Amidst the beautiful countryside of Co Cork, Ross Lewis, head chef of Chapter One, grew up on a dairy farm. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? From the cows to the city, the muck to Michelin star, a lifetime that followed the farm to the fork.

As much as it makes for the perfect introduction to an Irish Country Living feature, however, technically it’s not true.

Somewhere down the line, someone found out Ross spent time as a child on his family farm in west Wales. They also knew he grew up in Cork. Two plus two (and some bad journalism) equals six, and so the story got out about a childhood of milking cows.

Farming Childhood

Honestly, though, I had my suspicions about the verity of the story. Having grown up in the neighbouring town of Ballincollig, I was very aware that dairy farms in suburban Bishopstown are scarce, as best. “No better place to put the record straight than the Irish Farmers Journal,” laughs Ross.

“The truth is my mother is Welsh and my uncles have a farm. I would have lived there until I was three or four, and then we moved to Cork. I went over every summer. That lasted until I discovered girls.”

From the sound of it, that family of his needed a hand. “There was 220 acres of a dairy farm with a piggery. They were one of the first to have a hen house that was all automated, as well as 120 horses.

“My grandfather was a very industrious man. When he started the farm, dairy was the focus, but they also had a café and a B&B.

“I remember going out planting vegetables, harvesting them later. They had a greenhouse full of produce and, you know, it wasn’t a case of running down to Spar when you ran out of something. The bread was baked and the butter was churned. So although I didn’t grow up on a farm, I do have a real connection to the land and the culture of food.”

The Restaurant Stage

Despite this and a degree in dairy science, the farming route wasn’t for Ross – but he had his heart set on one part of the role: he wanted to be his own boss.

“As soon as I started working in kitchens – first in New York, then London and Geneva – I loved the excitement of restaurants, the drama of it all. It was like being on the world’s biggest stage, and the performance started when the curtains went up at eight. I think I am suited to that constantly changing backdrop. It’s something in your makeup.

Lewis certainly likes living on the edge. Chapter One may now be one of the most prestigious, interesting and adventurous restaurants in Ireland. However, back in the early 1990s in a country recovering from recession, setting up a restaurant on the north side of Dublin must have been quite a challenge.

“I had sweated it out in kitchens for a few years at that stage: cheffing, doing a stint front of house, learning the ropes at all levels. I knew I had to know the engine room if I wanted to own a restaurant. I was due to head back to the States, but my green card got delayed. Some of my friends – Gearoid O’Doyle and Matt Cooper – actually were living in Dublin. It was the summer of 1990, World Cup Italia was in full swing: ‘Ooh Ah Paul McGrath’ and all that. What wasn’t to love?

“I started working in the Old Dubliner, and two years later we found this place north of O’Connell Street and said, ‘Sure why not?’ Was I mad? I don’t know, it was the exuberance of youth: you don’t care. I just thought: ‘I will go in there, give it my best shot. What’s not to lose?’”

Irish Dining

Twenty five years and a Michelin star later, Lewis has seen the Irish diner mature and move with the times, and has kept his finger on the pulse the entire time. “It’s been a journey of self-discovery, trying to build on every building block, developing your own style, and that’s been great. When we first opened, it was ‘Paddy wants a seafood starter, some protein for mains – a 10oz steak or a piece of flat sole on the bone – veg on the side, chocolate for dessert and a nice bottle of red to wash it down.’”

However, around the time of Riverdance, Ross says a really interesting change came about among Irish people and their food choices. “They were willing to try more, experiment. They didn’t need the great big steak, there was a moving on, an acceptance. Obviously with a restaurant if you cook tasty food and people visit and like what you do, they have the confidence to let you change and embrace it.

“So from that time at Riverdance right up till now, it’s just been getting better and better. People are well travelled, knowledgeable. They have a confidence, an expectation when eating out that is really helping the restaurant industry to drive forward and become more exciting.”

Foodie Future

So where do we go from here? “The Irish food scene as a whole is getting very interesting and, as well as festivals such as Taste of Dublin next weekend, I am also involved in Food on the Edge, bringing international chefs to Ireland to experience our offering and fantastic produce.

“I do think we’re lacking that lightning rod: an international lightening rod to bring the attention of some of the world’s press here. The Nordic countries are putting massive resources, money and PR into promoting their food offering. They’re sponsoring restaurants to go and get three stars as a tourism ploy. We just don’t have it in Ireland we don’t have a René Redzepi type of person that the world press is focusing on.

“We have the produce, though, and I think the produce will have its day in the sun – but it would be quicker if we had that one person.

“There’s no Michelin three-star restaurant in Ireland, which is something we need. And there is an argument that Government needs to put money behind it. To be honest, I can’t see it happening at the moment.

“Obviously there are more important items – like hospitals being sorted – but in my opinion this is important too, because what we have here is magic. We have the best produce – beef, lamb, cheese, milk, shellfish, we have all of it – but we are only starting to explore it and ‘premiumise’ it. Before, all lambs went into a hopper and you went to the supermarket and bought lamb chops that were the best ever, but when you went back the following week, they weren’t half as good.

“What we didn’t realise was that first batch was actually lamb straight off the headland of Achill, but it was just branded as ‘lamb’. Now we are distinguishing the excellent from the average and paying a premium for the good stuff. We didn’t get it before: that Ireland is a premium agricultural entity – but it’s starting to really strike a chord now. I think it’s a waiting game, let’s watch this space.”

Waiting Lists

Speaking of waiting games, what about waiting lists? “Oh, the waiting lists. That and the high expectations that people have when they come to Chapter One is the biggest challenge we face.

“Our weekends could sell eight or 10 months in advance, but we had to put a stop to that. Now we don’t let them go more than three months in advance. Not only is it suffocating, it also means that if someone books a Saturday for October back in January and you’re not on you’re A game, or something goes wrong, or the wine is warm, the disappointment is massive.

“Think about the best meal you’ve ever had. It was probably down some back street in Portugal that you wondered into with zero expectations, but it delivered beyond anything you dreamed of. Whereas here it’s like: ‘We’re going to that restaurant that we’ve tried to get into five times and we’ve waited six months – it better be amazing.’

“So it’s tough, but the staff that work with us are all very aware of that. We train for it, prepare and we don’t rest on our laurels. We keep the mirror up, always asking how we can improve the business. It’s always fun, though, and I still get the thrill when that curtain raises each night.”

Not bad for a Cork man who supposedly grew up on a farm. CL