This much I know: Conrad Gallagher

Failure is a frame of mind.

I do believe in fate but I don’t believe that things are handed to you on a plate. You have to go out and grab them.

I don’t care what other people think about me. My wife was upset recently when she saw some comments about me on Twitter but it doesn’t cost me a thought. I don’t care about the opinion of these people who sit in dark rooms and critique others for actually trying to make a go of things. I’ve had my lows, as well as my highs. Yes, I’ve been bankrupt. And now I’m trying to live my life in the most positive way I can.

The first meal I ever cooked was a boeuf stroganoff followed by a rhubarb tart. I must have been around six or seven.

‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ has to be my favourite saying.

I didn’t like the sound of the TV series Head Chef when the producers first approached me. They said they wanted to do an Irish version of Hells Kitchen and I thought — ‘shouting and screaming? I don’t need to be there.’ But then they agreed to design a show to suit my personality. The result is a great series where the contestants actually learn something as they get a masterclass from me in each dish before they have to cook it themselves.

I enjoyed everything about the series except the elimination process. I had interviewed and chosen the 16 contestants and found it very hard to let any of them go. I’m an emotional person at best of times. I hated feeling I was shattering anyone’s dreams.

I finally have a good work-life balance. Cooking is very intense so if you do it for six days a week you never have time to think. Once I turned 40 I stopped doing six 12-hour days a week. I do five instead.

I became a father very young, probably too young the first time, I was 24 and it certainly changed me. I now have three wonderful children and I’m pretty good at organising my work so that I can spend the maximum amount of time with them and my beautiful wife. When I’m not working, I’m not working. I usually arrive home late on a Saturday night or early Sunday morning and then spend two days with my family. I also take my kids to school each day.

If I won the Lotto I’m not sure what I would do. Money doesn’t motivate me. I’m actually useless with money. At the moment I don’t even have a credit card or a laser card. I’m happier if someone just gives me an allowance to spend each week.

When I came back to Ireland, people kept suggesting I open another Michelin Star restaurant. But why have another struggle? I decided to go the other route entirely and opened Salons Des Saveurs in Dublin which offers a tasting menu with excellent value. The menus are either e29, e39 or e49. It’s packed out to capacity so we must be doing something right.

I’ve been through the school of hard knocks but I feel I’ve come out the other side smarter, cleverer and my feet now firmly on the ground.

Home is now in Kildare but my roots are still in Donegal. We spend plenty of time with my parents in and around Letterkenny. We do a good bit of fishing up there.

I knew from very early on that I wanted to cook. My parents ran a B&B so we all got involved and had our chores and responsibilities. I was naturally drawn to the kitchen.

I don’t really think of myself as someone who’s in the public eye. I just see myself as a head cook in a restaurant who sometimes does some media, as a father, a husband and a hunter gatherer with a responsibility to provide for my family and for my customers.

My best advice to aspiring chefs is don’t experiment with a concept restaurant on your own money. Do it in an hotel instead where someone else is paying the bills.

Conrad Gallagher, the youngest chef to ever win a Michelin star, fronts Head Chef — a series which gives kitchen hopefuls the chance to become Ireland’s Head Chef. Fridays at 9pm on TV3.