Member of the Month December 2018: Shauna O'Keeffe
Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is Shauna O'Keeffe.
As a member who regularly contributes to our site via the app Chef+, Shauna will win a signed copy of Signature Chefs: South West and Channel Islands, some goodies from our app sponsors Essential Cuisine and The Staff Canteen mug!
Current place of work, position and a brief overview of where you have worked before.
I am currently the sous chef in Nautilus restaurant in Malahide, County Dublin. I was trained here by Alan Higgins and it is the only kitchen I have worked in so far. Before I started in the kitchen, I worked in front of house. I took a keen interest in the food that Alan was producing and took the leap and joined his brigade a little over four years ago.
What is your cooking style and what can people expect from the food on your menu?
I like to cook with fresh local produce where possible and to keep to the seasons with my dishes, which are often Spanish influenced as I lived in the Canary Islands for 4 years. Sometimes they are also influenced by Asian cuisine, as I find the plethora of ingredients and spices quite interesting and I have fun playing around with them.
Our current menu focuses on using as many Irish and locally-sourced ingredients to create visually stunning and flavoursome dishes that you cannot find in most other restaurants in our area. We are constantly pushing to create new dishes to wow our customers.
What do you like about The Staff Canteen app and website?
I love The Staff Canteen app as it is user friendly and I really enjoy the features you guys put up. Also the recipe section is excellent for inspiration and brainstorming.
What is your favourite dish to cook and why?
My favourite ingredient to work with would definitely be quail. My favourite dish to cook would probably be a Pakistani or Nepalese style curry as I love playing around with spices and finding a perfect balance. Or cooking anything with chorizo!
Guilty pleasure: list food item / dish / ingredient that aren’t considered ‘cheffy’ but you love to eat
A dish that isn’t considered cheffy (My head chef and the other chefs in our kitchen seem to think so anyway) but I adore is cottage pie with lots of Heinz tomato ketchup. I grew up with the combo so its nostalgic for me and i'll probably never have a cottage pie again without it! (Is it actually that weird?)
What are your plans for the future?
I’m not sure what the future holds for me. I will most certainly be working with food along the way as I thoroughly enjoy it. For now, I would just like to keep on pushing with my culinary career and learn as much as possible along the way.
What are you most looking forward to in 2019?
The thing I'm looking forward to most in 2019 is drinking a delicious coffee out of my TSC mug!
Do you want to be the next Member of the Month? Download the app now for free and start sharing your images, videos and recipes and interacting with other members to be in with a chance of winning!
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