Neven Maguire: Cavan's own home-grown star...

With seven cook books, a throng of awards, two successful television series and another one on the way, it's no surprise celebrity chef Neven Maguire has been short-listed for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2010. And the future is even brighter for Neven with bookings at MacNean House and Restaurant as strong as ever; plans to add ten new bedrooms to the premises and a cookery school in Blacklion on the horizon. Neven is a figure with an insatiable energy, dynamism and driving ambition. He oozes with enthusiasm and it's no wonder that his award-winning restaurant MacNean House and Restaurant is booked out every Friday and Saturday night for the next year. "Every Friday and Saturday is gone this year. It's very reassuring, it makes you realise how popular you are. If we had the booking open for next year there would be bookings, it's incredible," Neven told The Anglo-Celt. Growing up in the small border village of Blacklion in a family of nine, Neven started cooking at the age of 12 with his mother, Vera. His parents ran the family restaurant, MacNean Bistro, before Neven took it over in 2003. "I started cooking from the age of 12 with my mother here in Blacklion; my mother was a fantastic cook and still is," he said. Leaving school after the Junior Certificate, Neven studied at Fermanagh College. His first placement was in Roscoff Restaurant, Belfast under Paul Rankin, which he admits was a tough kitchen. He worked in several Michelin star restaurants including The Grand Hotel Restaurant, Berlin; Lea Linster Restaurant, Luxembourg; and Arzac Restaurant, San Sebastian, Spain. With ten new bedrooms being added to MacNean House and Restaurant, the business is growing from strength to strength. The opening of a cookery school in Blacklion in the next few years will also be a huge boost to Neven's career. Despite his rise to fame, he remains incredibly modest and has no intentions of leaving Blacklion. "I've had offers; I had an offer for Chelsea Football Club to be the Irish chef. No way, I wasn't interested," he said. "The community is one of my favourite things. You know, it's a very special place, people are very special here, very genuine," he added. He's a man with family values, a sense of community, and doesn't shy away from hard work. "I have great banter with my family and I suppose they're very proud and to see the way we've progressed and the different achievements, but they're all part of it, part of who you are and people love that relationship with your family," said the star chef. Speaking about starting a family of his own with wife Amelda, Neven said: "That would be a beautiful goal, that would be the biggest goal ever." Neven has been a huge supporter of locally sourced produce and his new television series, which will air in October, is based around this. "As a chef you're only as good as the produce you use and this whole area of West Cavan, Fermanagh and Leitrim, it's amazing. "It all starts at home, getting young people to cook with their families and using local produce. I think that's where good food and good eating starts," he said. Speaking about the restaurant's success during the recession, the award-winning chef said: "People may not be eating out as much but they're a lot more selective about where they go to eat. We're seen as a special occasion, you wouldn't be eating here every week or once a month. It's special and people travel from all over, so I suppose that's a big bonus." Over a cup of tea and a friendly chat, it's clear that Neven's grounded and friendly demeanour mirrors the respect he has for the people around him. There are no airs or graces with this celebrity chef, what you see is what you get. "I don't see myself as a celebrity. I'm a chef that is blessed and been lucky to have been on TV. I didn't realise when I started that I'd even have one cook book, so I feel very privileged and lucky." Winning the Bailey's Eurotoque Young Chef of the Year when he was only 21 was a huge stepping stone for Neven. His collection of awards through the years is something of which the chef can be incredibly proud but he insists that it's not all down to him. "Winning Restaurant of the Year was brilliant for the whole staff, not just me. It's not only me in Blacklion; it's everyone here from my wife Amelda to my family and all the staff. They are brilliant." After tasting the delights of Neven's food, the one question on everyone's lips is why he hasn't won a Michelin star? "To me that's not what cooking is about. We've had the Michelin inspector and we had him last year as well and he said you know you're by far that most successful restaurant in the country, but you're always so busy, you're always so hard to get into. He was very negative towards that and I said isn't that great, isn't that a good thing? "I don't cook for Michelin stars, and I don't, I really don't. They say there is a formula, that's not a goal, it's not an ambition, it's about having a full restaurant and enjoying it," he said. Speaking about critics, Neven said: "I think they have an awful lot of power. People say any review good or bad is good for your business. I doubt that, it can be detrimental to your business, they don't realise the power they have." Neven's current show 'Neven Maguire: Home Chef' has just finished on RTÉ and he admits that he cringed when he first watched it. "Chefs can have a stereo image that they're very aggressive, but not all kitchens are like that, it depends how you cope with pressure. "Gordan Ramsey I've met a few times; he's like the weather, he changes. He's a bit aggressive. I think his manner on TV doesn't do a lot for the industry. He's a brilliant chef and a brilliant business man, but you have to have respect for people," he said. When asked where he'd hope to be in ten years time, the TV chef said: "Please God still in Blacklion cooking, with my own cooking school, maybe a family and enjoying the job as much as I do now." Still in his 30s, Neven has achieved more than he could ever have imagined. He sums up his career in a few short words: "Never regretted being a chef, it's hard work, long hours, but it's fantastic." The 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards will be held in The Citywest Hotel on October 21. The ceremony will be broadcast live on RTE 1. Neven is one of 24 finalists for the awards.