It’s far from fine dining I was reared,” emphasises Enda McEvoy. In fact, he says that when he’s not in the kitchen of his Galway restaurant Loam, producing his signature seven-course tasting menu (the day that we visit, courses include mackerel, beetroot and fennel, sirloin, coolea and seeds, and the rather intriguing sounding peat ice cream), you’re more likely to find him lathering Vegemite on toast or munching on biscuits.

Yet, after opening off Eyre Square in 2014, Loam was awarded a Michelin star in 2015 and – almost more importantly – retained it in October 2016, while Enda was also honoured with the title of 2016 Restaurant Association of Ireland chef of the year – not bad for a lad from Cavan who fell into working in kitchens at 17 while busking in Germany until he got a “real job”.

“I’m still looking for a real job,” he smiles.

Looking at Enda’s upbringing in Virginia, it’s clear that the foundations for his future achievements were carefully laid. His parents, Paddy and Philo, ran a grocery, post office and switchboard, but also had a piggery out the back and grew their own vegetables, and instilled in all their children the value of hard work. Enda’s memories include picking sprouts in the frost in winter, boxing lettuces in summer and his least favourite task: bagging spuds.

“It’s a horrible job,” he almost shudders.

Although “food was fuel” and the family rarely ate out except for special occasions, Enda’s mother had trained in Cathal Brugha St, while his father was a keen hunter and fisherman, bringing home everything from rabbit to eel.

“It wasn’t a priority to take any sort of pleasure from food, but in saying that, we did eat really well,” he says.

Enda went on to Maynooth to study maths, but after the first year, went to the Black Forest in Germany to busk for the summer, taking a job as a kitchen porter to make ends meet – and stayed for a year.

“It wasn’t for the food that I got into it,” he reflects. “It was more being part of the structure. It was quite militaristic and there was a vague brotherhood – but being part of this well-oiled working machine, inside and outside of the kitchen. I enjoyed that.”

Returning to Ireland, he switched his degree from maths to English and sociology, but after graduating, continued to work in kitchens from Tetsuya’s in Sydney to Sheridan’s on the Dock in Galway – as well as a stage in Noma in Denmark – gradually honing his craft.

“I always tried to work in good places and tried to stretch myself as much as I could, even though sometimes your confidence gets knocked and maybe you feel like you shouldn’t be working in certain places,” he says of his development.

It was after his stint in Noma that Enda was approached by JP McMahon to head up the kitchen in his newly opened Galway restaurant.

“And then we won a star working in Aniar,” he says, almost casually.

Not just any star, we counter: a Michelin star.

“Yeah,” he acknowledges, “but we got recognised for doing what we enjoyed doing. It wasn’t something that we set out to do.”

However, the drive to be self-employed meant that after two years, Enda left Aniar to open his own restaurant, Loam, with his wife Sinead looking after the financial side of the business. Opened in November 2014, it won a Michelin star in its first year of business for its focus on “modern ambitious cooking rooted in tradition”, working with the seasons and using ingredients primarily from the west of Ireland.

“We wanted to set up a restaurant where we were happy going to work every day and we could stand over what we do and I suppose challenge ourselves every day,” says Enda.

“And it all sounds a bit clichéd now, but by limiting what you can use, then you have to force yourself to be a bit more creative, but that’s essentially the crux of what we do. We try to limit ourselves as much as possible to force ourselves into situations where we have little to turn it into a lot, so that’s what I enjoy about it.”

Inspired by his experience at Noma, Enda has worked to develop a “community” of suppliers: lamb, pork and beef come from Castlemine Farm in Roscommon; about 80% of vegetables from Leaf And Root farm in Loughrea; game from Gourmet Game in Scarriff; goat’s yoghurt and milk from Velvet Cloud in Mayo; whey from the Galway Goat Farm and so on.

He says customers know to expect something “a bit left of centre” at Loam, but have the option of their simplicity menu (€40 for two courses, €50 for three courses) in addition to the seven-course tasting menu (€70), as well as a wine bar serving small plates of charcuterie, cheese, pickles and snacks to “dip a toe in the water”.

Dad to Fin (seven), Ailbhe (five) and Fiadh (almost two), future plans range from keeping bees to produce his own honey for Loam to eventually having his own farm to work in tandem with Leaf And Root; and who knows, maybe even finding that illusive “real job”?

Such as? “I always wanted to be a furniture maker,” he smiles.

Loam, Fairgreen Rd, Galway.

Tel: 091-569 727 | www.loamgalway.com