10 of Northern Ireland's best known chefs and what they are famous for
After being named Best Food Destination at the prestigious International Travel and Tourism Awards in London in 2018 and hosting the Year of Food and Drink in 2016, Northern Ireland has a reputation for high standards of food.
Many of the names on this list will be familiar to those who have followed NI chefs and gone to their fabulous restaurants.
Here is our list of 10 renowned NI chefs and what they are known for. Which one would you like to cook for you?
1. Michael Deane
Michael Deane is one of Northern Ireland’s most loved chefs and regarded by some to be the godfather of cooking in Belfast. He has held his Michelin Star for 13 years, the longest of any chef in Ireland. He currently owns five Belfast restaurants including Deanes at Queens, Meat Locker and EIPIC, his Michelin starred restaurant, all of which are popular dining destinations for locals and visitors alike. Photo: https://www.michaeldeane.co.uk/restaurateur/
2. Paul Rankin
Paul Rankin is the chef that earned a Northern Ireland restaurant its first Michelin star with his Belfast restaurant Roscoff alongside his wife Jeanne Rankin. Although this restaurant is now closed, Paul continues to influence the food landscape of Northern Ireland with his TV presence on both the BBC and RTE. He has been a regular chef on the BBC cookery programme Ready Steady Cook and in 2006 Rankin competed in the Northern Ireland heat of the BBC’s Great British Menu. Photo: https://twitter.com/chefpaulrankin/media
3. Noel McMeel
Chef Noel McMeel trained in both Northern Ireland and the US and has worked in some of America’s most famous restaurants including NYC’s Le Cirque and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. He has cooked for many celebrities from Barack Obama to Paul McCartney. Noel returned home and is now the Executive Head Chef at the luxurious Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen. Photo: https://twitter.com/NoelMcMeel/media?lang=en-GB
4. Jenny Bristow
Jenny Bristow, who is from Coleraine and now lives in Cullybackey, Co Antrim has been a successful TV chef and a best selling author of 14 cookery books. She has also reached the Sunday Times No.1 best selling author list. She has hosted her own cookery show, Jenny Bristow Cooks Gloriously Good Food, which began in 2001 and was broadcast on UTV. Photo: https://www.jennybristow.com/about/