‘There is nothing like the energy in a restaurant’

Foodies across Dublin will be counting down the days till Gourmet Food Parlour opens to outside dining as Covid restrictions ease. None more so than founder Lorraine Heskin.

Despite doing a roaring take-out trade, she can’t wait to welcome customers back properly.

“We miss the plates, we miss the wine glasses, most of all we miss the service – in hospitality and restaurants, the service is the heart and soul of it,” says Heskin.

The Galway woman founded the business in 2006, having previously worked in New York for a speciality food distributor, where she fell in love with the sector.

Gourmet Food Parlour’s philosophy of supporting Irish suppliers and producers, and making everything fresh onsite every day, proved a winner.

Within two years, she had opened a second venue, in Malahide. Today she has six restaurants in Dublin, including Swords, its HQ, and Skerries, as well as one in Salthill, Galway. In 2018, she built a 5,000sq catering kitchen in Santry and, prior to the pandemic, had a fleet of 14 vans on the road servicing a devoted catering clientele.

She developed a sports nutrition catering division too, becoming a trusted supplier to GAA clubs and rugby teams, and, in time, outgrew her original Dún Laoghaire premises and moved to premises seating 100 diners.

Everything was going swimmingly for a business that employed 300 people, until the pandemic.

‘Slow burn’

“We actually closed two weeks before the official lockdown last March, simply because of the general nervousness,” says Heskin.

As soon as it felt safe, she launched as a takeaway service. “It was a slow burn at first, spread by word of mouth, and then just took off,” she recalls.

The business reopened briefly last summer and, when the second lockdown came, “We had all that takeaway experience under our belt to build on, though it was tough for the team to have to lay people off again.”

When the restaurants reopened for Christmas, “there was terrific energy but still a nervousness”, she recalls.

Since Christmas, it has been open for takeaway and though she did trial a drive-through, that didn’t work. “It has been a roller coaster and a huge learning curve for so many different aspects of our business,” says Heskin.

The day we open those doors and bring the customers back in will be such a special one

“It’s been all about having to adapt and turn the business around, having to try things and test things out, having to play around with menus to see what works.”

Its takeaway success was a godsend in a difficult time.

“The fact that my vans from my catering business were on the road doing takeaway deliveries was a blessing because it meant I didn’t have to pay a third party to do it. It kept my team working and the brand alive,” she says.

From June 7th, in line with government guidelines, Gourmet Food Parlour will reopen to outdoor diners in all its locations. That date can’t come quickly enough for the team. “We’re just so excited for the next step,” says Heskin.

‘Loyal customers’

“I actually get very emotional when I think about the support our loyal customers have given us over the past 12 months. Even before I could get my head around what to put on the takeout menus for example, they were getting in touch to say ‘oh you have to put the wings on the menu’ and ‘where else will we get our soup and sandwiches?’ They gave us the motivation to get things back going again.”

She can’t say enough about her team either, which helped her navigate through what were – and indeed still are – unchartered waters.

“I’ve learned more about myself as a person, and as a professional, in the past 12 months than I ever did in my 44 years. I was never the kind of person to take anything for granted before this, but the crisis forced me to adapt to such an extent that I feel now that if anything were ever to happen to us again, we could cope. That is thanks to the support of my team, and of our customers, which is a source of immense pride for me,” she says.

To succeed in the restaurant sector is not easy, even in good times. “You put your heart and soul into your business and to see it dangled in front of you is incredibly stressful. To have come this far has given me confidence, a newfound energy and new motivation.”

She can’t wait to welcome her customers back. “There is nothing like the energy in a restaurant. When you see happy customers and a happy team, you just can’t beat it,” says Heskin.

“We’ve been held back from that energy now for a long while. The day we open those doors and bring the customers back in will be such a special one.”

Hang Dai’s Will Dempsey: ‘It’s going to be great’

Hang Dai caused a stir on the restaurant scene when it first opened in 2016, on Dublin’s Camden Street, and with good reason.

It combined knock-out food with a stunning interior: what looks like a typical Chinese takeaway at the front soon gives way – speakeasy style – to one of the city’s most amazing restaurant spaces. It combines tables in a subway carriage, an elegant cocktail bar and – come 11pm – a full-on 1980s disco.

With that level of innovation behind it, it is no wonder owner Will Dempsey managed to flex and adapt to the pandemic. “We closed for three weeks last March, reopened as a takeaway and have been going ever since,” he says. “We’re one of the lucky ones. The takeaway success meant we were able to keep 70 per cent of our staff working full time and the bills paid.”

It's looking like things might be back to normal by the end of summer

He is now set to launch its latest iteration, in line with government guidelines. The restaurant’s terraced Gold Bar upstairs has an outdoor space that seats 15-20 people, which will reopen from June 8th at 5pm “until late” on Tuesday through to Thursday, and at Fridays and weekends from 1pm.

Open window

“We’re also taking out the front window onto the street and launching Hawker at Hang Dai, serving authentic street food just like you’d get from a hawker stall in Hong Kong or China,” says Dempsey.

He is teaming up with other restaurants and bars in this vibrant corner of Camden Street to launch a range of outdoor offerings, guaranteed to cause a buzz. The plan is to secure permission from the city council to take over parking spaces outside, and create a fun and fully socially distanced destination.

For lovers of Chinese cuisine it’ll be an opportunity to enjoy the cuisine of new head chef Adam Dunn, a native of Sydney, Australia, and formerly second in command at that city’s iconic restaurant Rockpool Bar & Grill.

“I’m really lucky to have him on board,” says Dempsey, who can feel the buzz beginning to mount as the vaccine rollout continues. It means Hang Dai will once more be back in full swing at the heart of a great night out.

Little wonder, he’s feeling optimistic. “It’s looking like things might be back to normal by the end of summer. It’s going to be great.”