Irish-born celebrity chef Richard Corrigan who said he was "still in shock" last night after being chosen to make the starter in a banquet for the Queen of England to mark her 80th birthday has confirmed that he will be opening his first restaurant outside London in Co Kildare later this year.
The Old Mill will be located in the restored Lyons Village on Dr Tony Ryan's estate.
Corrigan, from Ballivor, Co Meath, is one of Britain's most celebrated chefs having made his reputation at Lindsay House in Soho. Last year he revamped the long-established Bentley's in London's West End.
The 39-year-old Irishman represented Northern Ireland in the viewers-choice competition among Britain's top chefs, broadcast in the Great British Menu programme on BBC television. He won last night with a dish of smoked salmon with blinis, woodland sorrel and wild cress.
Regarding his plans to open up in Ireland he said he had been interested in opening in Ireland for some time and was recently rumoured to be on the brink of signing a deal with the Shelbourne Hotel. The Old Mill will be a 70-seater restaurant, with 26-year-old Irishman Paul Collins in charge of the kitchen. Collins has worked with Marcus Wareing at Petrus and The Savoy Grill in London.