Oliver Dunne: Feeding 7,000 people at the Taste of Dublin festival
Oliver Dunne could be forgiven for acting like his former boss Gordon Ramsay and throwing the odd wobbly next weekend, given the work he will have on his plate. For Taste of Dublin, Dunne will be serving about 7,000 portions of food and giving a masterclass in breadmaking - all while keeping the show on the road at Bon Appétit, his restaurant in Malahide, Co Dublin. As he says: "It's going to be a fair old juggling session."
Born in 1977, Dunne began his career making pizzas at Gotham Cafe in Dublin, then did stints at Peacock Alley, the Clarence and Roly's Bistro before honing his skills in London. "I thought I knew everything when I went there, and really I knew nothing. I just put my head down for the first two years. I had no friends and no family there. I was the first one in and the last one out each day." He spent six years in the city, working with Ramsay, Gary Rhodes, Anthony Demetre and others.
In 2003 Dunne returned to Dublin, taking charge of Mint in Ranelagh; within six months it was named Ireland's best new restaurant. "I enjoyed it, but I didn't want to tie myself down to a 40-seat restaurant, so when the opportunity arose last year to take over at Bon Appétit I jumped at it."
This is Dunne's first Taste of Dublin. "We didn't do any PR when Bon Appétit opened, so this is a good opportunity for us to get our name out, but the logistics for anyone involved are staggering. We will do 1,800 dishes per day for four days. Most of the restaurants taking part are in the city centre, but because we are coming from out of town I will have to do most of the work on site on a six-ring burner. If you choose the wrong dish you're in trouble. I've picked two fish dishes: a sea-bass escabesche and a deep-fried crab spring roll. The dishes are a little smaller than a starter, the idea being that you keep people moving around the restaurants. Even so, you need something that can be executed flawlessly on a very, very large scale."
In conversation with Michael Kelly.
Taste of Dublin is at Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, from next Thursday until next Sunday; www.tasteofdublin07.ie. See also pages 20-22