A taste for LIFE

This Wexford-born Ballymaloe alumna has broken America, and her million-plus YouTube devotees worship her microwave mug meals

The Irish YouTuber who’s broken America

What did your mother make you?

My mum’s an amazing cook and baker. She’d whip up an incredible shepherd’s pie. I became a chef because of the love for good food my mum instilled.

The meal you will always remember?

When I was young, my mum would make apple crumble, and I remember rubbing the butter into the flour. And if you helped, my mum would give you a slice of a Bramley apple doused in sugar.

The first dish you ever cooked?

Fairy cakes.

What is your hangover cure?

Mashed potatoes. You can take the girl out of Wexford, but you can’t take Wexford out of the girl. It’s just not the same Stateside.

What do you drink?

Living in LA, there’s a lot of Mexican restaurants, so my drink of choice is a margarita, served up with salt. No need for ice, let’s get straight down to business.

Your favourite smell?

Garlic. Garlic screams savoury; it’s dinner time and something good is on its way.

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

Yellow curry with seafood; freshly cooked shellfish with melted Kerrygold; and chocolate mousse.

How important is food to you?

Food is the one thing we all have in common. I’ve turned my love for food into my career. Now I get to share my passion with millions of fans who are as crazy about food as I am.

Your favorite restaurant in Ireland?

Growing up in Wexford, we had many family dinners at Kelly’s Hotel in Rosslare. I recently went there with my dad and husband, and had one of the best meals I’ve had in Ireland. In LA, I love the Bazaar at the SLS Beverly Hills.

What’s always in your kitchen?

As a baker, I always have butter, eggs, flour and milk to hand. The milk doubles as a baking ingredient and it’s also for copious amounts of tea I drink during the day while filming Bigger Bolder Baking for my YouTube channel.

What’s your perfect family meal?

My perfect meal would simply be shellfish served with garlic butter.

What is your guilty pleasure?

After a long day of filming, I don’t have much energy to make dinner for myself. A little treat for myself after a hard day’s work is a large pepperoni pizza delivered to my house, which I eat in my pyjamas.

Are there any foods you have had to cut out or cut down on that you miss?

In Santa Monica, eating healthy goes hand in hand with the lifestyle. People are very conscious about what they put in their bodies. When I started to pay more attention to it, I began to feel more balanced and comfortable in my own skin. Gemma is the ambassador of The National Maternity Hospital Dublin’s Bun In The Oven campaign. Host your own bake sale or coffee morning and help raise much-needed funds so the NMH Foundation can continue to support babies and families. See nmhfoundation.ie