CELEB chef Mark Moriarty has said his biggest fear is that independent restaurants will continue to close, leaving just multinational chains.
Due to rising costs in rent, food and insurance and elevated interest rates, many eateries have been forced to shut their doors.
Coal in Blackrock, Dublin, fell victim to the cost-of-living crisis in February after eight years, as did Manifesto in Rathmines, which had been in business for two decades.
In Cashel, Rock House Restaurant ceased trading after 30 years and Greene’s Restaurant in Cork declared it was its “last service” on February 25.
Mark told The Irish Sun: “I feel for these people. I’m just hoping that something can be done. I just don’t know what that is — to save the neighbourhood restaurants, places that the public can go into, have a great meal and enjoy themselves.
“If you lose them, where’s the culture in our cities and towns? If it all becomes chains and multi-nationals then where is the Irish restaurant and pub going to be in ten, 15, 20 years? That’s my biggest fear. But one thing I do know in this industry is, if we get the right support, there are very creative, very hard-working people who will make it work.
“They’ll create employment and look after people no matter what.
“Hopefully it will improve in the next year or two, and they will still be there in the next five, six years.”
Mark released his debut cookbook, Flavour, last year and presents RTÉ One’s Off Duty Chef, which returned for a fifth series earlier this month. But he says his time working in restaurants taught him skills that can be transferred to any other career.
He said: “I couldn’t think of a better first job, the skills you learn in a restaurant, whether it be front of house or in the kitchen, are adaptable to every single other job you will ever do, plus your everyday life.
“It requires determination, resilience and how to deal with people. I tell young people to go get a job in a restaurant because you’ll learn some of life’s great skills.”
For Off Duty Chef: Bringing It Home, Mark filmed at his parents’ place in Ventry, Kerry, and focuses on simple, everyday ingredients that were easily accessible during the Covid pandemic.
He said: “Our 2km radius [during Covid] was Ventry, the weather was beautiful, no one was around and there was that sense of tranquillity. It’s nice to be able to bring it to life on the screen.
“Viewers will see it’s not intimidating, it’s not a chef showing off what he can do, because that’s not practical for people.
“Usually they’re recipes people might actually already be making, they’re really simple things — it’s just showing you how to make them better, how to do it quicker, how to save money.
“It’s not about coming up with recipes with farfetched ingredients and fancy names, it’s the tried and tested Irish repertoire.”
