Dave Mulligan is the man behind the newly-opened Bar 1661, which is dedicated to celebrating the incredible variety and history of Poitín, a drink with an unique story. Here he explains how his passion for Poitín came about, and how its taken him on a journey from bar to brand owner and back again, via the streets of London and Dublin.
Nick Reynold’s Caribbean Kitchen ‘Lil Portie’ has proven to be a hit with Dubliners. Here he explains how he developed the idea to fuse the Jamaican recipes taught to him by his Nan with cooking techniques inspired by his travels in South America.
Barry Wallace opened his latest eatery Pang on Dublin’s Kevin Street a year ago, a healthy takeaway specialising in Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls. Here he explains how the recession became the catalyst for starting his own business, how a market stall opened with a friend in a suburban business park became a successful brand and how his travels in Asia and passion for variety and sustainability inspired him to bring this latest unique concept to Dublin.
The Trinity College Zoological Museum is tucked away towards the back of the Trinity College campus. Housed within the busy Zoology Department, the museum is enthusiastically staffed by the students themselves. Curator Dr Martyn Linnie discusses his vision for the future of one of the city’s most unusual attractions, and shares some of the fascinating tales behind the specimens themselves.
A death in the family prompted Brian McMahon to digitise his prized collection of old Irish adverts and pop culture keepsakes. What began as a hobby evolved into a blog, and from that grew the award-winning Brandnewretro.ie, a digital time-capsule preserving over 3,000 of them, all scanned and uploaded by Brian himself.
Kelli and Patrick Marjolet started dabbling in chocolate-making after getting an unexpected gift of cocoa beans from a friend in San Francisco. Their passion for the process eventually led to them leaving their respective careers in the corporate world to start their own business, The Proper Chocolate Company.
Ireland is experiencing a craft beer revolution, with smaller independent brands swaying the masses away from the mainstays. One of these is DOT brew. Founded by Shane Kelly in 2015, they have focused on serving up distinctive brews to their followers. Here Shane describes his passion for brewing, and how it all came about in the first instance.