Richard Corrigan

The Climb

Restraint is the organising principle in Richard Corrigan’s cooking. His own line on the subject is plain: a beautiful piece of meat, served simply with pan juices and a quality potato, asks more of the cook than anything heavily worked over. That approach puts technique ahead of display. It relies on timing, judgment and confidence in the ingredient, with no room for excess once the point is made. That discipline was built in the standard way: through training, hotel work and increasingly responsible posts. Richard Corrigan trained at Dublin Institute of Technology before beginning his career as trainee chef at Kirwin Hotel in Athboy, Ireland. He then worked as chef at several hotels, including Hilton Amsterdam in Netherlands, and as chef at Le Méridien hotel in Piccadilly, London (from 1985), where service pace and consistency would have mattered as much as taste. A further run of head chef roles tightened that method at a higher level. Richard Corrigan went on as head chef at Stephen Bull's Blandford Street Restaurant in London, head chef at Mulligan's in Mayfair, London, and head chef at Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill in London (until 2005). From there, the move into chef/patron work at Fulham Road in London (from 1994) and Lindsay House in Soho, London (1997–2008) shifted the task from running a pass to setting the tone of an entire kitchen. The London base remained central, but the footprint widened. From 2005, Richard returned as chef/patron at Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill in London, while also becoming chef/patron at Corrigan's Mayfair (since 2008). He later added chef/patron at Virginia Park Lodge in Virginia, County Cavan (from 2014), chef/patron at Gibney's Bar in London (from 2019), chef/patron of Daffodil Mulligan Restaurant (since 2019), chef/patron of Deerpark Inn (since 2023), and chef/patron of The Portrait Restaurant (since 2023). Across those rooms, the work reads as controlled, direct and rooted in the same preference for clear cooking over embellishment.

Today

The throughline in Richard Corrigan’s work is consistency of method. Across restaurants, bars and estates, the style stays pointed: no decorative excess, no confusion of purpose, just precise cooking and confidence in the ingredient. That gives the work its shape whether the setting is formal or more casual, urban or rural.

Signature

Richard's signature dishes include White Asparagus with Broccoli Puree and Blood Orange and Nutmeg. The dish is built on contrast and control: the direct flavour of White Asparagus, the softer vegetal note of Broccoli Puree, then the lift of Blood Orange and the warmth of Nutmeg. It reads as a balanced arrangement rather than a showpiece, with each element placed to do a specific job.

In Their Words “I’ve always had a Presbyterian approach to what I cook. In my mind, it takes a lot more balls to take a beautiful piece of meat and serve it simply with some pan juices and a quality potato.”