Food for thought

INTERVIEW/Garth McColgan, Food Active: GARTH McCOLGAN is Ireland's Jamie Oliver, a chef in his 30s with a passion for good-quality food on a mission to show young people that healthy eating is perhaps the most important lifestyle choice they can make.

While he has worked with more than his fair share of Ireland’s Michelin-starred “super-chefs”, from Paul Rankin to Conrad Gallagher to Derry Clarke, McColgan’s approach to food is not at all rarefied – quite the opposite, in fact.

“Michelin-starred cooking is not by any means a regular experience for the vast majority of people, despite the fact that we eat three times a day. So my style is much more about what people eat on a daily basis. It’s far more accessible than a lot of other chefs would have it.”

McColgan’s route into the food industry was far from the usual – and his business, Food Active, which he set up in 2002 with his brother, Mark, and his wife, Cecilia, is no straightforward restaurant business either.

He is probably one of the few chefs you’ll meet whose favourite subject in school was Latin – and who couldn’t wait to follow that up with a degree in classics at Trinity College Dublin.

McColgan’s business is equally unorthodox. The majority of its revenue comes from providing inhouse catering at three of Dublin’s most exclusive schools – Gonzaga College, St Conleth’s and occasionally Mount Anville.

In tandem, he runs a food summer camp for 10- to 17-year- olds and a corporate catering service. Most recently he has become the public face of supermarket chain Aldi, acting as a food and product development consultant and promoting healthy recipes.

So is McColgan (35) actually a natural entrepreneur who has landed by accident in the heady world of sharp knives and scalding saucepans? “I certainly wouldn’t see myself as some sort of Alan Sugar or Tony O’Reilly of the food business, not at all,” he replies, laughing.

“Strictly speaking I wouldn’t even say the three of us in Food Active are businesspeople . . . We’re simply interested in working in an area that we love, that we feel at home in, and that’s been good to us.”

When it comes to cooking, McColgan credits Rankin as his greatest inspiration. “Essentially, he trained me. I rang him up looking for a job, he told me to get some experience working in other kitchens first, and eventually I drove up to Belfast and presented myself at his door. It’s where I learned about the heat, speed and intensity of a high-end kitchen.”

His first venture into school catering came in 1996 when Gonzaga put a new extension, including a kitchen and dining hall, out to tender and McColgan and his wife won the contract. That led them on to holding classes in cooking and food appreciation for the students.

In 2002, Food Active was born, with summer camps at St Conleth’s every year between late June and mid-August.

“My brother, Mark, who loves all types of sports, suggested a sports element of the summer camps,” says McColgan.

“So it’s roughly 60 per cent cookery, 30 per cent light sporting activities, and the final 10 per cent completes the circle – giving a holistic view of our bodies as one system, with food, exercise and lifestyle all playing their interconnected parts.”

Does he miss the buzz of a restaurant kitchen? “Not at all. I love what I’m doing and I love the fact that, although we’re a modestly-sized business with a turnover of around €650,000, we continue to grow organically and have no debt.

“I know for a fact that there are restaurants out there doing €1.5 million in turnover – and not making a penny.”

[ petercluskey@yahoo.fr ]

ON THE RECORD

Name:Garth McColgan

Company:Food Active

www.foodactive.ie

Job:Co-founder and culinary inspiration

Age: 35

Background: Worked part-time at the Elephant Castle while studying at Trinity College Dublin in the early 1990s. Worked under top chefs such as Paul Rankin, Derry Clarke and Conrad Gallagher. Took over catering at Gonzaga College in 1996. Set up Food Active in 2002, with food summer camps at St Conleth's College. Became the public face of Aldi in 2007.

Inspired by:"My wife looks after the financial management and I'm constantly inspired by her work ethic and thoughtfulness about the business. I would say that Paul Rankin was my main inspiration when it comes to food and cookery. And Jamie Oliver has been an inspiration in terms of doing away with a lot of the mystique surrounding cooking."

Challenges:Preaching the gospel of good cooking and healthy eating, and planning his first cookery classes for adults and first Food Active cookbook.

What he's learned:"It's much more fun to work with children than with adults!"