Galway chef JP McMahon on why there's more to Ireland than the craic

JP McMahon, the chef-restaurateur behind Spanish-accented Cava Bodega and one Michelin-starred Aniar in Galway, Ireland, is on a mission. And that mission is seaweed. He believes you can tell a lot about a place by its macroalgae, that the briny sea green has meroir (the ocean version of terroir), a perfect reflection of its surrounding environment.

"Seaweed is amazing – not only because it's natural, wild and there's a lot of it, but also because it's extremely delicious and versatile," says McMahon. "Look what the Japanese have done. I don't know why one culture would turn seaweed into the backbone of sushi, and another, like the Irish, would use it for fertiliser. For me it's about trying to revive the interest."

But it's not just carrageen, shell dulse and jelly moss. McMahon is passionate about food education across the board. "The culture I grew up in, food wasn't really a central part. I suppose [as a nation] we just hope that children will either, through their families or through their culture, learn to eat properly. But there isn't any sustained approach. We teach maths and English but we don't teach food."

The chef approached the Irish government to suggest adding food to the curriculum but the heavies at Leinster House weren't interested. Their view was that it was the responsibility of families and communities, not schools, to teach children. But for McMahon, the issue is that the resource isn't available to all children. "Then they have these diseases that are food-related, like obesity and cancer. And that's when it becomes a government problem."

These sorts of issues are what brought McMahon's not-for-profit think-festival, Food On The Edge, to fruition. The casual observer might look at the festival as a hybrid of Rene Redzepi's MAD Symposium, Ben Shewry's WAW and TED Talks. The event, now in its fourth year, has seen industry luminaries such as Albert Adria, Angela Hartnett, April Bloomfield and Magnus Nilsson each give a 15-minute presentation, on topics as diverse as food waste, mental health and work-life balance.

The idea came from McMahon's time speaking at other food festivals across America, Mexico and Denmark, watching as these chefs spruiked their agendas and wondering why it wasn't happening on his home turf. So he started his own festival, inviting chefs from around the globe to come and experience Ireland.

We teach maths and English but we don't teach food.

JP McMahon

The idea is to get influential speakers to see there's more to the country than good craic. "We have to change the message that Ireland's just all about the landscape, the craic, dancing and going to the pubs. I don't think we are pushing our agenda hard enough," he says.

"When I contact [the chefs], they all love the idea of Ireland. They go, 'F---! Ireland! That's a great place!' but they know nothing about the food, other than potatoes."

Ultimately, the idea is for those chefs to leave Ireland having seen a different side of its food culture. "About 180 chefs come through each year and there are loads of connections that have been built up. It's really nice when you see two chefs who connected at Food On The Edge doing something, somewhere else."

In a perfect world, McMahon would like to see the Irish dining culture develop into something as deep, lively and varied as that of Berlin, Copenhagen or San Francisco. Convincing the average Irish diner, though, has been a challenge. The restaurant culture in Galway is still emerging. It's been a work in progress for the past decade, which has a lot to do with Ireland's mixed relationship with food.

"For me, restaurant culture was always associated with the Anglo-Irish or upper class. Growing up, food was very much something that you had when you were hungry. There wasn't any sort of celebration the way the Italians or French would have it. You wouldn't say, 'Oh, that was an amazing meal'."

That's changing, though. People have started eating out beyond grabbing a curry and chips on the way home from the pub. Irish people now take pleasure in their food, and express themselves through what they're eating.

But there's something else that JP McMahon would like to see happen. And that's for Generation Z chefs to chill out, just a little, and have more fun. "Some of them are so career-oriented. They have this schedule, like 'This is where I want to be at 25, this is where I want to be 30' and it's very wrapped around social media. Like, 'This is my Instagram story. I need to create this like an aspect of my life.' It's almost like a permanent CV."

He says it's great to see the evolution from the party culture he grew up in, but sometimes he finds their drive quite scary. "They are literally so motivated to look outwards. You might think you have just two days off and you want to relax and then you check Instagram and they're halfway across the country. And you feel like you're doing nothing."

Some of them finish a 12-hour shift then go to the gym for hours. "When you ask your staff, 'Does anyone want to drink after work?' and everyone says 'No', you wonder, has something happened that I missed? I'll say, 'OK I'm going to sit down and have a glass of wine' and they're saying 'OK, bye chef, I'm going to the gym.' And then they're gone and I'm sitting alone thinking, 'Should I be going to the gym as well?'"

Quickfire corner

Music to cook to I just love Nick Cave. Not only is he a singer, he's a writer, a poet and a filmmaker.

After-midnight snack Spaghetti bolognese. Or even worse, a huge pizza covered in bolognese sauce.

Kitchen weapon of choice I recently bought a little Japanese grill. I really like cooking over charcoal.

Formative food moment The first time I ever had pasta. It was the 1980s – the first time we all sat down in a restaurant as a family and for some bizarre reason I said to my mum I want bolognese and I still remember her saying, "You won't eat that, you won't like it." She was trying to tell me that it was foreign, it was the devil's food. It was like, "Why would you need to cook pasta? We have potatoes." It was the first time I felt food could be a pleasurable experience.

Non-cooking ninja skill I love singing. I trained for a year, I was in a band, I sang at college. I still sometimes sing to my daughter but she's always like, "Sshhhh, shut up Daddy."

JP McMahon visited Adelaide for Tasting Australia 2018. Myffy Rigby was a guest of Tourism South Australia.

Food On The Edge takes place on October 22 and 23 in Galway. Details: foodontheedge.ie