pigs, the milk from the cows; the trifle was the cream skimmed off the milk which we kept to whip it up. Getting ready for a meal at my home was like getting ready for royalty because you used the best plates and best glasses. There were roses that you’d picked yourself, and the scent coming through the house was amazing. The celebration of food was so important to us.
What were the core values of your home?
Giving was massive. My parents gave every child in our home a toolbox of love, sharing, respect, and decency. As we grew older, they kept piling in more and more tools. I still use these tools every day.
