Television chef, author and Co Cavan native Shane Smith was in the car when he got “the phone call” in late April.
He had just published his debut cookbook, Loaf Tin Bakes, a few weeks earlier. The latest book sale rankings were in that morning, and his publisher, Gill Books, had promised to call him in the afternoon to let him know how the book was doing.
“I always think of the worst-case scenario, just in case it happens, and then you’re ready for it,” he says with a quick laugh.
Jokes aside, Shane knew the book had, so far, been well-received, but in the previous week he had felt a “shift” he couldn’t quite explain.
“I don’t know if it was from [increased media exposure], but something changed,” he says. “It wasn’t just my excitement anymore; I could feel it coming from others.
“Then, Sarah [Liddy; Gill’s commissioning editor] called and said, ‘The numbers are in,’ and then there was silence. And I thought, ‘Now I know what it’s like for all those people on The X Factor. Am I going home? Am I staying?’
“Sarah said, ‘It’s the number one best-selling hardback. But not only that – it’s the number one best-selling book across all genres in Ireland in the last week’.”
To say this news made Shane ecstatic would be far too simplistic. The past 18 months have been the most tumultuous, joyful, difficult and painful times of his life. He knew the first person he needed to share this news with was his mum, Bernie.
“The moment I heard her voice that was it, I just felt this release,” he says. “It’s not that I needed the book to be ‘number one’ to know that it was a good book – I genuinely love the book – it was more about hearing someone say, ‘Fair play, after all that hard work’.”
Heart and soul
More than anyone, Shane’s close-knit family understand how much of his heart and soul has gone into writing Loaf Tin Bakes. After he hung up with his mum, Shane says he did something he had never done before.
“I recorded a really candid video [for social media] and I was so emotional in it. It was raw and honest and I just wanted to thank people for getting behind the book the way they have.”
We see Shane on the television, in print and on social media and he is always the same affable, friendly chef. His recipes are stunning, but also achievable. He is open about the challenges he has faced in his life and career (which spans 25 years, several countries and many high-end professional kitchens). Today, he divides his time between writing, cooking and teaching at the Dunboyne College of Further Education.
Raised to work hard and put family first, Shane – like so many of us – is not always great at patting himself on the back and celebrating his wins. This is, in part, due to his humble nature, but it also comes from suffering a great loss, which is what happened in October of 2024, when his father, Sean, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and sadly died just 18 days later.
“You’re always trying to deal with the grief,” he says. “One of the latest things is trying to feel happy for my successes without feeling guilty, because Dad’s not here. I think anyone who’s gone through grief will understand – it’s like a wave. There are moments of being knocked off your pedestal.”
It’s impossible to talk about Shane’s journey to becoming a best-selling author without speaking about his father’s untimely passing. Before he started writing the book, and before his father’s diagnosis, he had decided to go back to school to study adult education. He says that during one of his last conversations with his father, he was told not to delay his studies.
“Dad was only 65, he and Mam were planning so much for the future. He passed in October and a couple of days before, he said to me, ‘Please don’t cancel going to college’. I probably would have. I was definitely that quiet person in the back of the class for the first few weeks. To be honest, going to college, writing the book and the recipe testing, it kept me busy.”
The process
Then, in January, he received an email from Gill Books asking him to come in for a meeting. They had requested he come up with a few different concepts for a potential cookbook, but Shane had always liked the idea of loaf tin baking and decided to put all of his… er… eggs in one basket.
“The 2lb loaf tin is probably the most utilised piece of equipment in anyone’s kitchen,” he explains. “That was the concept, and I made it my entire pitch. When I got the phone call saying the book was happening, that was another ‘oh my God’ moment. My dad, my friends and family, everyone knew writing a book is something I’ve wanted to do for years.
“Initially there were 180 recipes, then I whittled them down to find the perfect chocolate cake, the perfect lemon cake, breaking things down into your classics – carrot cake, madeira, sticky gingerbreads – and then I also went into breads. In the middle of all this, I was writing my final portfolio for college. In hindsight, this work enabled me to process my grief. If I had a euro for every tear that was shed in that car, I’d be a millionaire. When I came home, then, I was able to step away from it and say, ‘OK, let’s test some recipes’.”
Not taking away from Shane’s hard work and talent, some might also believe his father had a hand in his recent successes. The “shift” he couldn’t really explain. The resounding “yes” from the publishers. The brilliant public reception. All signs pointing to “write the book”.
“There are signs,” Shane says quietly. “You have to look for them, and sometimes you’re not ready to look for them, but they are there. I do believe, now, that Dad helped make this happen.”
In case you couldn’t tell, family and community mean everything to Shane. This includes the community in Lavey, where he grew up, and the one he has created through his career. With this in mind, he says his most recent highlight was the book signing he held at Eason in Cavan town on 18 April.
“Gill had warned me that book signings aren’t really a thing anymore,” he recalls, smiling. “They said, ‘If a couple of people show up, that’s great, but don’t expect a line up around the corner’.
“So, we were in early – my mum, my brother, his wife and kids, and my sister, Denise. My brother, Declan, is probably more of a local than I am – he knows everyone. When the signing started, people started arriving and I think about 200 people came.
“Some things are too big to process right away,” he continues. “It’s only now I can look back on that and realise how immense it was to have the community come out for me like that. That’s what it’s all about. And it wasn’t just me – people were coming to support my mum, my brother, my sister. I could see Declan catching up with friends, I could see Mum in her element, working the room. They are on this journey with me; it’s not just me on my own. And Dad was there, too, I’m sure of it.”
Shane at Bloom
Bord Bia Bloom is this weekend and Shane will be there with bells on (and plenty of edible blooms for his delicious bakes). You will find him on the Dunnes Stores Bord Bia stage on Saturday and Monday, where he will be sharing recipes featuring some of his favourite Irish ingredients.
Shane often uses edible flowers to decorate his bakes and specifically uses those grown at McCormack Family Farm in nearby Co Meath.
At last year’s Bloom, Shane was cooking on stage and singing the praises of their edible flowers.
His demo received such a reaction that festival-goers were disappointed they couldn’t purchase edible flowers at the McCormack Family Farm stand. This year, the stand plans to be fully stocked with edible blooms to satisfy the crowds.
Find Shane and McCormack Family Farm at Bord Bia Bloom, 28 May to 1 June in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
For more information, follow Shane on Instagram @chefshanesmith