‘Are you that fella who was cooking on RTÉ last night?’
TV chef and M&S food ambassador Mark Moriarty, talks to Donna Ahern about fronting the ‘Farm to Foodhall’ campaign and the inspiration behind his cuisine
Print29 August 2024
Can you tell me about your role as a brand ambassador for M&S?
About three or four years ago M&S and I started doing a few small few bits together. The relationship had been slowly building over the years and that has culminated, in the last two years to the Farm to Foodhall campaign which started last summer and ran again this year.
The whole focus really for M&S was moving really towards the very best of Irish suppliers, bearing in mind they are known for high quality food and always have been, to the point when I was working at a restaurant in Dublin, if we were stuck for a few bits, we would run invariably over to M&S on Grafton Street.
Since COVID I moved out of the restaurant environment to bring high end home cookery and to work on my books and then my TV shows. It started to become a perfect fit, as my food is accessible; delicious food that is also high quality using good ingredients and that is what M&S do.
What inspired you to become a chef?
I was big into fishing when I was a kid, my first actual love was catching fish. As well as that I enjoyed growing vegetables and herbs in the back garden in fish boxes. There was a couple of houses up here in Dublin that would have had small veg gardens in their back garden. I used to sort of jump in and help out in return for some of whatever was harvested.
Looking back, my initial love really was ingredients. It was during a generation when Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Heston Blumenthal were coming on TV, which gave birth to that celebrity chef idea, so I had access then to learn how to cook all of these ingredients that I was really interested in. It took off from there.
As a TV chef, who would you consider to be your biggest inspiration?
Since my TV shows has gone out, I obviously have received a lot of feedback every year on what people like about them (they obviously like something about them as we are in season five now.)
The thing that people seem to like most about my TV shows is that it is simple food but there an explanation as to why.
My favourite programme was ’In Search of Perfection’ by Heston Blumenthal which ran on the BBC in probably 2006. And what I loved about him was that he had three Michelin stars at the time and had the number one restaurant in the world, yet he was cooking these extremely simple dishes but going into the whole background of where they came from, and the best way to treat the produce to create a plate of the best spaghetti bolognaise or the best steak and chips.
As a fan of Blumenthal have you ever tried to recreate his infamous Snail Porridge?
No, I don’t think that would fly now on RTE (he laughs).
So, what stood out to you about him?
What I did love about him on his TV shows is that he was a great communicator. So, he was able to explain these cheffy techniques and the science behind food, for a wide variety of audiences.
My parents would listen and watch, and I was struck by how someone who was so well regarded in the restaurant industry was also becoming so well regarded to the public.
And I think that’s kind of stuck with me in terms of how I tried to present and obviously, I come from a very high-end restaurant background. It’s taking the sort of tips and tricks from there but being able to explain why you’re doing things for a wider audience is the magic of the food I do on TV and in the books.
The last restaurant that you worked at was the Greenhouse restaurant. Did you enjoy your time being apart of team that was awarded two Michelin stars?
Yeah, we won two Michelin stars, the last in 2019 so it was brilliant to be a part of I loved the long days and the team atmosphere and of working at that exceptionally high level. For me it’s the TV and books that people have really taken to which is also great.
How did winning the the San Pellegrino young chef of the year, and of course, being listed on the Forbes 30, under 30, change your career?
It certainly opened up a lot more doors, I don’t know if it sorts of changed my career from a path that it was already on. What it did was it accelerated us. And it gave me a lot more sort of opportunities.
Like when I won San Pellegrino I was doing pop ups around Dublin on my days off and in the Greenhouse on Sunday and when I won that I partnered with them to bring my pop up restaurant around the world. We did 12 events in 12 different cities. And so I got to work in all of these cities in every continent in the world, work in the best restaurants and meet the best chefs and try all the different food. That’s something I’ve taken with me in the last few years, you must travel and taste to keep progressing and keep having new ideas.
And then from the Forbes Under 30 perspective, it’s been great. I set up my business, my company nine years ago. So having that on the CV certainly opens up avenues to all sorts of new work.
Where do you see the future of Irish cuisine heading?
Mushrooms are an amazing product. I mean it grows and pretty much 24 hours and it’s very much the food of the future. And it’s been produced to some absolute world class quality. They are well produced, versatile and flavoursome and it’s got good fleshy texture.
Are there any upcoming projects or goals that you are excited about?
The ‘From Farm to Foodhall’ campaign. It showcases to the Irish families, the Irish people that are fourth generation who work hard every week, every month, every year to produce the food, and it gives them a lot more respect for what they’re actually buying.
Can you tell me something about yourself that people might not know about you?
I got so bored of running and obviously you must keep them in good shape when you’re doing TV work and whatnot, I’ve gone back this year to play Gaelic football after 16 years away in division 10 South Dublin league.
It’s funny because of course I was doing the TV shows at the time. I play centre half forward and there were times when the referees would be looking at me kind of funny throughout the match.
After the match they would come up to me and say: “Are you that fella who was cooking on RTÉ last night?”
Read more: On and off the rugby pitch with Beibhinn Parsons
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