Chef Paul Flynn and his wife and business partner Máire are an authentic Irish food success story, a couple who together have made an extraordinary success of their restaurant, townhouse and cookery school in Dungarvan since they opened their doors to customers for the first time on July 1st 1997.
They opened The Tannery Restaurant in Paul’s home town of Dungarvan 20 years ago this July, followed by the stylish Tannery Townhouse in 2005, and then the chic, naturally-lit Tannery Cookery School, custom-designed by himself and Máire, in 2008.
Loved and respected as much for his self-deprecating humour and his understated but exceptionally clever, generous flavour-driven food, Paul Flynn has been cooking at an extremely high level since he landed in London at the age of 18. From when he started working in Nico Ladenis’ kitchen in Chez Nico, one of only four restaurants in the UK at the time with two Michelin stars, it wasn’t long until he had a team of chefs under him, having been made head chef at the tender age of 23.
Those years at the coalface in London in charge of a brigade of chefs taught Paul Flynn many lessons, including what not to do, and the experience with Nico kept the focus fully on flavour, where it has remained ever since.
In 1997, Paul made the bold move of opening The Tannery with Máire in his hometown. Dungarvan has been a huge beneficiary of the success of first the restaurant, then the Townhouse and the Cookery School, both from visitor numbers and for raising the town’s profile as a food destination.
Paul and Máire have been a cornerstone of the town’s biggest food-focused event, the West Waterford Festival of Food, since it began 10 years ago as well as being a huge draw for the well-known chefs who they invite to participate in a sell-out series of pop-up events in The Tannery during every festival.
Over the years, from Jason Atherton to Angela Hartnett to another legendary food couple, Margot and Fergus Henderson, The Tannery has created a festival tradition of inviting and hosting exceptional cooking talent from elsewhere. Chef Stephen Harris of The Sportsman in Whitstable, voted UK Restaurant of the Year 2016 & 2017 by Restaurant Magazine, came and cooked, Michelin-starred OX travelled from Belfast for a very special Sunday lunch, Robin Gill created a dinner to remember and Mickael Viljanen, Graham Neville and Keiran Glennon hosted a joint Sunday celebration. These high-calibre chefs come with enthusiasm and respect for Paul, and look forward to experiencing the cheerfully confident atmosphere and knowledgeable audience of food-loving ‘Fungarvan’ The Tannery has been so important in fostering.
Paul, The Tannery, The Townhouse and The Tannery Cookery School have won nearly all the individual awards and the major gongs across the industry over the past 20 years. His cheeky, irreverent voice and honest passion are probably more relevant than ever, and he is still fully focused on making food that is a pleasure to eat with a minimum of fuss – grown-up cooking made by “a hip youngfella trapped in an auldfella’s body” as he puts it himself on his (highly entertaining) Twitter feed.
Social media is another sphere of influence for both the Flynns, where their honest, supportive, insightful and often very funny take on the industry at home and elsewhere makes them engaging and influential commentators.
And Paul is as hungry as ever – for new tastes, techniques and experiences. In any precious time off himself and Máire are away on edible adventures whenever possible, exploring major cities and new chefs off the beaten track alike with as much interest and consideration as ever.
The last 20 years haven’t been all smooth sailing and the industry is unrecognisable now from 1997 but there have never been any shortcuts at The Tannery. Smart adaptations – turning the downstairs waiting area of the restaurant into a brilliantly buzzing walk-in wine bar – and clever development with the Cookery School and extra rooms at The Townhouse have kept the Flynn team busy and guests happy.
Communicator, innovator, and the craic, Paul Flynn has always done his own thing – thankfully that thing has always just happened to be the right thing, the tastiest thing, at the right time. This balanced with his wife’s innate understanding of what their guests old and new want and how to give it to them means Dungarvan and Ireland has been lucky to have The Tannery for the past 20 years – here’s to the next 20.
Many happy returns to The Tannery.
