Page 149 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

Galway’s two most lauded restaurants – Aniar
and Loam - have more in common than their single
Michelin stars. Their passionate chefs – JP McMahon
and Enda McEvoy – share a remarkably similar food
philosophy dedicated to only ingredients from the west
of Ireland.
“If you limit your ingredients, you force yourself to
be more creative, you force yourself to find different
flavors and different textures when creating a dish,”
explains McEvoy whose 8-9 course tasting menu at
his city-center restaurant often changes daily. “There
are different flavors out there in nature in the west of
Ireland, such as elderflowers, wild garlic seeds and
pickled roses, which we use in our savory dishes. We
also use a lot of sea vegetables as well, which are a bit
more durable.”
Sea vegetable or seaweed also is a favorite of Mc-
Mahon, who labels it the first national food of Ireland
and melds it into dishes at Aniar (Gaelic for “of the
West”), set in Galway’s bustling Westend neighbor-
hood. And like McEvoy, he sources ingredients from
local farmers and dairymen with “a purity of vision. I
know them all on a personal level and that’s important
to me,” says the self-taught chef. “…Food needs to be
personal. It’s what connects people with a sense of
place.”

JP McMahon, owner of three Galway
restaurants including Michelin-starred
Aniar, believes “food needs to be per-
sonal. It’s what connects people with
a sense of place.”

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