Kevin Dundon
Encyclopedia
Kevin Dundon is an award-winning Irish
celebrity chef, television personality and author, known for featuring on television series such as Guerrilla Gourmet
and Heat
. He is the author of the book, Full On Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking and his recipes have been featured in publications such as the Sunday Tribune
and Weekend magazine in the Irish Independent
. He has also cooked for both a queen and both an Irish and a US President.
Dundon is the owner of Dunbrody Country House Hotel
, in County Wexford
, which also houses the Dunbrody Cookery School, the "signature chef" of an "Irish gastropub
" located in Walt Disney World
in Orlando, Florida
, and the "face" of Las Vegas
's Nine Fine Irishmen New York-New York Hotel located restaurant. He has appeared many times on both Irish, British
, Canadian
and American
television, including The Afternoon Show
on RTÉ One
, BBC One
's Saturday Kitchen
, UKTV
's Great Food Live
, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
, ESPN Cable and CBS
's The Saturday Early Show
.
after finishing school and completing a course at Dublin College of Catering, graduating in 1986. He began his career by working in The Old Schoolhouse, a restaurant in Dublin. He then had a job cooking on a cruise liner in the Caribbean
before furthering his career by spending eight years at the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
in Canada
, at the age of twenty-two becoming the youngest ever executive head chef in the company's history. Dundon returned to Ireland in 1994 and was named the executive chef at Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel
. He opened Dunbrody at the age of thirty, four years after this.
Irish gastropub in Disney World, Florida.
In 2006, Dundon published Full On Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking, his first cookery book. He began to feature regularly on The Afternoon Show.
On 17 March 2007, he featured on CBS's The Saturday Early Show.
In February 2008, Dundon featured in the first episode of Guerrilla Gourmet, a television series which had six professional chefs attempt to set up their own temporary restauarnt in an unusual location. He established his restaurant in Saint Saviour
's Boxing Club in Ballybeg
in the middle of Waterford
. Four of the fifty members of the boxing club prepare the food, including pigeon and tomato and poitín
soup, in the temporary kitchen.
In March 2008, he opened his second American restaurant in Kansas City
.
In July 2008, the reality television series, Heat, was launched. Two series of the programme have been produced, with Dundon taking on rival chef Kevin Thornton
in each. He was Heat Champion in the first series but lost the second series to Thornton.
In April 2009, he helped launch the outdoor Taste of Dublin festival alongside fellow chef Thornton. Dundon also demonstrated his cookery skills at Dungarvan Town Hall in County Waterford
as part of the second annual Waterford Festival of Food in April 2009.
frontman Bono
, President of Ireland
Mary McAleese
and BBC
television personality and actor Graham Norton
. Dundon has also cooked for monarchs and presidents, including Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
and former US
President
, George W. Bush
.
, County Wexford
, and in Beggar's Bush in Dublin when Dundon was executive chef at the Shelbourne Hotel. His favourite room in his current house is the kitchen.
Dundon has "a huge passion" for architecture. He collects Architectural Digest
and is always reading architectural magazines on airplanes. His favourite television programmes include Prison Break
and CSI
.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
celebrity chef, television personality and author, known for featuring on television series such as Guerrilla Gourmet
Guerrilla Gourmet
Guerrilla Gourmet is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The series features professional chefs from various backgrounds, such as Dylan McGrath and Kevin Dundon, who each take on a new challenge...
and Heat
Heat (TV series)
Heat is an Irish prime time reality television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The programme sees two professional chefs, Kevin Dundon and Kevin Thornton, attempt to train amateur participants to each compose a restaurant menu. Each chef has won one series each. Each series, of which there have so far...
. He is the author of the book, Full On Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking and his recipes have been featured in publications such as the Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
and Weekend magazine in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
. He has also cooked for both a queen and both an Irish and a US President.
Dundon is the owner of Dunbrody Country House Hotel
Dunbrody Country House Hotel
Dunbrody Country House Hotel is an Irish Georgian manor turned-restaurant in Arthurstown in New Ross, County Wexford, owned by the award-winning Irish celebrity chef Kevin Dundon and his wife Catherine...
, in County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, which also houses the Dunbrody Cookery School, the "signature chef" of an "Irish gastropub
Gastropub
Gastropub or Gastrolounge refers to a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food.The term gastropub, a portmanteau of gastronomy and pub, originated in England in the late 20th century. English pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food. If...
" located in Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, and the "face" of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
's Nine Fine Irishmen New York-New York Hotel located restaurant. He has appeared many times on both Irish, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television, including The Afternoon Show
The Afternoon Show
The Afternoon Show was Raidió Teilifís Éireann's live flagship daytime show. It ran from 2004 until May 2010. The programme was dropped by RTÉ as part of its new season of television in 2010, to be replaced by two afternoon programmes 4 Daily presented by Maura Derrane and The Daily Show hosted by...
on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
, BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen Live is a 90 minute cookery programme, which is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday mornings. It is currently presented by James Martin; previous presenters have included Antony Worrall Thompson and Gregg Wallace. The programme is currently produced by Cactus TV...
, UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
's Great Food Live
Great Food Live
Great Food Live, formerly Good Food Live, was a British magazine programme hosted by Jeni Barnett and broadcast on UKTVFood part of the UKTV Network between 2001 and 2007. Jeni Barnett was joined every day by a chef co-host...
, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, ESPN Cable and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The Saturday Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
.
Early career
Dundon was born in Dublin. He worked on a scholarship in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
after finishing school and completing a course at Dublin College of Catering, graduating in 1986. He began his career by working in The Old Schoolhouse, a restaurant in Dublin. He then had a job cooking on a cruise liner in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
before furthering his career by spending eight years at the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts. Currently, Fairmont operates properties in 18 countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, United Kingdom, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, at the age of twenty-two becoming the youngest ever executive head chef in the company's history. Dundon returned to Ireland in 1994 and was named the executive chef at Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel
Shelbourne Hotel
The Shelbourne Hotel is a famous hotel situated in a landmark building on the north side of St Stephen's Green, in Dublin, Ireland. Currently operated by Marriott International, the hotel has 265 rooms in total and reopened in March 2006 after undergoing an eighteen-month refurbishment.John...
. He opened Dunbrody at the age of thirty, four years after this.
Recent career
In May 2005, Dundon opened the Raglan RoadRaglan Road
Raglan Road can refer to:*"On Raglan Road," an Irish song based on a poem by Patrick Kavanagh*Raglan Road , a street in Dublin that gave the poem its name...
Irish gastropub in Disney World, Florida.
In 2006, Dundon published Full On Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking, his first cookery book. He began to feature regularly on The Afternoon Show.
On 17 March 2007, he featured on CBS's The Saturday Early Show.
In February 2008, Dundon featured in the first episode of Guerrilla Gourmet, a television series which had six professional chefs attempt to set up their own temporary restauarnt in an unusual location. He established his restaurant in Saint Saviour
Saint Saviour
-People:*Sanctus Salvator, a Latin dedication of churches or places to Jesus, translated in English as "Saint Saviour" or, more accurately, "Holy Saviour"*Saint Salvator of Horta, a Catalan saint*Saint Saviour -Schools:...
's Boxing Club in Ballybeg
Ballybeg
Ballybeg is a generic name given to small Irish towns. The name comes from the Gaelic words Baile Beag which literally means Little Town...
in the middle of Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
. Four of the fifty members of the boxing club prepare the food, including pigeon and tomato and poitín
Poitín
Poitín , anglicised as poteen, is a traditional Irish distilled, highly alcoholic beverage . Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot"...
soup, in the temporary kitchen.
In March 2008, he opened his second American restaurant in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
In July 2008, the reality television series, Heat, was launched. Two series of the programme have been produced, with Dundon taking on rival chef Kevin Thornton
Kevin Thornton (chef)
Kevin Thornton is an Irish celebrity chef, radio and television personality and author, known for featuring on television series such as Guerrilla Gourmet and Heat and characterised by a supposed dislike of chips and confirmed dislike of pizza. He has written the book Food for Life and had his...
in each. He was Heat Champion in the first series but lost the second series to Thornton.
In April 2009, he helped launch the outdoor Taste of Dublin festival alongside fellow chef Thornton. Dundon also demonstrated his cookery skills at Dungarvan Town Hall in County Waterford
County Waterford
*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
as part of the second annual Waterford Festival of Food in April 2009.
Celebrity clients
Dunbrody has been visited by U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
frontman Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television personality and actor Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
. Dundon has also cooked for monarchs and presidents, including Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and former US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Personal life
Dundon is married to Catherine O'Shea Dundon and the couple have three children: Emily, Sophie and Tom. Dundon and his family moved into their third Irish home, a new 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) house in Dunbrody, in March 2008 after three years waiting for it to be built. Dundon, wife and daughters had previously lived "over the shop" in Dunbrody, in a thatched cottage in Kilmore QuayKilmore Quay
Kilmore Quay is a fishing village near Duncormick, in County Wexford, Ireland. It has a population of 417.It is a fishing village, but its leisure facilities such as sailing, and sea angling charters are also of significant economic importance....
, County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, and in Beggar's Bush in Dublin when Dundon was executive chef at the Shelbourne Hotel. His favourite room in his current house is the kitchen.
Dundon has "a huge passion" for architecture. He collects Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
and is always reading architectural magazines on airplanes. His favourite television programmes include Prison Break
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
and CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
.
External links
- Official site
- Book review at RTÉ.ieRte.ieRTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of RTÉ's online activities, located at the URL http://rte.ie. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site, it says, is funded...
- Official site of HeatHeat (TV series)Heat is an Irish prime time reality television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The programme sees two professional chefs, Kevin Dundon and Kevin Thornton, attempt to train amateur participants to each compose a restaurant menu. Each chef has won one series each. Each series, of which there have so far...
- Official site of Guerrilla GourmetGuerrilla GourmetGuerrilla Gourmet is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The series features professional chefs from various backgrounds, such as Dylan McGrath and Kevin Dundon, who each take on a new challenge...