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Dr JP McMahon is that rare creature who refuses to stay in one lane. A self-taught chef with a PhD in drama and theatre, he writes, paints, cooks, lectures and still finds time to play the piano, badly and brilliantly in equal measure. He is the mind behind Aniar in Galway, the city’s Michelin-starred restaurant, and the driving force behind Food on the Edge, the international food symposium that made Ireland impossible to overlook on the world’s culinary map.
He is also a playwright, columnist and author of An Irish Food Story, his latest book that reads less like a cookbook and more like a manifesto for how Ireland should see itself: intelligent, raw and fearless. McMahon has never been one for quiet kitchens. His are filled with ideas, debate and the occasional philosophical tangent on the meaning of soup.
At Aniar, everything begins and ends in the west of Ireland. Wild herbs, Atlantic fish, smoke, salt and the shifting seasons form the backbone of a cuisine that is both ancient and experimental. His food is elemental and theatrical, deeply Irish yet never sentimental. He cures, ferments and pickles like a man composing a score, each flavour tied to landscape and memory. It feels part laboratory, part poetry reading, part dinner.
When he is not in the kitchen, McMahon is building bridges. Through Food on the Edge, he has gathered chefs, artists, writers and thinkers from around the world, creating a space for real conversation about food. Galway became a global stage because he decided it could be. That sort of creative audacity changes a culture.
Now, the story moves north. This April, McMahon brings his creative energy to Donegal for The Far Edge of Ireland Experience at Breac.House, a limited spring gathering of dining, design and elemental adventure on the Wild Atlantic Way. Expect fire, flavour and philosophy by the sea.
McMahon is the kind of Irish storyteller who does not simply cook; he provokes. He questions the familiar and reshapes it until it feels new again. Whether on a plate, a page or a stage, he reminds us that Ireland’s food is not polite or nostalgic. It is alive, complex and beautifully untamed.
The wild Atlantic roars, Michelin chefs gather, and elemental adventures unfold along Donegal’s brazen coast. A limited week in April celebrates Ireland’s raw beauty through design, flavour and fearless hospitality.
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A taste of creative alchemy tells the tale of travels, adventure and the fertile land sof Alentejo - meet chef David Jesus at MAPA set within the L'AND Hotel Vineyards.
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Hotspot of Bolzano, Magdalener Hof has refurbished its popular hotel restaurant under the motto of seductive luxe. The dining and bar lounge zones have all had a style facelift - think clubhouse velvet with a classy New Yorker Martini bar - fun, casual and atmospheric.
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Albin Widmann is Chef at the Seehotel Ambach, the cult lakeside refuge on Caldaro Lake's shores in South Tyrol. Dramatic nature, funky interiors, and an architectural landmark are also a famed bolthole for good food connoisseurs.
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A slow-food philosophy that Chef Massimo Geromel describes as 'keeping things simple, pure and rooted', he presides over the culinary realms of the MIRAMONTI, a style hotel and spa destination in Avelengo/Hafling, South Tyrol/Alto Adige.
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Inspired by a humble yet legendary hostelry-hotel and watering hole of the same name in Patagonia, the Touring Club in Penarth, near Cardiff in Wales is a crafted dining spot and bar created by a maverick group of friends.
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Zermatt’s dining scene just got fired up with flame-grilled flavours, local ingredients, and bold pairings, all crafted by Chef Erwin Peters and sommelier Luca Marti.
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A short drive northwards from the wild sandy beaches, the eco-design guesthouse lies secluded within the Horn Head peninsula. Created to blend seamlessly in with its surroundings of County Donegal’s mountainous yet green landscape.
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There are the typical Vienna to-dos for any foodie enthusiast who visits Austria’s capital city; from classic cafés to innovative restaurants to ice-cream parlours.
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Gothenburg's foodie scene has sprung up to international attention in the last few years - check out this guide for the best on Sweden's cosy 'Little London' coast.
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It appears that Antwerp continues to wear the crown for Belgium’s coolest city with the Lewis, a hip restaurant in the bohemian Zuid (south) district, created by interior designer Bjorn Verlinde.
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Two Michelin stars, vinyl spinning, and flavour turned loose — Mraz & Sohn is Vienna’s boldest table, where fine dining misbehaves beautifully and creativity dances between chaos and control.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.