Birthday: 10 February 1964
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Richard Corrigan is an award-winning and world-renowned Irish chef known both for his many successful restaurants and his numerous appearances on TV cookery shows.
Born in Dublin and raised in the small Irish village of Ballivor in County Meath, Corrigan spent his early life being brought up on a 25-acre farm. His family ate well here thanks to an abundance of fresh produce on the farm.
His career began at the age of just 14 where he began working in the kitchen of the Kirwin Hotel in Kylemore as an apprentice chef. However, Corrigan quickly set his sights on bigger things and aged 17 took the decision to move away from home to cook in bigger international hotels. Over the next few years he worked in a number of kitchens in Amsterdam honing his skills as a chef, before arriving in London in 1984.
Corrigan’s move to London saw him move up in the ranks within the kitchen, holding various senior positions in more and more prestigious restaurants. He received his first Michelin star in 1994 while in charge of the kitchen at Stephen Bull’s Fulham Road restaurant, before earning another in 1999 after launching the much acclaimed Lindsay House in Soho.
By now Corrigan had become known for his own unique style, winning over critics with his simple yet elegant cooking focused on getting the best out of every ingredient. In 2005, he bought Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, where he had worked earlier on in his career, and transformed its menu. His biggest and most personal opening however, came three years later when he opened his eponymous Mayfair restaurant Corrigan’s which won the Evening Standard’s London restaurant of the year award in its first year.
In the meantime, Corrigan wrote a number of cookbooks and also became a regular face on TV cookery shows. He’s perhaps best known by many as being one of the esteemed veteran judges on BBC’s Great British Menu year on year, a show he has also been crowned the winner of no less than three times in the past.
Richard Corrigan continues to open new, successful restaurants year on year, while also providing guidance to younger up-and-coming chefs, proving that he really is one of the finest cooks to ever come out of Ireland.