Saturday with Neven Maguire: 'We are definitely not a shouty kitchen'

Amanda Cassidy chats to chef and restauranter Neven Maguire about a typical Saturday in his house (and kitchen), how he stays fit, and what he enjoys doing in his downtime

Neven makes sure to fit in a spin class three times a week if he can.

Growing up in his parent’s restaurant gave a young Neven Maguire a drive which saw him train in some of the world’s top Michelin-starred restaurants, and launch a successful television career highlighting the best of Irish produce.

Now, the married father of twins, who continues to run the restaurant and cookery school in Blacklion, is back on our screens. Amanda Cassidy chats to him about what downtime, if any, the celebrity chef enjoys.

7:00

No two Saturdays are the same for me. Sometimes I am away recording for RTÉ. There is no school, so Connor and Lucia often have things on. Sometimes I have cookery school all morning. One thing is always the same – I get up first in our house.

I usually start the day with coffee and by the time it is made, my wife Amelda will usually join me in the kitchen and we make our start to the day. Saturday is the last day of our week in the restaurant. We just sit and chat. This year we are celebrating being open for 36 years.

8:00

I do a spinning class for 40 minutes with a few friends. I try to do it three times a week, as well as boxing and circuit training. It really gives me a great start to my day.

9.30

Neven Maguire pictured with Ashford Castle’s Executive Chef, Philippe Farineau.

Often my son Connor has a soccer or GAA game and that means we will both be gone for most of the morning. This is the one day of the week when Connor and Lucia nearly have to be dragged out of bed.

If there isn’t cookery school, Amelda and I will take the dogs, Roxy and Miley, for a walk. We enjoy going around the MacNean Lake or to the Burren, both of which are about ten minutes away. The dogs are great for motivation. Around here, it’s very unspoilt and just really peaceful.

13:00

It’s family brunch time. It might be pancakes or eggs which I love. It is my first real meal as I only have coffee when I get up. I like to make our pancakes really fluffy so I use self-raising flour, buttermilk and I add lemon zest and vanilla. We’d serve it with crispy bacon, maple syrup and some fruit. Heaven.

14:00

The restaurant kitchen team begin at this time and I join them soon after. I only live minutes away.

We all chat as everyone is prepping. Since covid we just do one sitting in the restaurant and never more than 60 people, which has made life more consistent for our staff. We have 12 people in the kitchen and then 15 more out front. I try make it as fun as possible.

16:00

Neven Maguire. Picture: Joanne Murphy

I usually go home and might have a light snack with the family and everyone catches up on the day. I might catch a bit of football on the TV.

17:00

It’s time to head back to the restaurant and go through everything with head chef Carmel and with Charlie, our restaurant manager. Some guests staying with us arrive and I always like to welcome them.

The best part of this job is that I have such a great variety with travelling and working with other brands. But most important to me is seeing all my guests. I just love meeting people and talking about food. The other day we had a couple who drove five and a half hours from Kerry just to have dinner at the restaurant. I’m so grateful for all of it.

18:00

Dinner is served. Some people will be having a pre-dinner drink and I will spend a few minutes with them. This is always a good time to find out if there are any special requirements so I can let the kitchen know in good time.

For the next few hours, it is just flat out for all of us in the kitchen. I think we all enjoy it. There is great satisfaction in getting things just right. We are definitely not a shouty kitchen. In fact, when everyone arrives we all shake hands and welcome each other to the service and likewise at the end of the shift I thank everyone for what they’ve put into the service. I saw it done at a German restaurant and I thought it was such a lovely gesture.

22.30

Time to head home after having said my goodbyes in the restaurant. I may watch Match of the Day with Connor. We both like to watch Man United any chance we get. Amelda and Lucia will usually still be up so it is just family chat time for all of us. I will do a quick check on social media as I am active on it. On social media, I have only one rule: always be positive. Then I may just finish the day in the spare room when I have my decks and dance vinyl and I spend a while in my own world.

• Neven Maguire’s Food Trails returns to RTÉ this Wednesday, January 24