‘I refuse to eat humble pie’

What did your mother make you? She made me feel loved with food. And T-bone steak and chips every Friday. What is the meal you will always remember? We called to Ballymaloe House in the 1970s to find it closed for renovations, and we were invited in to eat with the family and the painters. That’s hospitality. What was your defining food experience? Aged 11, skinning a rabbit to cook with my granny. What’s the first dish you ever cooked? Probably that rabbit, or cheese on toast. What is your comfort food? Pizza. What is your hangover cure? Jack McCarthy’s black pudding with fried eggs. What do you drink? Guinness; red Burgundy; white Bordeaux; manzanilla sherry; Dingle whiskey If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life what would they be? Pig; eggs; and cheese. You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who? A hot-air balloon over the grassland of the savannah with Herself and a picnic prepared by Heston. What’s your favourite restaurant in Ireland? And abroad? Too many to mention in Ireland! La Tupina, Bordeaux. What’s your sweet treat? Wander to the pastry section of Chapter One and eat Felchlin 68pc Bolivian unwashed chocolate. Amazing. What do you refuse to eat? Humble pie! What is your guilty pleasure? Baked New York cheesecake, or a Bunsen double cheeseburger from Bunsen in Camden Street. What’s your signature dish? Pig’s tail stuffed with razor clams and smoked bacon. Are there any foods you have had to cut out or cut down on that you miss? White sourdough bread. When you decide to eat healthily, what’s your regime? Vegetables and pulses with some protein; but at weekends, I eat the lot What’s your perfect family meal? Rustic, hearty food for sharing, with good red wine and a constant flow of conversation and debate A Ross Lewis is chef/proprietor of Chapter One Restaurant, 18-19 Parnell Sq Nth, D1; tel: (01) 873-2266, or see chapteronerestaurant.com In conversation with Sarah Caden Photo by David Conachy