Chef Adrian isn’t faking, he’s got a REAL talent
IFOUND myself sitting on the couch this week shouting abuse at the TV again. My other half is used to it at this stage — she knows immediately when the ranting starts that Donal Skehan and his five minute ‘meals’ are on the box.
This week the cook took to the task of making a five-minute steak dish. He proceeded to grill lettuce, burn spring onions and murder a minute steak before drenching the lot in a suspect chimichurri sauce.
I like Donal and I have the greatest of regard for his achievements both at home and abroad, but all I could think about watching this colossal waste of tax payers’ money was how unfair this commission is to other aspiring chefs.
Conversely this week I also watched Neven McGuire prove what good chefs can produce. His Home Chef series is both aspirational and informative, while the practical side to his shows makes cooking at home easier.
Another chef who has impressed me over the years is young buck Chef Adrian (Martin), who plays heavily on his urchin-faced young good looks and his focus on healthy, good food.
To this day I am still impressed by the time he helped me churn my own butter live on TV3.
He started aged 14 with top chef Neven Maguire at the famed MacNean Restaurant in Co Cavan, working after school, at weekends and during school holidays.
THE amiable Cavan man soon found himself in demand nationwide, giving demos and making school visits. He is now a regular feature on TV3’s Six O’Clock Show and filmed Chef Adrian Eats Ireland for RTÉ Player.
His latest endeavour sees him move to the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin where he joins a roster of famous faces at The Permanent TSB Ideal Homes Show, over the three-day event.
TV3’s Anna Daly will be gracing the Home And Design theatre on Saturday and Sunday to discuss her interior style, while RTE’s Operation Transformation presenter Kathryn Thomas of Pure Results Boot Camp will be exhibiting at the Health and Wellness Pavilion.
Chef Adrian will be cooking up a storm at the Health and Wellness Pavilion with three live demonstrations daily. He’s going back to basics and showing the things that maybe have got a bad name.
The first offender getting a serious make-over will be bread.
‘I’m going to do a bread master class. Bread is one of those forgotten gems and it has got a bad reputation lately — everyone suddenly hates bread. It’s one of the easiest things to make and it’s good for you as well.’
One of the things that first put Chef Adrian on my radar was his recent cookbook Fake Away, which is packed with delicious bites that are easy to make and your dinner will be an absolute bargain.
The book became an instant best-seller for the talented chef, although he admits he was extremely nervous before it went on sale. ‘I really didn’t know what to expect,’ he says. ‘If you bring out a cookbook, your first one is always the one that can make or break you. If it doesn’t go well, you can forget about it.
‘The response was huge to be honest, and to have the best-selling cookbook in Ireland for weeks was just a dream come true.
‘I’ve always wanted to do my own TV show. I’ve done bits and bobs on TV3, but the online series for RTE was great. I’m planning a load of things for next year, I just can’t say what yet, but it will be exciting. Every Tuesday I cook a dish live on Facebook. It’s called dinner with Chef Adrian and every week at 8pm I cook something from scratch and answer questions live. In December we plan to do a bigger version of that and put it on Facebook live. We’re going to have a set and have celebrity guests and production crew and try it as an online series — a bit like Saturday Kitchen.’
This is the sort of online cooking I can get on board with. Of course it may take longer than five minutes, but as is often the case in life, the best things take time.
The Permanent TSB Ideal Home Show takes place at the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin from October 27-30.