Saturday with Trisha Lewis: If you eat well you can take on the world

Chef Trisha Lewis talks about her Saturday routine, from breakfasts, breathing, and Barry's tea

Chef and author Trisha Lewis will be at Seafood Kitchen at this year's Bord Bia Bloom

07.30

I’ll get up at around 7.30am and if the weather is good I’ll step outside for a breath of fresh air. I batch cook my breakfasts so I’ll have something to hand like overnight oats or Greek yoghurt with Weetabix and seeds.

I’ll take them out of the fridge for a while before I eat them and then have them with a cup of coffee.

09.00

I like to start my day with movement. I’ll either go to the gym or I’ll go for a walk with friends to a local wood. I use the gym for my mindset and I’m very conscious that as we get older we need to be building muscle.

I’m very lucky to have such a good group of friends from all different avenues in life.

I love that walk and talk on a Saturday to chat to my friends and to find out how they’re getting on – how their work is, how their kids are – there’s nothing like a good chat.

12.00

I’ll have a bowl of soup and chop in lots of extra veg and chicken. I’ll have soda bread with cottage cheese and chilli oil and a big bowl of salad – that’s my ideal lunch.

My biggest meal is in the evening time – I might have chicken breast, pitta bread, stirfried veg… loads of colour and good quality ingredients.

14.00

I have eight sisters so I’m lucky that I always have company. I might call over and hang out with the kids because during the week they’re busy with school or I’ll be at home refreshing the house and doing various jobs.

An ideal Saturday would be spent somewhere in West Cork or down around Lahinch – somewhere that would involve sea swimming or an icebath.

If I’m working on a Saturday, say at Bloom, it’ll be a different story. This year I’m running the Seafood Stage so I’ll be doing demonstrations throughout the day.

If I’m working at Bloom I’ll still make sure I’ve had a good breakfast – if you eat well you feel well and can take on the world. I’ll do a gym session, have a shower, do my hair and makeup and get to the venue for 9am to set up for my first session at 11am. I’ll have my lunch prepped as I’ll be busy all day.

At 4pm I’ll clean down and make my way back to the hotel, stay off the phone and go for a walk to decompress.

If I’m staying in the hotel for food I’ll have a chicken curry with brown rice and extra veg. I’ll switch off and stay completely offline.

I’m very lucky that I have a good following and people are very kind so I don’t feel pressure to post all the time –there’s no point in burning myself out for social media.

18.00

If I’m at home I will make my dinner. Six of my sisters live in the same area as me so more often than not someone will drop in or I’ll call over to one of them. I don’t bother with a glass of wine as I’d rather go out if I’m going to have one so I’ll usually just have a Coke Zero or something non alcoholic.

Once my dinner is over I’ll immediately do my skincare because if I leave it too late I won’t be bothered – I think it’s important to give back to ourselves.

I’ll put on my pjs and have a cup of decaf Barry’s Tea – it’s the closest thing I’ve found to a proper teabag. I’ll stick on something like The Office US. I’ve seen it a million times but it still makes me laugh.

21.30

I’ll usually be in bed by around 9.30pm with a book. I like books that are easy to read and that provide a bit of escapism – I love Marian Keyes. Now, this is the type of Saturday that happens about seven times a year, the other Saturdays I could be doing cooking demos, in Spain doing the Camino or my wellness retreats, there’s Christmas and there’s nights out with friends.

I also take three weeks of the year with my family. If I have structure I’m thriving.

I charge my phone in the kitchen. I find when you’ve your phone under the pillow there is no safe space at all. Our world is so scary at the moment and there’s an overload of information so I keep the phone out of the room at night. The phone has changed my life in an amazing way but they can also rule people’s lives.

If I’m going out on a Saturday I love to go to Killarney – it’s one of those beautiful Irish towns with a great atmosphere.

My sister owns a bar called Hanna Griffins Bar which I love. There’s always something great happening there, from jiving to live music.

• Trisha Lewis will be at the Seafood Kitchen at this year’s Bord Bia Bloom, May 28 - June 1, cooking tasty seafood recipes three times a day. Tickets priced from €35 + booking fee, and up to two children go free with each ticket purchased (age 16 and under).
• bordbiabloom.com