Stepping up to the plate: Marco Pierre White on his love of Irish food

As Marco Pierre White returns to our screens in The Restaurant, he chats to Esther McCarthy about fame, loss, mistakes – and his love of Irish food

Marco Pierre White’s childhood memories are heady and vivid with the smell of freshly baked bread and home cooking. Growing up in a working-class household meant there was little cash for convenient foods and his beloved mother, Italian immigrant Maria-Rosa, would nourish the family with simple, home-made dishes, cooking everything from scratch.