A taste for the home life!

NAILING down an interview with Neven Maguire is like minding a group of mice at a busy crossroads. If he isn’t traversing dusky farms and vineyards in search of fine balsamic vinegar outside of Florence on his food trails, he’s in Mitchelstown, tracking down delicious dairy produce for Dunnes Stores.

His diary is like a game of Tetris — as one line clears another three appointments try to smoothly fit into his schedule. We eventually agree to allow me to hijack his lunch break while he’s filming a new series for RTE. As the rain pelts off the window at Brooks Hotel in Dublin’s city centre, Neven pulls at his collar and rubs his hands together before sitting back and taking a deep breath.

For the last three weeks he’s been on the road filming and this may be the first time he’s been able to actually catch his breath.

‘I’m busy, but I have a great variety in my work,’ he says with a smile. ‘Being in the restaurant is at my core and always will be. I work with Simply Better at Dunnes and my role there is to showcase Irish producers. I can get behind them because I use a lot of them in my restaurant.’

Neven, who has been working with Simply Better for two years, says that his objective here is to provide recipes and to get people cooking.

‘That’s it to be honest. The producers are the heroes and I just showcase them in the best way I can.’

Launched in 2013, the Dunnes Stores Simply Better Collection has grown to a premium collection made up of over 350 products, winning over 300 national and international awards, and there’s little doubt that nabbing this chef as their brand ambassador has gone a long way to promoting their new food mission.

Neven orders a cappuccino and puts his phone on silent. The Cavan chef speaks with a soft northern lilt and is an engaging character, always maintaining eye contact.

He admits that one of the downsides of being on the road is spending time away from his wife Amelda, and twins Conor and Lucia who are now five. It’s time he plans to make up at the weekend when he returns to his restaurant, MacNean House, in Blacklion, Co. Cavan.

He’ll split his time between his eatery and home, but will make eating with his children a priority. This is a habit Neven hopes will help his children develop a good relationship with food.

It’s an area he feels strongly about, especially with the ongoing fight against childhood obesity in this country.

‘Healthy eating is a challenge with children,’ Neven says. ‘I’m not an expert, but for me, as a chef, my reference point is my twins. They enjoy food but they also enjoy treats and sweets in moderation. They will have porridge for breakfast or an egg in a cup and that is it.’

SUGARY cereals and convenience foods are not on the Maguire household menu, but homemade soup or sausage rolls made from scratch are. Family mealtimes are, it seems, an integral part of their daily routine.

‘We’ll have a casserole, steak, fish or beef cheek. From day one Amelda and I made a promise that whatever we ate, the twins would eat. We get together as a family and we educate them on the food they are eating, introducing a new spice or herb. They don’t like spicy food, so I tend to make mild curries.’

But as all parents know, feeding children can be challenging, even for a top chef like Neven.

‘Kids are not stupid. You have to give a child something six to eight times before they like it. Lucia didn’t like eggs initially. Now she loves them. Don’t beat yourself up as a parent — you will get there in the end, as long as you keep trying,’ he advises.

The most difficult part of providing healthy food for the family is down to time constraints, he says. That’s why preparation is key — with nothing too fancy on the menu.

‘I’m away all week and I’ll go home at the weekend and cook up some meals to pop in the freezer,’ Neven explains. ‘We eat very simply; we’re not sitting down eating food from the restaurant every night. Our family food is wholesome food. What we serve at the restaurant is a different world to what we eat and cook at home.’

Neven even believes that cooking should be introduced to children as part of the school curriculum as it can set them up for life. But he feels strongly that education in this field really needs to start at home.

‘It might be easy for me to say as I work close by to where I live, but if you can, just sit down with the children,’ Neven says. ‘Even if it’s just for breakfast. Kids and family life is hectic. It’s a balancing act. But sharing meals as a family is so important. It’s what makes the world go around.’

COOKING is an important part of keeping healthy, according to Neven. ‘Food is nourishment for the body and soul,’ he says. ‘It’s not just about fuel. Different countries have indigenous ingredients and they cook what they know.

‘I think every young person should be able to cook if the government is serious about tackling obesity, and the transition year is a great time to do it. Home Economics is a fantastic subject for example — I was the first boy in my school to do it.’ Neven thinks everyone should be able to cook food on a budget, using cheaper cuts of meat and protein. ‘People really want to eat better, but it’s about cutting out the cheap, processed food which is full of sugar and salt and additives.’ It’s obvious that Neven, who began cooking at the age of 12 in the kitchen of his family restaurant, is obsessed with food and the practice of cooking. This passion has helped him to become one of the most celebrated chefs in Ireland. His love of the stove has seen him turn down lucrative licensing deals with restaurant chains around the country — and, he admits, it also put him in temptation’s way. As a result he has built a gym next to his cookery school in Cavan, in order to help himself stay fit and keep the weight off.

‘I go up and down with my weight. I have to taste food all the time and I train regularly, but if I didn’t I’d be like a little Tellytubby,’ he grins. ‘I have to restrain myself because I’m surrounded by temptation 24-7, either in the kitchen or on the road.’

And although he enjoys getting out and about to film his various TV series, he admits that’s when the problems can start.

‘While travelling, you tend to neglect yourself a bit, eating late and what have you,’ Neven says.

‘I do a lot of circuit training and I have my own gym beside the TV