Declan Ryan
The chef and baker who occupies a place of unique importance in Irish cooking.
Fifty years ago, in the first edition of the Guide Michelin to Great Britain and Ireland, Declan Ryan of the Arbutus Lodge in Cork became the first Irishman to be awarded a Michelin star.
The public reaction was profoundly underwhelming.
“We couldn’t even get a story in The Cork Examiner,” explains Declan.
Some years later, Arbutus won 3 Stars from the Egon Ronay Guide and won the award for the most outstanding wine cellar in Great Britain and Ireland. In London, it was a front page story in The Times.
The Cork Examiner ran a story on page 7.