Kieran Murphy, ice-cream entrepreneur
I was brought up in New York. . . and feel lucky to have experienced life at one of the world's main crossroads.
My father's from Cork. . . but we kept coming to Dingle. It has a magnetic field for us Murphys.
What made me stay was. . . stunning landscape, rich culture, wonderful people, and cosmopolitan for such a small town.
Selling ice-cream in Ireland is. . .a bit tricky. There's an idea that ice-cream has to be a certain thing at a certain price. We, however, believe ice-cream can be anything, as long as it is really good.
Our plans for the business . . .We would love to bring Murphys Ice Cream shops to France if we can find a suitable partner.
I enjoy the creative side of the business. . . especially time playing in the ice-cream kitchen.
My brother Sean. . . is indispensable to me and the business. He keeps us going in the right direction, and builds the teams that are the face and personality of Murphys.
My favourite flavour of ice-cream is. . . chocolate chip – simple and delicious.
And I like to eat it. . . with coffee or dark chocolate ice-cream.
Our sea salt ice-cream came about .. . when I was asked to send in a summer recipe for this magazine. I thought the ultimate taste of summer was salt water on the lips after a dip in the sea and I tried to recreate that sensation.
I'm a bit of a coffee addict. . . and since coffee is a big part of our business, we're always tasting and tinkering and usually over-caffeinated.
My favourite places to eat are .. . my own dining room with my family, Chapter One or Thorntons for a special occasion, or the beach.
If I wasn't doing this . . .I'd be training as a gondoliere, since my partner's Venetian.
When I'm not working. . . I like to spend time with my daughter, rediscovering the joy of simple things.
My earliest food memory is. . . eating raspberries by the fistful from our little garden in New York.
The best thing I've ever eaten is. . . lobster steamed in seaweed in an old barrel over an open fire at a beach party .
My dream dinner party guests would be. . . Oscar Wilde, Cleopatra, Naomi Wolf, Socrates, John Cleese, Mary Magdalene, and Daniel O'Connell.
And I'd cook them . .. a selection of local fish and plenty of sweet things.
Five things I always have in my pantry are. . . chocolate, eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla.
I'm passionate about. . . truth, beauty, goodness, and perfectly ripe mangos.
I often imagine myself .. . right here, doing what I'm doing.
Not many people know this about me, but .. . I rode a unicycle to school.
My guilty pleasure is . . .sleeping late.
In conversation with Marie-Claire Digby
