Gary O'Hanlon

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When Gary O'Hanlon was a student at the Killybegs Tourism College, he wanted to be a local hero, like Conrad Gallagher, who was already then making waves in the USA. It's arguable Mr O'Hanlon has achieved more than Mr Gallagher, for he is the man who has put Longford on the culinary map, thanks to the svelte exuberance of his cooking in Viewmount House.

His food wears the influence of Tom Devlin of Boston, the man who influenced him more than any other, and not just in the ways of the kitchen, but in the whole conception of a restaurant, “the music, the time it took the host to answer the phone, how he/she answered the phone, the windows, the street outside, the cutlery, the glasses, the tables, the dress of the staff, the hospitality of the staff”. Viewmount puts this complete picture of a restaurant into balletic synchronicity. O'Hanlon met his wife-to-be when he went out to the dining room to see why she hadn't finished a risotto he had cooked. He's a forceful guy, obviously.

Viewmount House, Dublin Road, Longford, County Longford,
043 334 1919
http://www.viewmounthouse.com