Dishing It Out

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Sean Lally, one of Ireland's best-known hoteliers and co-owner of Hotel Woodstock in Ennis, County Clare. Sean has spent decades working in Irish hospitality and In 2016, fulfilled a long-held ambition of running his own family hotel by taking over Hotel Woodstock. 

Sean takes us through his career from his early days of bouncing around hotels - from teaching staff olé chants during Italia 90 to meeting his eventual wife while taking her booking for another wedding! 

Sean’s interest in sport has been well serviced by his career and he shares some incredible stories about working behind the scenes with Munster rugby and the All Blacks. He also gives some amazing insights into how social media has enhanced their business over the years.

This week’s Nespresso Dish of the Week is presented by Gary and is a scotch broth, a wonderful dish as the weather turns. The Culinary Conundrum explains how to get the most out of your slow cooker. 

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Seamus Commons, the award-winning chef behind La Fougère Restaurant at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, County Mayo. A Mayo native, Seamus has established himself as one of the West of Ireland's most respected chefs, earning multiple Best Chef in Connacht awards and widespread recognition for his creative, technically accomplished cooking.  

Gareth is the odd one out this week as Seamus and Gary recall their farming backgrounds and early learning in Killybegs. The lads have a good laugh on their shared experiences over the years and how Gareth once did a trial for Seamus early on in his career.  

The guys discuss Seamus’ career and his return to Mayo from city living, how AI will impact the world of cooking, travelling to learn your craft and the competitive culture of kitchens. Each with their own experiences and unique perspectives, it’s a real insight to the world of being a chef in Ireland. 

This week’s Nespresso Dish of the Week is presented by Gareth and is a venison casserole, a fitting dish for the time of year and Seamus’ expertise. The Culinary Conundrum looks at how to make kids get involved in the kitchen without making a mess. 

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Luca De Marzio, the Italian restaurateur and owner of Rosa Madre, one of Dublin's best-known Italian restaurants. Over 16 years, he has built Rosa Madre from a humble coffee haunt to a Dublin institution of Italian cuisine.  

Luca talks about moving to Ireland to begin his hospitality career working at The Westbury Hotel, where he also met his wife Trish. He talks about the reality of running a restaurant in how no day is the same, running a business with your wife and how he champions some Irish produce whilst sticking to his Italian roots. 

The lads discuss Luca’s passion for wine, fast cars and having fun. Luca also shares a cracking story about how he agreed to feed Dave Grohl while getting a tattoo, only to realise the restaurant wasn’t open! He’s a total wildcard but a great laugh. 

This week’s Nespresso Dish of the Week is presented by Gareth and is a delicious Thai Chicken Curry. The Culinary Conundrum offers some great Christmas gift ideas for aspiring home chefs.  

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Tom Murray, one of Ireland's most recognisable food creators, popularly known as @bitta_banging. Tom has built a huge following on Instagram by making outrageous sandwiches and jaw dropping viral food content. 

Tom shares the story of how he got into food, from studying business and reluctantly working in recruitment to Covid back garden popups and eventually finding his passion. He then recounts about moving to Paris for culinary school and finding himself thrown in the deep end - but relishing the opportunity. 

The lads discuss the business of creating viral food content, coming up with ideas to captivate attention or dividing opinion to create chaos in comments sections. Never would you think a tomato in a sandwich could be so compelling! 

Tom also shares about some of his recent adventures away from the camera from a worldwide popup tour to acting as a consultant for Moreso. He is truly a pioneer for a chef so early in his career still.  

This week’s Nespresso Dish of the Week is presented by Gary and is a beautiful Mexican sweetcorn elotes. The Culinary Conundrum looks at how to master the art of timing a roast dinner at home.  

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Michelin Star recipient and Irish Restaurant Awards Chef of the Year in 2016, Danni Barry.

Danni gives a unique insight into the unspoken bias and barriers women often face in kitchens and how she overcame these challenges. It’s an insightful conversation which the lads share their own perspectives and experiences of. They look at terms like “female chef” and weigh its pros and cons, diversity in judging panels and changes in the industry from days gone by.

The Nespresso Dish of the Week is delicious Tarragon Rosti and the Culinary Conundrum clarifies how to cook the perfect scrambled eggs.

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Alice Kelly, better known to millions of people online as From Scratch Baker. Alice started baking as a child before, at just 18, buying an old horsebox and transforming it into her own micro-bakery - documenting the entire process online and going viral almost overnight.   

Alice shares how she overcame mental health challenges during school to finding her passion in not only baking, but sharing it online with others. She shares amazing insights on her meteoric rise to popularity and working with global brands from the start. Alice also touches on the challenges of her work as a result of online trolls and hate comments. Naturally, Gary offers some sage wisdom on the matter!  

The guys have a great chat which brings age gaps, rivalries amongst chefs and divisive opinions on certain beloved flavours all to contention, but all in the name of fun. 

The Nespresso Dish of the Week is offered by Gareth by way of a delicious brownie, and the Culinary Conundrum will save you from stir in sauces for a super easy alternative.  

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Declan Maxwell, one of the most respected front-of-house figures in Irish hospitality and currently restaurant manager at Spitalfields in Dublin. Declan discusses beginning his career in London before returning to Ireland where he became a central member of the team in Chapter One during their pursuit of a Michelin Star.  

Declan shares some incredible stories from his time working throughout Dublin which brought him to Spitalfields where he won a Michelin Service Award – a rare occasion where he found himself truly speechless. 

The lads discuss the unique and incomparable quality of Irish hospitality, for which Declan is a champion of. They also unpack changing trends in Irish food and drink culture as well as the growth of food tourism in Ireland. 

To close, Declan shares an amazing story of attending Nico Ladenis’ funeral which celebrated some his most iconic dishes – a truly once in a lifetime experience during a difficult time. 

This week’s Nespresso Dish of the Week is presented by Gary and is a mouth-watering recipe for a Cotoletta. The Culinary Conundrum looks at how to get the most out of an air fryer for home cooking which of course the lads have some great ideas for. 

S8 EP2 Jet Setting to Dancing With The Stars with Kevin Dundon 

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Kevin Dundon, one of Ireland's best-known chefs, restaurateurs, authors and television personalities.  

Kevin's talks through his career from early days in Canada to becoming Executive Chef at The Shelbourne. He also shares his journey of taking over Dunbrody Country House in Wexford, surviving the dark days of foot and mouth, global recession and covid outbreaks to establishing the Dunbrody Cookery School.  

Kevin also shares some amazing stories about the world of “celebrity chefs” in the United States and the madness of his experience in that world. Finally, the lads lift the lid on his time in Dancing With The Stars and some of the hilarious mishaps he had along the way. 

Gareth shares his recipe for a coz au vin as the Nespresso Dish of the Week, with a funny disagreement on the omission of mushrooms between the guys. To close, the Culinary Conundrum looks at how to make batch cooking more exciting. 

 This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Chef Ross Lewis, co-founder & co-owner of Two Michelin-starred Chapter One; as well as the proprietor of Osteria Lucio.  

Ross talks through his agricultural background in Wales and early exposure to food which brought him to the kitchens of London where he cut his teeth.  

The lads discuss the lengthy process of building an institution like Chapter One and how so many people forget the years of hard work it takes to build an “overnight success.” They also look at life after Chapter One and Ross’s subsequent involvement in Osteria Lucio.  

Finally, we get an amazing insight to the experience of cooking for Queen Elizabeth on her trip to Dublin. The logistics and madness around such a momentous occasion – and a phone call afterwards that nobody could ever forget.  

Gareth shares an easy but delicious recipe for a prawn spaghetti dish as the Nespresso Dish of the Week. To close, the Culinary Conundrum gets the lads thinking about some of their favourite restaurants in Dublin.  

This Week on Dishing it Out, Gary and Gareth welcome Donegal native Brian McDermott. Brian is an award-winning chef, author, broadcaster and one of Ireland’s biggest champions of Irish produce through working with the Simply Better range in Dunnes Stores 

The lads discuss the importance of switching off the phone and disconnecting properly from work, despite the challenge of missing out on sports updates. Brian then provides an incredible insight to his work in promoting Irish brands through the Simply Better range in Dunnes Stores and the important role of supermarkets in Irish food production.  

Gary and Brian recall some of their war stories from learning their craft in Killybegs which is a great laugh. Brian also opens up about experiencing health challenges as a young adult which made him reassess how he was working, but ultimately how he turned difficult circumstances into an exciting and new career. His openness starts an important conversation on work life balance and self care within the food industry.  

The Nespresso Dish of the Week is a delicious Berrymisu from Gary, and the Culinary Conundrum offers some tips on how to impress when hosting.