I spent most of my time mitching from my school in Letterkenny - I was too busy working in local kitchens, learning how to chop vegetables and prepare really basic things like soup and bread. My parents didn't realise what I was up to for a year or two, but they did become suspicious when they realised that I was coming home with a few pounds in my pocket and no homework.

However, they were very supportive of my interest in anything to do with food and restaurants and didn't put any pressure on me to pursue a more academic career.

I went to Killybegs Catering College where I learned more technique and acquired some basic recipes for things like pastry, stocks and sauces. Some of these skills I've never used, but it's necessary to know how to use them.

I think it's very important to have basic cookery training. Having even a basic knowledge gives you the confidence to go into a new job or higher position and be able to work really well.

After college, I went to Renvyle House in Galway and worked with Tim O'Sullivan, who was a great influence on me. I spent seven years in New York followed by a year in Monte Carlo.

Although I did a hotel management course in New York, I've always found that for me, the best education involves working in top restaurants and hotels, travel and talking in depth to various experts - in accountancy and banking for example.

Being in business for four years has taught me plenty - some of it good, some of it bad. Whatever I've done, I've always tried to learn from my own and other people's mistakes. I have a lot of determination and I go to work each day with the sole intention of bettering both myself as a chef and the business as a whole. I never had that sort of enthusiasm for school.

My energy and drive has been directed towards the catering industry. I'm lucky that I was driven as a teenager. For me, education, degrees and diplomas weren't particularly important. It was more a case of working hard and getting plenty of experience.

Nowadays I get CVs into the restarurant and they are full of information about all the different courses, awards and diplomas they've acquired. To be perfectly honest, I'm more interested in a person who can show me ambition, an ability to work hard and a passion for what they do. When it comes down to it, the rest is all just bits of paper.

Conrad Gallagher is one of Ireland's leading chefs. His restaurant, Peacock Alley, has recently moved to the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin. The Conrad Gallagher empire also includes two brasseries - Christopher's and Lloyds.