Top chef Danni joins kitchen at Belfast tapas restaurant Edo
MICHELIN-STARRED chef Danni Barry is joining the kitchen at one-year-old Belfast tapas restaurant, Edo.
Danni departed from her Clenaghan’s Restaurant partnership with business duo Stevie and Christina Higginson, who also run The Square in Lisburn.
Edo owner and chef, Johnny Elliott, confirmed that Danni would join the team at his Upper Queen Street venue today.
Mr Elliott, who has worked alongside chefs Gordon Ramsey and Gary Rhodes, said Danni’s arrival at the restaurant will be “invaluable” coming up to the Christmas period.
He said: “I think Danni just wants to get back into the cooking and doing what she loves. She’s a fantastic chef and will add to our already strong team.
“Her help will be invaluable especially in the run up to Christmas. We now have four senior chefs who are all very confident and reinforce our consistency.”
Mr Elliott said he contacted Danni, who travelled around the world as a chef prior to working under Michael Deane, when he heard she had left her role at Clenaghan’s.
“I worked in Deanes briefly and saw Danni at events and when I heard she left, I contacted her. We are flexible here and she can work when it suits her. I know she does have plans for the future so this will work for her.”
Mr Elliott said he looks forward to seeing Danni’s creativity on the specials menu.
He added: “We’re doing great since we opened last year. We have our standard menu, which is really consistent and then our specials which are turning into a menu of their own. Danni will have free rein to put what she wants on there and I know she is looking forward to working with our Bertha oven.”
Talking about her shock departure from the Co Antrim restaurant, Danni Barry told the Belfast Telegraph last week that the partnership wasn’t what she was looking for.
She said: “I’m really looking to take a break at the minute and try something different. Obviously, that was my first partnership in running a restaurant and for one thing or another it just wasn’t for me.
“It was just a massive learning experience for me with running a business and being a boss while running a kitchen and actually getting to cook a bit.
“I’m still at the stage of my career where I just enjoy cooking and being creative. When you’re constantly counting pound signs it doesn’t really feel like that.”
Johnny Elliott opened Edo, pronounced aye-doh and Latin for I eat, last year with his partner Antonia Koemdzhieva.