Chef Adrian Martin thanks his Cavan roots for inspiring his new restaurant menu.
The Bawnboy lad opened a restaurant called Wildflower on Richmond Street earlier this week.
He told Dublin Live: “We opened on Wednesday night, it’s been crazy but there’s been great response from guests and I’m very happy it’s finally open, there’s a sense of relief there.
“I started working with Neven Maguire in Blacklion when I was 14.
“For me, food is all about memories and when I go to a restaurant, I like to be reminded of something. So our job here is to trigger memories, most Irish people are very familiar with their grandmothers baking in the kitchen at home and going to visit them on a Sunday.
“We had the tradition of visiting my Granny in Bailieborough and everything would’ve been baked at home like apple tart, fresh bread, the whole works.
“We’ve a couple of dishes dedicated to that. Our sourdough bread smells like Guinness because that’s what my Grandad used to drink.
“My Granny made butter so we make our own too. She used to sit churning cream and drain it, she used to go to so much effort years ago to cook and I just love that.
"So when I eat the bread, it triggers the memory for me when I was a six year old sitting there and all the smells around me.
“We had a French lady in and we had a pork dish, she was crying at the table and said her dad passed away and this is exactly how he cooked. It really hit home for all the staff.
“I’ve kept my Cavan accent for sure and I still go to all the GAA matches, I don’t miss one. I was in Carrick last week and Breffni recently too.
“I've family from Kingscourt based in Dublin, my uncle and aunty, we always meet up and stick together. I always stick to my roots, Cavan is the most relaxing place. I still go home most weekends to my parents and I switch off, getting the washing done is the best part.”
Despite cooking from such a young age, Adrian was embarrassed to do Home Economics in school and regrets that decision.
He said: “I went to school in Ballinamore. I was afraid of my life to do Home Economics in case I got bullied, so I kind of kept it a secret when I was working in a restaurant, I never told any of the lads.
“The ones from school found out I was a chef when I did the Six O’Clock show when I was 23. I wanted to do Home Ec and I’d love it if they made it compulsory. It covers a huge area of knowledge for kids, they learn how to cook, the layout of the kitchen is so important to know about too, how it works too, how to efficiently cook.”
Wildflower Restaurant combines old world charm with a contemporary menu and sustainable ethos.
Adrian’s mission is to provide food as nature intended, focussing on sustainability, foraging, fermentation and quality local produce, and offering a passion for fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere.
He said: “We use SSI, Sustainable Seafoods Ireland for all our fish. For instance, we get scallops but they dredge the ocean and disrupt the habitats, it would damage the reproduction which is unsustainable practice but we source suppliers who go out twice a week and dive in off the bay.
“Cod is one of the most unsustainable fish because of overfishing and a lot of it goes into the landfill but we get line caught cod, it’s way more expensive but it’s more sustainable.
“We’ve a full vegan menu that’s totally plant based, we’re finding foraged foods. There’s a lot of stuff growing in hedges at home in Cavan and that’s where I’d pick them, all the forest areas, areas around lakes all have the ingredients on the menu.
“I’ve land at home and we’re in the process of planting organic food there so we can have homegrown vegetables.”
You can visit wildflowerrestaurant.ie for more information or keep up to date with the latest news by following Wildflower Restaurant on Instagram here .
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