‘He knew I was ambitious and he is proud of the path that I chose’
Celebrity chef Paula McIntyre (51), who was recently awarded an MBE, loves spending time with her beloved dad Davy, who is in his 70s. She says:
Iam very fortunate to still have both my parents. They live in Aghadowey — dad was a headmaster and mum was a headmistress of a small primary school. I have a brother David as well and we have always been a close family. They were all delighted last week when I received the
MBE for services to cooking.
One of my fondest memories of growing up was spending time as a family. My mum would cook and we would all sit down and enjoy each other’s company and have conversation over dinner. In many ways, I think this is a lost art these days. Families are so busy in today’s society they don’t sit down and catch up with each other. As a chef this saddens me as I think it is so important for families to spend time together — children benefit so much from that.
My work means that I’m travelling a lot these days but my parents live close by and I make sure that I catch up with them as often as.
My dad and I have always had a good relationship; we share the same sense of humour and have always been able to have a laugh together.
I don’t think I was a particularly easy teenager, I was a bit of a rebel, so I can’t have been easy for my parents. I still have a bit of that streak in me and like to do things my own way.
Working in the teaching profession, my parents both had safe and secure jobs. However, I wanted to go into cooking and become a chef — long before it was trendy. I’m sure my parents worried about me going into what was such an unknown field to them but they were always supportive of everything I wanted to do.
I remember dad was always behind me and we would have talked things through. He knew that I was determined and ambitious and I think he is proud of me and the path that I chose.
Dad and I share a lot of similar interests. For example, he taught me to fish, which is something I still enjoy doing when I get the opportunity. He was very sporty when we were younger and big into his sport.
I’ve been working all this week in London, so I am looking forward to getting home and spending Father’s Day with dad. I will cook for my parents as a rare and special treat. This is something I feel I don’t get to do often enough as I am so busy.
Nowadays we also enjoy going out for meals, relaxing and chatting over a glass of wine and some good food.
And when I go to the palace to receive my MBE mum and dad will be by my side. They are very excited about it and it will be a very proud day.”
We enjoy going out for meals, relaxing over a glass of wine and some good food