Hugh Higgins shares his life in food, from his earliest memories to his favourite flavours and culinary inspirations.
With an award-winning food hall, restaurant, wine cellar and event space, Hugh and the team at Fallon & Byrne are celebrating 20 years of the company in business this summer. Here he shares with us his life in food.
What are your earliest memories of food?
Sitting around a table and fighting with my brothers, to be honest. I’m the youngest of four boys. My memories of food were always chaos, maybe that’s why I became a chef. We all played sports, and we all ate a lot. My dad did all the cooking growing up. He loved anything minced: meat loaf, shepherd’s pie, bolognese. They were hearty meals and they kept us well fed, which was really important. I cook a lot of one-pot dishes now for my own family.
How would you describe your relationship with food?
Food for me has always been something that brings people together. It’s very important to me. I did my thesis on the importance of the family meal and the benefits that it brings. I think about food all the time. I wake up thinking about it. I spend most of my money on food. In recent years, since becoming a Dad, I’ve become more health-conscious, and make sure I’m eating a balanced diet. A far cry from surviving mostly on Berocca and jellies in the earlier years of my career!
What was the first meal you learned to cook?
Beans on toast.
How did working with food become your career?
I did work experience in a kitchen when I was in school, and that’s where it all started. I fell in love with the industry before I fell in love with food. You learn so much by working with people from different places and of different cultures. When I started the fine dining element of my career, that’s when I started really learning about food itself, and I had a desire then to learn as much about food as I possibly could, which took me to London and New York, which were very formative. But mainly it’s always been the people. The bond you build in the kitchen is so unique. You might spend 16 hours a day with these people, and you tend to develop a really strong bond, which has always been a strong pull for me.
What’s your go-to breakfast?
I usually don’t have breakfast but I’ve been into breakfast tacos recently with chorizo, roast potatoes and feta cheese. The purple corn tacos we have in the Food Hall at Fallon & Byrne are really good. You really can’t beat a classic Irish breakfast either.
If you’re impressing friends and family at a dinner party, what are you serving up?
Generally when people are coming over, I do a one-pot wonder because you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen when everyone’s over. But to impress people, last year we hosted a BBQ with a few good friends. We did a whole braised lamb shoulder that we finished on the grill, and served with some pitta and sauces, dips and salads which went down well.
Who is your culinary inspiration?
It’s changed over the years I would say. I have always like Peter Gilmore of Quay in Sydney. Ignacio Mattos of Estela is someone I seem to come back to a lot and what Nick Cortola is doing is great.
What would your last meal on earth be?
A really nice tomato salad (specifically McNally’s tomatoes), when they’re in the peak of their season and haven’t seen a fridge yet. Salt, vinegar, good olive oil, a bit of cheese, Don Bocarte anchovies, and some torn basil – eating that sitting out in the sun. Maybe some grilled turbot too. Nice wine, good music, great company.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Anything pasta. My mother would always make me a pasta dish with mascarpone, cream and tomato sauce for my birthday as a kid.
What’s the go-to quick meal you cook when you’re tired and hungry?
My fridge is full of condiments, which helps with this situation. Lately it’s been roast courgette, butter bean, nduja with some pecorino and pine nuts.
What is one food or flavour you cannot stand?
Rosewater. It doesn’t taste like it should be in food to me.
Hangover cure?
In the morning, coffee and a shower, get up and go, maybe a good breakfast sandwich with a load of mustard on it gets me through. After that, there’s a great Indian restaurant around the corner from me called Swaad. I like a jalfrezi or a biryani.
Sweet or savoury?
Savoury because if I start on sweet, I can’t stop. I have a terrible sweet tooth. I worked on pastry sections in the past and found it hard to control myself around all the sweet things. But if I had to choose, I’d pick savoury every time.
Fine dining or pub grub?
Pub grub. If you had asked me that earlier in my career, I would have said fine dining but my relationship with food has changed over the years. Now I prefer more casual dining and the beauty of how it brings people together. Fine dining has become a little bit exclusionary due to how expensive it can be. In saying that, those experiences last with you forever, and there is a reason they are as expensive as they are. I’ve spent a long time working in fine dining, which I really enjoyed, and it taught me so much. When you’re working in fine dining and you see people so excited to come in and have a great time, it’s very rewarding, but personally, now I’d prefer a more casual experience.
Favourite restaurant in Ireland?
Forest Avenue. It just keeps getting better and better. It’s about time they won a star. John Wyer’s cooking is very raw and emotional. John was actually my mentor; I worked with him for seven years, and he taught me most of what I know. I worked in Forest Avenue early in my career and was the first chef working there alongside John when they opened. What they’re doing now is brilliant. John instilled that produce-led way of cooking in me from a young age.
Best coffee in Ireland?
I go to Kaph every day. I love Kaph. I’ve been going there for 10 years since they opened. Another favourite would be Unfiltered in Inchicore; it’s great to have a coffee shop doing that kind of next-level coffee experience. Single-origin coffee that changes regularly with different flavour profiles. The coffee comes out to you with a digital probe and they advise not to drink it until the probe hits 50°C, which is when the flavours really come out. Highly recommend a visit.
What are your thoughts on the Irish food scene?
It’s in a very good place now. Ireland is having its big moment on the world stage in lots of ways: music, sport, and food. People are coming here for the food a lot more than they would have in the past. The standard is so high here now. There was a misconception years ago that Irish food wasn’t good, and it wasn’t true then, and it certainly isn’t true now. The standard of restaurants is generally very high. You can’t afford to be serving mediocre food now when there is so much competition. We benefit so much here in Ireland from the high-quality produce – it’s fantastic. A lot of the great producers around are creating the best produce in the world – just look at our oysters, cheese, beef, and seafood. Restaurants now also have such a clear identity and understanding of who they are, which makes dining out so enjoyable. The average diner has also become a lot more discerning over the last few decades, and they expect a higher quality. Overall, Ireland is in a very good place.
What’s your favourite thing about cooking?
It’s a great escape for me. You just focus on what you’re doing, and it really takes you into the moment. It’s one thing I’ve always loved about working in restaurants: each day has a start and finish. You come in, do your prep, do your service, do your clean up, and tomorrow is a brand new day. Each day has a start and a finish, and you can leave work at work.
What does food — sitting down to a meal with friends, mindfully preparing a meal, nourishment, etc — mean to you?
There are very few other ways I want to spend my time than doing that. And whether that is a very fancy meal or something casual around the kitchen table, there’s something primal about it. As I’ve gotten older, I do focus a little more on the nourishment aspect of food and how powerful it can be to pick the right or wrong food.
Food for thought — What are some areas for improvement within the Irish food/restaurant/hospitality scene?
It would be great if there was more support for small independent businesses that are making a culturally significant impact on the Irish food scene. The cost of producing food has gone up substantially in the past few years. The cost of labour, food, heating, electricity, rents, rates, VAT, makes it so much more difficult to deliver an excellent dining experience that customers are willing to pay for. It’s also becoming more challenging to attract people to join this industry, which is a shame, as it’s a wonderful industry to work in.
The number of closures of small Irish hospitality businesses of the last few years has been alarming, and these are being replaced by larger international operators, which is not always the best thing for the city.
It’s a tough industry to make it work financially, but with the people who work hard every day cooking, cleaning, hosting and serving and doing it for the love of hospitality, making memories and putting smiles on customers’ faces, they will keep it all going.
Chef’s kiss — Tell us about one standout foodie experience you’ve had recently.
I went to The French Laundry in California a few years ago. My expectations were extremely high before I went, and I was worried that if it fell short, it would be really disappointing after all of the anticipation. The stakes are particularly high heading into a restaurant like that. It exceeded every single expectation; it was completely faultless. From the moment we walked in, the service, the speed of courses coming out, interaction with the staff, and the food – everything was phenomenal. We got a tour of the kitchen afterwards, too. Even things that have been on the menu since the 90’s are still unbelievable. For a famous restaurant like that, that has become an institution, to still be at the top of their game decades later is incredibly impressive.
Compliments to the chef — Now’s your chance to sing the praises of a talented chef, beloved restaurant or particularly talented foodie family member.
There are lots of incredible people working in this industry at the moment. Keelan Higgs at Variety Jones does some great stuff and is one of the best. He’s turned that corner of Thomas St into something very special. Simon & Liz from Uno Mas, Etto & Lena have created neighbourhood restaurants in the heart of the city that people love. The growers, producers and suppliers make everyone’s job that bit easier by giving us amazing produce.
Secret ingredient — What, in your estimation, makes the perfect dining experience?
The people you’re with. You can have the most perfect surroundings or space, but it’s about the people and the company you’re sharing the table with. Everything needs to work in harmony for it to be an excellent experience but the people you’re with are the most important part.