What do Americans do when they can't find the food, or the coffee they like in Ireland? Set up their own business of course. CAROLINE BYRNEtalks to five Americans foodies

When Seattle-born Katie Cantwell (33) moved to Dublin the early noughties, it was to a tough job in the corporate world that left her little time for food shopping. Having spent time in San Francisco, she was used to having a choice of healthy food stores and cafes on her doorstep. In Dublin in 2003, she discovered that good food-to-go was not easy to find.

She had always wanted to have her own food business, and her entrepreneurial eye couldn’t help spying this potentially lucrative gap in the market. It was a gap she would seek to fill with KC Peaches, a cafe and food shop.

“I was working at the typical rate of an American expat, I didn’t have time to make healthy food for myself, and I got to the point where I realised this is something that would really work here.”

She found an Irish business partner and in 2005 quit her job, gave up her life in the US and returned to Ireland to open the first KCP on Pearse Street in Dublin.

Cantwell found herself in Ireland in the midst of its worst recession. “The climate was very poor, the attitude was very negative – there were challenges.” One of these was finding chefs, as many were leaving the country. Another was finding the resources to take on staff in the face of declining sales and employment regulations that make hiring difficult.

Cantwell battled economic doldrums, homesickness and Irish weather to work out her business plan. And she has been vindicated in her choice of business and Ireland as its location.

“It is a smaller place, compared to the likes of San Francisco, and so we’ve been acknowledged for the work we’ve done, especially with the great producers. There are amazing local producers here.”

For Thanksgiving Cantwell is “cooking up a turkey and all the trimmings” with her partner and friends in Dublin.

MICHELIN MOTIVATION

In a twist of irony, Caitlin Ruth (42) hails from Dublin, New Hampshire – the fifth smallest town in the US. As a young chef she moved to Europe to work in whichever of the best kitchens she could access.

In Antwerp she met an Irish man and this chance meeting brought her to Connemara in 1992, then to west Cork two years later, where she has lived and worked ever since. “It’s just more laid back, there’s more room to move. Irish people have more of a sense of humour about things. They don’t take themselves too seriously.” And neither does Ruth. Despite constant acclaim for her exceptional cookery, Ruth remains modest and easy-going.The move to west Cork, however, yielded good things for Ruth, and for Ireland’s food scene.

After a stint in Dillon’s in Timoleague, she moved on to Deasy’s in Ring, Clonakilty, which under her stewardship became one of Ireland’s “100 Best” and was recently included in Michelin’s Eating Out in Pubs guide .

Ruth, like other Americans, appreciates the relaxed approach and quality of life here. “If you work hard you can get what you want here, and I don’t mean material stuff. It’s so clean, so beautiful, everyone is nice, and everything seems obtainable.”

Although she will be working on Thanksgiving Day, Ruth and some friends plan on cooking a celebration dinner at Galley Head Lighthouse in Cork a few days earlier.

WINE AND OPPORTUNITY

Sean Gargano (38) is as Chicago as they come. While travelling, he visited Ireland in 1998, and never left.

Working in the restaurant trade from age of 14, he has spent most of his time here in that sector.

When he was at Thornton’s, he became serious about wine, and subsequently began a career as a restaurant wine manager and sales representative for Grapecircus.

“One thing I see as a sales rep is that people tend to underestimate the Irish consumer. They think they only want what they know, only give them pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, and this is so wrong.”

Also contrary to popular belief, Gargano finds Ireland’s smallness is an advantage in business.

“A lot of people know who I am here. If I want to get to someone, there’s always somebody that I know in between. If you want a network, no problem, you could have that in 10 minutes. It makes business more approachable – here you can carve yourself a little niche quite easily.”

Gargano appreciates our good fortune. “In this country you can come up from anywhere and make something of your life because you get a great education. That’s not the case in the US. I’ve had great opportunities here, I was able to go to university. Sometimes I look back and I realise how lucky I’ve had it.”

Gargano is celebrating Thanksgiving at home in Dublin with his partner and 10-month-old daughter, “and probably a Skype to home”.

COFFEE CULTURE

Jenn Rugolo (25) is a native of Annapolis, Maryland, and came to Ireland in 2009 to do a Master’s in music at UCC. Her original plan was to return to the US after the intensive one-year MA to pursue a career in music academia.

Three years later, she’s a rising star in Ireland’s coffee scene, working with master barista Colin Harmon in his Dublin-based coffee company 3FE (short for 3rd Floor Espresso, due to the location of the original cafe above music club Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street).

“When I was doing my research in the Twisted Pepper I realised that Dublin was a place where things were happening and things were changing.” Rugolo had sworn off working in the coffee business after experiencing the competitive arena in the US: “The ethos among some of the coffee community in the States can be a bit snobbish and very competitive, and I didn’t like that about it.”

With 3FE, however, she can indulge her passion for seasonal, bespoke blends without the need to berate customers for adding milk or sugar.

Ireland has turned up an unexpected path for Rugolo. “Coffee is only starting to come into its own here now. When 3FE opened it was one of maybe only three cafes that was reaching that level. Now you have around 10 or 12 that are working with speciality coffee and are really pushing it.” Ireland’s gain, according to Rugolo, is the lack of intense competitiveness. This freedom has been good for her.

“I might not have a PhD, I might not be teaching at university, but my family recognise that I have helped to create something. I’m happy with who I am and happy with myself.”

This year, Rugolo is celebrating Thanksgiving with a “full-on” home-cooked dinner with her Irish partner and friends in Dublin.

FOOD MEETS INTELLECT

Mei Chin (35) is a New Yorker. She has spent time in San Francisco, Paris and London, but she radiates Manhattan. Daughter of a professor of Confucian philosophy at Yale and step-daughter of a professor of Chinese history, she is an award-winning food writer and published fiction writer.

In 2011, when looking for somewhere to finish her latest work, Chin chose to move to Dublin.

“I think in part it was the writers. The likes of Edna O’Brien, Martin McDonagh – David Mitchell is living here – but I also wanted a change of scene.”

In addition to the rich literary environment, Chin was drawn to Dublin’s “dollhouse” prettiness.

“New York is not pretty, the US is not pretty. It’s vast and it’s new – I wanted to live somewhere with history.”

Ireland has not disappointed Chin. Like Gargano, Chin points out an aspect of Irish life we take for granted. “There are definitely class distinctions in Ireland but literacy and knowledge of history aren’t part of that. That is absolutely fascinating to me. Here you can speak to your electrician and discover that he used to sing Wagner and he’s read Alex Ross.”

Chin has been working the food festival circuit in Ireland and is becoming known to the home crowd. But what has really moved Chin in Ireland?

“Finding people with whom I can really have warm relationships, and that’s incredibly rare.”

Work commitments allowing, Chin will celebrate Thanksgiving with a big family dinner in San Francisco, where her brother and his family live.