A day out of Donegal is a day wasted,” says Brian McDermott. We both laugh but Brian’s comment comes with a matter of fact nod. “I won’t keep you long at this interview so,” I reply lightly.

The truth is; this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this phrase from Brian. Over the years, we have met at food festivals and events, and even survived a Ploughing together – a true bond of solidarity. Brian’s love for Donegal comes through in everything he does, so just over a year ago when he opened Foyle Hotel, we weren’t a bit surprised that it sat on the beautiful Inishowen peninsula.

“A family hotel, it was always my dream. At times, I didn’t think it would be possible. I’ve been working in hospitality for 26 years and I don’t think there has been a more challenging time to take such a leap but we took it.”

The right time

The moment when Brian and his wife Brenda knew they had to pursue that dream was when a beautiful 200-year-old building came available in their village Moville.

“It just felt right. We had the support of the community and it felt like home.” Most importantly, they also had the support of their daughters Niamh (17) and Aoife (15).

“It was always going to be a family venture and the most important decisions have been made around our kitchen table.”

In fact, from day one the girls also threw themselves into the business.

“Niamh is like me in personality, always pushing and driving, eager to know what’s coming next. Everything we love, we want more of. She is our front-of-house and when guests walk through the door, they know instantly that we are family run.

"Aoife is a little younger, she is like Brenda, such a solid person and her attention to detail is amazing. Aoife wants to do more in the kitchen, maybe I’ve passed on those chef genes.

"They both make a great contribution to the hotel but we do have them working different shifts. They get on great, but they are teenage girls after all,” he laughs.

The perfect fit

The 16-bedroom boutique hotel, eatery and wine bar has performed very well since opening and its relaxed and cosy style helped them take home the Georgina Campbell Irish Newcomer Award for 2019, but that’s not to say it has been easy.

“Dealing with increased VAT rates and the upcoming Brexit in our first year of business has been a real challenge. Initially, we thought 70% of our customers would be from Northern Ireland.

"In reality, it’s 30% and people are saying, ‘We planned to stay two nights but opted for one because we don’t know what’s in store for us with Brexit and the sterling’.

“Consumer confidence has been ripped apart. As a result, we’ve had to focus more on the Republic market but that also has its challenges when you’re hidden away at the tip-top of the country.

"So yes, the business is going well but we, like so many other businesses, are faced with challenges that are very much beyond our control.”

Health hurdles

As a couple, Brian and Brenda have already faced real challenges. Ten years ago, at just 33, Brian started suffering with heart issues. It was their early years of marriage and the girls were just seven and five.

“At the time, I was being treated for asthma and chest infections but I wasn’t getting better. In fact, I was getting quite frustrated.

“One day in the doctor’s office, I was told to go to the cardiac unit. I thought it was precautionary because of my dad’s health history. But they very quickly established that I had coronary heart disease.

"Not just that, but I had already had a number of heart attacks. You might ask did I not realise it was happening and there was one night that scared me.

"I remember a heaviness in my chest, the tightness, the feeling that the room was caving in on me. But I never thought that in my early 30s, it was actually a heart attack.

“The whole thing was hugely impactful. First of all, your earning capacity is practically gone. I actually had a doctor tell me I should go on disability benefit for life. But try telling that to someone who has a young family to support, someone who loves to work and is always thinking of the next project.

I was doing mindfulness long before it was fashionable and I meditate every single day

“The medication turned my system down, I was put in the slow lane but my brain was still speeding up the motorway, it was so frustrating. I learned a hard lesson though, you just can’t fast track that rehabilitation process.”

Brian credits the Headspace app for helping him. “I was doing mindfulness long before it was fashionable and I meditate every single day. I’ve been known to meditate in the strangest places, the toilet cubicles at Bloom before going on stage or backstage at festivals. But it really does help to calm the mind.”

Proof in the pudding

His work as a community chef and in community gardens also helped, as has writing his cookbook Donegal Table.

“Cooking to improve your health and appreciating the past, the recipes in my book helped me to deal with a lot of things.”

The book was certainly a project of passion, celebrating the joy of Donegal as well as cooking “the way your grandmother used to”, but even Brian – in fact especially Brian – could not predict the international success that this publication would bring.

“Every year, publishers submit books to the international Gourmand Cookbook Awards and I didn’t think twice when O’Brien Press sent mine. But when they came back and told me I had been shortlisted; I was honestly gobsmacked.

“The awards were taking place in Macoa in China in July and I said to Brenda, ‘We have to go’.

"Look I was up against chefs like Mauro Colagreco who wrote Mirazur. His restaurant in the south of France was voted best in the world so my expectations were very low.

So when I saw Donegal Table come up on the screen, well you talk about heart attacks, honestly, my heart lost a beat.

Surf’n’turf sliders.

“The next two days were amazing, being rolled out to the international media, but it was the homecoming organised by the girls that was most special.

"We knew we were coming home to a family dinner but when we arrived into town, there was so many people out on the street, I thought there was a funeral until I realised they were cheering for us.”

Between the hotel and the book, life is certainly busy and we finish by asking Brian how his health, and his heart, has coped with all the excitement.

“It’s good, I’m good but I am not naïve. I’ll be completely honest. I do feel like I am rushing to get everything done, to build a great hotel to have a secure future for my girls and to make sure they are all OK. Because I do fear that my life will be cut short.

“And I have no facts to back that up except for a niggly feeling based on the health challenges I have faced before the age of 43.

"So it’s a balancing act, a tightrope that I walk every day to live life to the full and build a legacy for my family while at the same time realising that I have more health limitations than most. But it’s a tightrope that I hope to walk for many years to come.”