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Derry Clarke is an Irish celebrity chef, reality television judge and proprietor of the restaurant L'Ecrivain. He acted as a judge alongside Bibi Baskin and Sammy Leslie on the RTÉ One reality television series Fáilte Towers and has appeared on other programmes such as The Restaurant, The Afternoon Show and The Panel (in 2008^[1]).

Career

Clarke's professional career began at the age of sixteen years.^[2] He has received some international acclaim, having been inducted into Food & Wine Magazine's "Hall of Fame" and been granted a five-star review by The New York Times.^[2] The newspaper described his restaurant as "superb" and "a good spot to linger" whilst in Dublin.^{[3 ]} Clarke trained as an electrical technician in Ireland before moving to New York City to work as a bartender and in construction jobs in 1990.^{[4 ]} After returning home to attend his sister's wedding he was confronted by American immigration officials who questioned his status as an illegal immigrant.^{[4 ]} His recipes feature in publications such as the Irish Independent^{[5] [6] [7][8][9]} and the Evening Herald.^{[10 ]}

Roast leg of spring lamb has been one of Clarke's favourite since his childhood and he regularly cooks it for his own Sunday lunch.^[5] Asked about whether he cooks the family dinner on Christmas Day, he replied positively.^{[10 ]} He cooks goose on this day.^{[10 ]}

When Ranelagh's Dylan McGrath owned Mint Restaurant shut down in 2009, Clarke expressed his sadness to the Evening Herald. ^[11]

Personal life

Clarke is married to a wife called Sallyanne.^[5] His brother-in-law, her sister, Frankie, is a sheep farmer based in Liscarney near Westport, County Mayo and the chef regularly spends time there with his family.^[5] Sallyanne came down with a knee infection in late 2008 and Clarke spoke of this in the Evening Herald.^{[10 ]} He believes chefs do not need models to feature in newspapers. ^[12]

References

External links

• L'Ecrivain