Irishman named best young chef in the world

Irish chef Mark Moriarty has been named the most talented young chef in the world — the 23-year-old won the prestigious title of San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 during a ceremony in Milan at the weekend.

“I feel extremely proud to have won a competition of this size and this calibre, representing the whole of the UK and Ireland,” he said.

“I’m also delighted at having been here these days with such wonderful people. It’s great for Ireland and the UK, and in particular for Ireland.”

The culinary expert won the competition for his signature dish — celeriac baked in barley and fermented hay with cured and smoked celeriac. He had to prepare the dish for seven judges and 300 tasters.

“With my signature dish, I wanted to capture the essence of Ireland and present humble, locally sourced ingredients like celeriac and barley in a unique way,” said Mark.

“Ireland has a lot of potential to be a food destination and I would like to think that I can play at part in bringing innovation and excitement to the Irish food scene as I progress in my career.”

Mark first got the taste for cooking when he was a child. His parents are from West Kerry and used to bring Mark fishing off the coast.

“My parents are from Ventry in West Kerry and I used to go there on my summer holidays and Christmas holidays,” he said. “If I wasn’t in school I was down there. I was big into fishing and we had a small fishing boat.

“I learned to cook the fish and I saw I really enjoyed it. I decided I wanted to be a chef.”

The competition has already opened doors for Mark, but he does not know what the future will hold.

“I’m weighing up a few options at the moment,” he said. “My main focus for the last few months has been the final. I’m just enjoying this week while I have it.”