Monday was a day off for chefs, who have come from all corners of the country to attend the Bushmills Malt Irish Restaurant Awards ceremony - or annual "restaurant Oscars". Bacon and cabbage is about to be served to the gathering, but first there's time to meet friends, compare notes and talk about the wild, hectic life of a chef. Wearing dark shades and an open-neck white shirt, he looks like Aristotle Onassis: "Only he had the money," quips a smiling Derry Clarke, of Dublin's L'Ecrivain Restaurant. Clarke is enjoying the sun and his first holiday in four months. His wife, Sallyanne Clarke, says chefs need a spark of madness to ignite: "If they're not on the edge, they don't feel as if they're succeeding." L'Ecrivain scoops the best restaurant in Dublin award "for bringing dining in the capital to a dazzling new height".
Rory O'Connell, who is now involved with two restaurants in two different parts of the country - O'Connell's Restaurant in Ballsbridge and Ballymaloe House in Co Cork - makes you wonder about the special ingredient in the O'Connell genes. With his sister, Darina Allen, they have raised the meaning of "work ethic" to new heights. Dan Mullane, of The Mustard Seed Restaurant at Echo Lodge in Co Limerick agrees with O'Connell that maintaining the quality of food is their greatest challenge. Mullane is voted best restaurateur because "he possesses all the ingredients needed to ensure a successful recipe every time". "The main thing (for a restaurateur)," he says, "is to hold your standard. It's the most competitive business but it's the best industry."
Francis Brennan, noted genius from the Park Hotel in Kenmare, is sporting a gold handkerchief and a sparkling tanzanite tiepin. He started off in the Great Southern Hotel in Parknasilla, Co Kerry "as a pot boy", he recalls. Today his name is in the pot for an award in five different categories. For him, working in Kenmare is the best place to be. "I wouldn't leave it for all the money in China. I love it," he says. Before the day is out, he wins two awards, including best restaurant outside Dublin.
John Howard, of Le Coq Hardi, also sporting a bright yellow handkerchief and a yellow tie, has been in the business for 25 years. Originally from near Fenore in Co Clare, he's retiring at the end of the year and he plans to write a book. "Yes, there'll be some spice in it," he says, "because it's a book about food." As for all the famous diners he's had and all the publicity last year, he says: "they were just clients like everybody else. I just run a restaurant."
Henry O'Neill, head of the Restaurants' Association of Ireland, is beaming, rushing around with his blackthorn stick, delighted to be recovering from a successful hip replacement. Myles Tuthill, of the new Fado Restaurant in the Mansion House, is nervous. How will Ireland's leading chefs react to his restaurant, which is opening its doors for its first official function? The room, which was built in 1864, has been refurbished and restored to its former glory.