Saturday with chef Mark Moriarty: 'Netflix can’t keep up with our obsession for true crime'
Mark Moriarty: 'In my public-facing role, I feel the need to look good and feel good.'
I get up between 7am and 8am. Early mornings have been drilled into me from the restaurant business.
When I worked in The Greenhouse I would usually be in the kitchen by 6.30am or 7am.
If I’m working I’m working and if I’m not working I like to spend time on my other interests.
I’ve been playing golf since I was a kid and love it.
I love that I can switch off the phone for four hours and the only thing I’ll have to think about is getting that ball in the hole in as few shots as possible.
My bookshelf is full of cookbooks and books on golf courses of the world - I love the artistry and history of it all.
I think when you run your own business it’s particularly important to stay fit and healthy, and, in my public facing role, I feel the need to look good and feel good.
Last year I was struggling with motivation for the gym so I joined my local GAA team and went back to playing football for the first time in 17 years.
I love being part of a team whether it’s sport, a TV show or working on a cookbook - working towards a common goal gets me up in the morning.
I'm not a big breakfast person so it’s probably midday before I’ll eat.
I write for various publications so I’ll check my articles in print to make sure my work looks how I wanted it to look and then I’ll look online to make sure that’s all good.
I’ll usually have a social media post to put up, and then, myself and my wife Gráinne will bring the dog to the park.
I’ll make lunch around midday. I like those American-style meals with hash potatoes, leftover meat, herbs, crumbled up cheese, eggs…
We might pop into Scéal Bakery in Greystones for some great coffee and a pastry - they also do an amazing sesame and miso sourdough which is the best bread in Ireland.
We might pop into Happy Out in Dun Laoghaire - a great cafe run by our friend Brian Hanratty with The Together Academy.
One of my favourite neighbourhood restaurants in the world is Oliveto in Haddington House. I don’t do fine dining unless it’s a special occasion or I’m with chef friends.
Delicious food in a casual setting is more my vibe.
I love Volpa Nera, Uno Mas, Variety Jones, Mr S, Bunsen, Pickle by Sunil and M&L Chinese - which was a favourite when I studied in Cathal Brugha Street.
To my wife’s dismay I’m also a massive soccer fan.
I’ll probably be watching Leeds United on my computer with my headphones on - I’m no longer allowed to watch it on the TV because I get too animated, though I’ve gotten better at not letting their results affect my mood.
I’d never go to the pub to watch a match - I’ve never been someone who would go for a ‘couple of pints’.
Saturday afternoon is time for myself and Gráinne to have a chat, a nap or to watch something away from the phone or laptop.
Gráinne has figured out that the best way to manage me and the madness is to treat personal time like professional time.
It sounds so unromantic but it works for us. I’ll have diary invites for ‘dog walk and coffee’ from 7am to 11am on a Saturday.
Gráinne’s sister Siobhán might join us for dinner.
My parents live in West Kerry so I’ll call them on a Saturday and my mum will come to Dublin once a month or so.
People are often surprised that we eat a lot of takeaways and pre-made foods from M&S.
The airfryer is getting a lot of use recently. I’ll rarely plan a meal unless I have people over.
A favourite Saturday dinner at the moment is the pork ragu from my new book Season.
You fry off pork mince, lots of onion and garlic, white wine, rosemary and mint, lemon zest and anchovies.
You then smother the whole dish with lots of cheese and have it with garlic bread.
The real Saturday treat is sticky toffee pudding. I'll make it or buy it and stick it in the oven.
There’s a nice recipe for it in my first book, Flavour. There’s something very comforting about hot cake and cold ice cream.
Netflix can’t keep up with our obsession for true crime.
I'll even go to sleep listening to true crime podcasts and wake up at 4am with a shock thinking ‘What’s going on?!’
We watched Mr McMahon about the WWE recently as well as Game of Thrones for the first time.
We’re watching classics like The Shawshank Redemption and Good Will Hunting with Grainne’s sister Siobhán who is 23 - it’s like watching them again through fresh eyes.
I'd happily stay up all night watching and listening to stuff - I’m also a victim of scrolling on social media.
When I do go to bed though I go to sleep quickly and it takes a lot to wake me up. If the alarm didn’t go off I’d probably sleep forever.
- Chef, TV host, author and podcaster, Mark Moriarty's new podcast Roasted, in association with Barry’s Tea, is out now
