BILL O'HERLIHY: The RTÉ sports anchor is true to his Cork roots when it comes to food, writes Melanie Morris
How big a foodie are you? "I think I can best be described as a tribal Corkman who never lost his roots. I was raised on things such as tripe and onions and drisheen, and to this day, they are still some of my favourite things. I had a heart attack in 1984, and that caused me to look at my lifestyle. I stopped smoking, and only drink red wine. I also discovered I was a coeliac quite late in life, so I have altered my diet accordingly."
Do you cook? "Not really. But I can do basic stuff like roasts if I have to."
What is your failsafe recipe? "I think that would be steak and onions. I would do potatoes with that, but I wouldn't bother with any other vegetables."
Can you be trusted to do the shopping? "Yes, but with a list. I can be a bit extravagant and impulsive."
Where do you shop? "Cavistons in Glasthule for fish, John O'Reilly's in Mount Merrion for meat, Dunnes Stores in Cornelscourt for groceries and Nature's Way in Blackrock for coeliac products."
Do you entertain much? "At the moment, we are renovating the house, so entertaining is done somewhere like Foxrock Golf Club. We like to have dinner in the dining room, with flowers and silver."
Do you diet? "I eat what I'm given, but I'm not someone who snacks or eats more than one big meal a day. I have noticed that when I do put on weight, it's because I've eaten late at night."
What was your last meal? "Lunch in the Hibernian Hotel with George Hook - his son is the general manager there. I had grilled monkfish."
What are your favourite restaurants? "Dobbins, I go there more often than anywhere else. It has a really special ambiance. I also like l'Écrivain, where the quality is excellent. Wrights of Monkstown is somewhere I go with Hilary a lot, and on the ethnic side, I love Diep Le Shaker, it's friendly and the food is good. I've also been trying that new place, Chai-Yo, off Baggot Street."
What is your eating-out treat? "I always judge a restaurant menu by its fish, and I adore a prawn starter - though not prawn cocktail. Then I'll look to see if there's hake or monkfish or cod."
If you're eating at your desk, what's for lunch? "Rice cakes and an apple, or something like ham and tomato salad. I don't drink coffee, but I like tea, and I don't drink nearly enough water."
What would be your Death Row last meal? "Bacon and cabbage, covered in all the sauces coeliacs aren't allowed. Then I would want Hilary's rice pudding with cream, and some brie with wheat crackers ... what the hell. And a nice, extravagant red wine.
And finally Bill, if you are what you eat, then you are ... "One massive contradiction."
Bill O'Herlihy is an RTÉ sports anchor and CEO of Bill O'Herlihy Communications