Irish chicken production 'appaling', says leading chef

A celebrity chef has ruffled the feathers of Irish farmers by accusing them of producing appalling chickens for consumers.

Richard Corrigan, who runs an expensive restaurant in London, urged people to boycott the chickens, which he claimed were full of antibiotics, badly fed and poorly exercised.

“I’m appalled at the standard of chicken farming in Ireland. It’s not good enough, people should demand better. So you should ask where it’s coming from.”

The Irish-born chef said he would never eat a native chicken, unless it was from a farmers’ market.

He said that compared with chicken farmers in Britain, Irish producers were not on the radar screen.

“They’re producing muck, crap and people are buying it and I think it’s absolutely appalling,” he said.

Mr Corrigan grew up on an 25-acre farm in Ballivor, Co Meath, but left Ireland at the age of 18 to work as a cook in Amsterdam, before moving to London.

He was awarded a Michelin star in 1998 for his highly regarded London restaurant, Lindsay House, and also works as as a presenter on BBC’s Full on Food series.

In recent years, he has prepared lunch at 10 Downing Street for British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the King and Queen of Jordan.

Mr Corrigan told the RTE that consumers were committing a great offence by buying Irish chickens.

“You’re ignorant of where it comes from, what it’s after been eating, has it any life whatsoever and you know, everybody knows it hasn’t been given any circulation as any animal walking around,” he said.

“It’s been stacked into some shed probably, fed a load of anti-biotics and a load of crap and put in a packet that says ’Country Chicken’ – that sounds good.”

The Irish Farmers Association condemned what it called Mr Corrigan’s ill-informed views about chicken production.

Poultry committee chairman Alan Graham said there were strict regulations and quality assurance schemes in place to safeguard the health and welfare of chicken flocks.

“All houses must have a controlled environment which ensures that ambient temperature, air quality and lighting meet the needs of the flock throughout the growing cycle,” he said.

“Mr Corrigan may need some publicity for his new restaurant, but he should not abuse a platform afforded to him by pedalling ill-informed views about chicken production in this country."