Derry Clarke L'Écrivain, Dublin

Michelin-star chef Derry Clarke is the owner of 'L'Écrivain' in Dublin with his wife Sallyanne. Anyone who takes dining out seriously will have heard of Clarke's Baggot Street restaurant which has been consistently in the forefront of fine dining for many years and it has garnered awards from all corners.

Derry Clarke believes in keeping things simple and this means that he has to use the best ingredients. “If you want to cook a carrot simply, then it has to be a really good carrot. A watery, forced, tasteless root won't do, so everything is sourced to ensure that only the best goes into the kitchen. Chefs like to think that they're the creators, the people who make a good meal happen, the progress-makers, but they couldn't do it without the raw ingredients. It's the producers of the ingredients that start the ball rolling. They're the horse and we're the cart”.