A McDreamy McMeel
by Wendy Koro

Irish Chef Noel McMeel

Celebrity Irish chef Noel McMeel is a charmer --- self assured, boyishly good-looking, and positively exuberant about food. It's no wonder he's caught the fancy of television audiences throughout the UK, cooking at the forefront of an edible revolution blazing across Ireland. I had the great pleasure to sit and chat with him recently during his lightning quick promotional tour of the U.S. at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. He was relaxed and engaging despite a brutal schedule, effortlessly balancing his obligations to the press with the culinary pressure of cooking a fabulous meal for 300 hungry critics later that night. Confident in his abilities, Noel is a talented Irish chef on a mission, conquering one set of taste buds at a time.

The principles McMeel endorses are lofty, yet simple. Find the very best locally grown seasonal ingredients. Support farms and businesses that respect the earth. Prepare meals that delight and excite the senses, but don't let creativity lure you to overcomplicate or overdo. Rule #1: let the natural flavor of good food shine through.

Noel's commitment to these concepts is long-standing, unwavering, and not merely the residual effect of the many kitchens he has graced. He is quick to credit sustainability guru Alice Waters and her staff at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California for life changing lessons in culinary simplicity. But McMeel is bent on paying forward those ideas in his own grand vision for modern-day Ireland. This man has very big dreams.

A McDreamy McMeel

He's not content to revel in his success at Castle Leslie, where he cooked for seven and a half years for the likes of Sir Paul McCartney's lavish nuptials, where he stamped his personality so vividly that the place is virtually synonymous with his name. It's not enough that he's a frequent presence on BBC television's Great British Menu, Food Poker and Master Apprentice and RTE's The Afternoon Show --- all while undertaking a new challenge at the luxurious Lough Erne Resort (that's pronounced Lock-Airn, all you Yanks) in Northern Ireland. No, Chef McMeel has even more fish to fry.

Kilkenny, Leinster

As much as he is presently focused on fine dining, Noel is intent on spreading his knowledge and philosophy beyond his own kitchen and across any invisibly drawn class lines. He recently teamed up with Tourism Ireland in a splashy Boston to L.A. tour of the United States, just to show American palates firsthand how remarkable Irish cooking has become. (It was a devious plot to soothe and tantalize us… who knew that sensual shot glass of goats buttermilk sorbet was addictive? But now that we've tasted McDreamy's luscious breast of wood pigeon atop a caramelized onion glazed puff, his delectably rich Silver Hill duck confit straddling creamy mashed potatoes with chive and fennel and an intense drizzle of Irish orchard honey-sweetened stock reduction, they know we can't stay home.) And Noel's looking to the future, maybe even a legacy, in another powerful project he's cultivating --- a hands-on garden-to-kitchen school program to get kids cooking early… not just in Ireland, why stop there? To top it all off he's building a new website to showcase his ideas, share his recipes and boost his friends' businesses at www.NoelMcMeel.com. In fact, despite basking in the current fickle spotlight of competitive cooking, McMeel seems to be a team player-genuinely grounded-and first and foremost, a really nice guy.

Exceptionally devoted to his craft, Noel uses his talent, ethos and celebrity to promote a fresh return to smart idealism in the kitchen. The result is grand food simply delicious to the tongue, healthy for the belly, good for the Irish economy and oh so kind to the earth.

Check it out, people. One more reason to indulge in a wee bit of travel... I see a McDreamy Irish McMeel in your future.