In The Kitchen

French flair on the Dublin coast

Jérôme Fernandes tells Alex Meehan how taking over a long-established restaurant in Dalkey, Co Dublin, reinforced his love for French classical cooking with great Irish produce

Jérôme Fernandes: ‘When you’re fresh out of school you know the basics, but you don’t really understand how important they are’. Picture: Barry Cronin

Favourite ingredient? Butter. Favourite gadget? A mini whisk, for adding butter. If there was any question that I am talking to a classical French chef, then five minutes on the phone with Jérôme Fernandes is enough to dispel all doubt.

Fernandes is the chef patron of one of Dublin’s longest continually-operating restaurants. The Guinea Pig in Dalkey

was first opened in 1957, with the Frenchman taking over as owner and head chef in 2017.

The ...