Nick Munier, restaurateur and Masterchef Ireland judge
Do you think you have a healthy lifestyle?
I think I have a fairly healthy lifestyle. I’ve worked in this industry 27 years. I’m constantly on my feet, it’s hectic and it’s very anti-social but I’ve always been quite slim. I’m on my feet and rushing around. I get an MOT once in a while and the doc says I’ve got the heartbeat of a 20-year-old. That can’t be bad.
How often do you exercise?
I went to the gym for about two months and got bored. But I call work the gym anyway – our offices are on the fifth floor so I go up and down like a yoyo.
Do you get your five a day?
I always eat porridge in the morning and try to have some banana or nuts. Our first service is at noon so I’d have fish or a piece of meat at about 4pm. Unfortunately I do eat fries or I’d have some salad or vegetables but I neglect that sometimes. At about 10.30pm, I’d have a plate of salmon or tuna with avocado puree to get my Omega 3.
Do you worry?
I’m a bit of a drama queen. I create these dramas, work-related things, to give me motivation and it sort of keeps my heart pumping. I do worry about being able to pay the bills and the staff and continuously driving the business forward. You are only as good as your last meal.
What do you do to relax?
I go to therapy once a week. I sit there for an hour, and it’s just fantastic.
It’s a calming place to talk – it could be just things that happened during the week. I think it’s important. Men don’t talk about mental health, they’re too scared.
I paint too. I’m an avid abstract artist.
What’s your unhealthiest habit?
I’ve a few of those. I smoke 10 cigarettes a day. I do enjoy it. It’s a bad thing to say, I know it’s bad for your health but it helps me unwind. I’d have about three glasses of wine a night. I’m a fanatical cake eater too. But these are my only vices. Otherwise I’d be boring.
In conversation with
JOANNE HUNT
