Clare Smyth is one of the world’s leading chefs. The centerpiece of the menu at her two-Michelin-starred restaurant? A potato. Richard Vines peels away her backstory.

FOR ME it was a wonderful surprise that my latest book 30 Years at Ballymaloe won the Avonmore Cookbook of the Year award at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards — and it really was a surprise.

A scouting trip to France led to a eureka moment for Paul Flynn when he abandoned crispy pancakes for fancy chicken. He tells Joe McNamee about a new challenge