Alex Conyngham

The latest Lord of Slane is distilling his fine lineage into whiskey in the jar, but he also has a nose for wine and makes a mean monkfish

What did your mother make you?

Mum likes to cook, and I grew up helping her out in the kitchen. She does an impressive on-the-bone beef rib roast with all the trimmings, and it’s hard to top that.

What is the meal you will always remember?

One that I cooked for my wife, Carina, while trying to win her over. It included monkfish wrapped in Parma ham with a sun-dried tomato and basil paste — a dish inspired by Jamie Oliver. The food went down well, and the result changed my life for the better.

What is your comfort food?

Hearty soups made with good stock.

What is your hangover cure?

Exercise. Preferably a windy walk with the kids and dogs, followed by the full five-shillings roast, cooked while drinking a Bloody Mary that includes fino sherry, horseradish and celery salt.

What do you drink?

I do love my Irish whiskey, including Slane, which I am very proud of, but I also love red wine. I’ve tried some outstanding red wines from California and Oregon.

You can only eat three things for the rest of your life — what are they?

Roasted, salted almonds; tuna poke —a Hawaiian raw tuna salad; and barbecued, dry-aged, mature Dexter beef.

What’s the most appetising smell?

It’s hard to beat the aroma of a freshly opened whiskey warehouse. You can see why they call the small amount of the whiskey that evaporates from the cask into the atmosphere ‘the angels’ share’.

How important is food to you?

It’s essential — I love cooking it and consuming it, of course, but most of all I love the fact that food brings people together.

You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who?

I’d love to spend another day with my grandfather who passed away in 2009. He loved fishing, so we’d fish for wild salmon in the middle of nowhere, catch one, clean it, poach it and then serve it with freshly made hollandaise and a green salad.

Favourite restaurant in Ireland?

I have an old favourite, which is Coppinger Row in Dublin. The food is consistently great and it’s laid back and informal, which I prefer.

And abroad?

I recently ate at Fin, in Culver City, LA. It’s an Asian-tapas place. Their miso black cod was outstanding.

What’s your sweet treat?

Brioche bread-and-butter pudding.

Worst meal ever?

Overdone meat with congealed gravy and microwaved vegetables.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Dark chocolate.

Are you careful about what you eat?

Nowadays, yes, as I travel and eat out a great deal with work. A friend advised: always have the fish and always walk home. I still eat everything I like, but I’m just a bit more careful on the quantities

What’s your perfect family meal?

Where everyone gets involved in the cooking, including the kids, and we all put that roast dinner together and then eat it outside in the fresh air.

“I cooked for my wife, Carina, while trying to win her over... and the result changed my life”