'I have a grand plan': Why James Kavanagh is leaving Dublin and moving to Cork
James Kavanagh is launching a new podcast aptly named ‘What Did You Eat This Week’. Picture: Bríd O’Donovan
James Kavanagh is sitting with Diana, his hairless cat, in his period home on Dublin’s northside when I chat to him.
His house is stunning and will be familiar to the almost 160,000 people who follow him on Instagram. But it’s not going to be the backdrop to his videos for much longer as James and his boyfriend William Murray are soon to relocate to William’s native Cork.
James and William co-own Currabinny — a food business that has flourished since it launched nearly six years ago. There have been pop ups, food festival appearances, a best-selling cookbook, a column in this very publication, and more from the foodie duo — and they’re just getting started.
“I have a grand plan, but I don’t have short-term plans to get to the grand plan, which is always the issue. I never feel like I’m at my adult bit yet. It’s unsettling, but we do want to move to Cork, myself and William, and set up a Currabinny Café down there. That’s the grand plan in itself, and we’re actually moving down to Cork soon, hopefully in the winter or early next spring.
“We have a checklist of what we want. I want to be a maximum of 40 minutes from Cork city and we want to be able to get up and down to Dublin easily. I want to be beside the sea, and I’d like to have maybe half an acre so we can have a bit of a vegetable garden and some chickens.
“I grew up thinking I was going to be some Carrie Bradshaw type in Manhattan and buzzing around town with a latte, but I guess in the last five years I’ve realized that I actually don’t want Manhattan, I want chickens and I want a little vegetable patch. I don’t want the big city lights; I want some sprouts instead. That’s been such a journey for me because I think when you’re growing up moving to the big city is kind of sold to you as the plan. That’s what you have to do. What I’ve actually realised now is that I want less. Though by less I just mean the country, I’d still like a grand manor. Oh yes, I want less in my castle,” he laughs.
When he moves, James won’t be stuck for friends in Cork. He attended Ballymaloe Cookery School in 2019 where Rachel Allen gave him his love for sea swimming, and he keeps in touch with all the crew down there which will be a big support when he and William open their café.
“There was a gang of us that would go swimming every morning. I had never really sea swam before Ballymaloe. I always was groggy in the mornings and when we used to go sea swimming at 7am it was like having three espressos. It’s something I’ve carried in now to my life. The energy it gives you is just so stunning. I talk to Rachel all the time and JR, the pastry chef from Ballymaloe House is a good friend now. Whenever he comes up to Dublin we meet up, and he came to my birthday.”
Before the café and the move comes a food truck that will start out in Dublin 8 and then take to the road ending up in Cork. James is excited to get stuck in. “Yes, the food truck coming in a couple of weeks. It’s a gorgeous old 1970s caravan that we’ve had converted and painted. We’re going to be doing gorgeous seasonal sandwiches, soups, hot pots, and treats, and coffee. I did a barista course and everything. I feel very official. I’ve always loved playing shopkeeper when I was a kid, so I feel like this will be my proper chance to do that.”
James’ grand plan also includes a new project, a podcast called What Did You Eat This Week. He has recorded the first 12 episodes and plans are already underway for series two. Food is obviously his great passion and he’s very excited for the launch of the podcast.
“During lockdown, I think we all basically took a break from everything in a way, and I was hungry for more. Because I tend to work with different brands, I wanted to do something that was a project just for me. I love the low and the highbrow of food. I get as much pleasure from a McDonald’s as I do a three Michelin star restaurant. I find pleasure on the whole spectrum and I wanted to explore that.
"I love hearing everyone’s take. People often talk about guilty pleasures when it comes to food but I don’t believe in that. What did Nigella say? Guilt should play no part in pleasure, I’m with her on that.
“I didn’t want it to be a celeb chasey podcast, I just wanted to talk to people I know and love and always chat to about food anyway.
“Colm Keane, who owns Daddy’s Café in Dublin, and I have a WhatsApp group where we voice note each other any time one of us gets like a bad bowl of mussels or a really good bowl of mussels. Our WhatsApp chat is almost like a food podcast in itself, so I knew I wanted to speak to him.”
Not one to do things by half there is a snazzy theme tune to the podcast. When I mention it, James laughs giddily: “I wrote the lyrics. I’m a songwriter as well. Put that on my CV. Chloë Agnew who’s in Celtic Woman and also Twink’s daughter, sang it for me. My favorite radio station is Lyric FM so I’m very heavily influenced in that world and I knew that I wanted a really over-the-top operatic voice. Chloë is an amazing singer, so I asked her, and she immediately said yes. She’s on tour with Celtic Woman but she made time to go over to a studio and banged it out in like 20 minutes. What a pro.”
The podcast is a wonderful listen. It’s very funny, very sweet, and full of wonderful foodie tidbits and tips from James and his friends.
One of his most famous friends is former RTÉ newsreader and Queen of Ireland, Anne Doyle whose love of bubbles and worries about the weather led to a very funny afternoon’s recording.
“I went to Anne’s house to record during storm Dudley, and she was very concerned about me getting home in the wind, so she made me stay and we ended up having a bottle and a half of champagne at midday. I love Anne, we actually filmed a pilot for a TV travel show together just before the pandemic. It was called Anne and James Delectable Collectibles. We went to Düsseldorf in Germany and went around drinking wine and looking at the sights. It was actually amazing. I’m not sure where things with it stand now but I would love it to happen.”
A food truck, a big house move, a new podcast, a potential new cookbook and a future café mean that James, William, and Currabinny are very busy. Nevertheless, this is my petition to all TV commissioning editors: order that show. The people of Ireland need to see James Kavanagh and Anne Doyle drinking wine in Europe’s great squares. It’s an instant hit.
I’m so split down the middle. Going out.
Backstreet gem.
Toastie.
Oh, these are so hard. Oh, I’m going to say the perfect roastie.
- Clothes courtesy of Casablanca @ Brown Thomas
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
