Interview with Aonghus O’Reilly: Chef at the Phoenix Restaurant

Today we have been talking to experienced Head Chef at the Phoenix Restaurant, Aonghus O’Reilly who has kindly agreed to meet us and answer our questions.

Aonghus joined Phoenix Restaurant in August 2012 and he is delighted to be working with a like-minded team and Phoenix’s management. His position also involves more sociable hours than Aonghus’ previous jobs therefore he is enjoying having stability and has more time for his family.

The positive aspects about working with Compass Group that appeal to Aonghus are corporate structure, regulation and straightforward ideas.

The company’s policies provide great guidance and add to professionalism and future prospects. There is a contracted food supplier for the Phoenix. At this stage Aonghus has become familiar with customer preferences and how these preferences dictate their purchases.

Interesting things to know about Aonghus:  

The most essential item in the kitchen: knife -” can’t do anything without it” admits Aonghus.

Favourite ingredient: Celeriac

“It is a root vegetable with a creamy texture and firm flavour. It is beautiful in soups and roastings…” – how Aonghus describes it would make it sound appealing to anyone although it may sound, on first hearing, as being just another insignificant root. Aonghus makes one to imagine the dish and want to try it. It is apparent how much passion he has for his profession.

Chef inspired by: Ed Cooney Executive chef in Merrion Hotel is a great mentor that Aonghus keeps in touch with because of the confidence that Ed showed in him from his early years as a chef. He still keeps in touch with Ed who is an excellent contact.

Cook Books: Aonghus has more than 120 cook books! He could buy a book just because of one recipe but he does not like getting cook books as presents. 

Having eaten at the Phoenix Restaurant for the past half year every day we could highly recommend it to anyone to enjoy its rich nutrition and fresh ingredients prepared by Aonghus.

The picture in this post is used with the kind permission of Aonghus O’Reilly.

Aonghus O’Reilly – Head Chef at The Phoenix Restaurant

Aonghus O’Reilly – Head Chef at The Phoenix Restaurant

Aonghus O’Reilly has always cooked from when he was quite young. His mother was a great baker and did a lot of baking for family and friends, especially around Christmas time. That’s where Aonghus got his first interest for cooking.

Aonghus always experimented with food; instead of just throwing up what young men would normally eat when they move away from home. For example, trying vanilla essence in pancakes.

In terms of becoming involved in cooking as a profession, Aonghus was cooking dinner for some friends when he was about 19 and one of the guests happened to be a chef. He offered Aonghus a job as a commis chef after being impressed with his cooking skills.

He started off working in a pub called Oil Can Harry’s in Mount Street, Dublin about 17 or 18 years ago. From there Aonghus progressed to the Merrion Hotel and most of his formal training was undertaken there. It first opened in 1996 or 1997 and what Aonghus learned there from the point of view of standards and professionalism would still be something that he would continue with today as much as possible.

At that time Aonghus also travelled to France to complete some Stages (Internships), working in hotels and restaurants gaining great experience. To this day, Aonghus travels to France every second year at least with his family to holiday and enjoy the French culture and cuisine.

Before working at the Phoenix, a big dislike would have been the unsociable working hours involved. However this is something that has to be accepted when working in high-tempo restaurants or chasing awards. This would involve a lot of late nights, absences from family occasions such as birthday parties or Christmas. Now that Aonghus has children, he requires more social hours and stability in his home life which is enabled by his job at Phoenix Restaurant.

Apart from the locations already mentioned, places that Aonghus has worked include a restaurant called Mange Tout (now closed), the Poitin Still pub, Kingswood House, the Buenos Aires Grill and others. He also spent three years free-lancing for himself, working at racecourses and corporate firms, providing catering services in-house for executives and their clients who preferred to dine in a private environment. Aonghus would be provided with an on-site kitchen and his role would be to provide and prepare the food, wine and waiting staff as required.

At the end of 2008, beginning of 2009, when the economic downturn intensified, companies requiring these services reined in their budgets and the first thing to go was the expensive food. Therefore, Aonghus had to look for a job again but thankfully, due to his professional ability and the fact that people have to eat no matter where in the world they live, he was confident of finding new employment.

Aonghus’ ambitions for the future would be to progress through the Compass Group, to develop himself within the catering sector but also any other aspect of the company that he might be able to get involved in. As much as Aonghus loves cooking, over time he has started to look at the bigger picture and at some stage he realises that he will have to step away from the ovens.

Outside of working Aonghus has a number of interests particularly those that are related to his two daughters who play camogie at Lucan Sarsfields GAA club. He has recently become involved with the club and took a foundation course for coaching younger children and is looking forward to continuing with this in January 2013. Aonghus played hurling himself as a boy. He also supports his older daughter with her interest in boxing. Apart from sport, Aonghus does some writing and likes to collect wild foods such as mushrooms, blackberries, sloes, hazelnuts and whatever he can find depending on the time of year. He wrote a blog about his wild food knowledge a couple of years ago until work commitments interjected but he hopes to resume writing in the near future. He also did radio work in a similar context at that time.

Food Safety / Hygiene at Phoenix Restaurant

One major concern of those operating a busy restaurant environment is to ensure that none of their customers fall ill after consuming one of their food offerings. Such news is likely to negatively impact a restaurant’s overall trade and in many cases lead to long-term reputational damage.

With this in mind, safeguarding the highest of hygiene standards is undoubtedly the number one operational priority at Phoenix Restaurant  Taking all reasonable preventative steps to ensure that food prepared and distributed by the Phoenix meets the highest safety standards is a wholly collaborative process, with each staff member adhering to a strict code of hygienic practice in their day-to-day operations.

Like all food businesses operating in the Republic of Ireland,  Compass Group (operators of Phoenix Restaurant) is required by law to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point). This simple system enables the Phoenix to comprehensively assess each step in the food manufacture process (also known as Critical Control Points CCPs) for potential food safety

From the moment deliveries arrive at the back door, the Phoenix engages in a number of practical steps to ensure their food is stored and prepared to the highest of standards. These mandatory measures include:hazards and introduce practices and procedures that eliminate or reduce the risk of these hazards becoming dangerous.

1. Checking the delivery vehicle for cleanliness and temperature control.
2. Probing all delivered food to ensure it has been stored at the correct temperature.
3. Labelling all delivered food before putting it in the appropriate fridge, freezer or store room.
4. Checking cooking food to ensure that it has reached the required cooking temperature.
5. Storing prepared food in accordance with HACCP guidelines and ensuring the temperature is checked throughout the delivery service. If something is found to have gone above or below the legal temperature it is immediately discarded to prevent contamination.
6. Taking samples of all the food cooked on site and freezing it so it can best tested following a suspected food poisoning incident.

All the aforementioned information is carefully catalogued and kept on record for a minimum of six months. This provides the Phoenix with full accountability for everything that has been cooked on site.

By complying with the latest food safety regulations, Phoenix Restaurant has demonstrated its commitment to earning an enhanced reputation as an establishment where food is produced in a hygienic environment and is safe for consumption.

In August 2012, Compass Group Ireland (the parent company of The Phoenix) was awarded the prestigious HSE Silver Standard award – an honour given to companies that have demonstrated a high level of performance underpinned by management systems that deliver consistent improvement in standards of excellence.

Passing the required internal and ISOQAR audits needed to attain this coveted accreditation serves as a concrete reminder of the company’s longstanding commitment to the health and welfare of its loyal customers.

Compass Group PLC

The Phoenix Restaurant @ NUI Maynooth is owned and operated by Compass Group PLC – one of the largest contract food service companies in the world.

Headquartered in the UK, Compass has operations in more than 50 countries worldwide and employs some 470,000 people as of 2012. With an impressive 90 of the Fortune 100 companies listed as their clients, Compass has established itself as a world-class provider of quality breakfasts, lunches and dinners to a diverse array of customers, including office workers, college students, senior living communities, sports enthusiasts and even employees of remote mining camps and offshore facilities.

Compass’ operations are not simply limited to the provision of tasty and affordable meals; their ultimate goal is to meet the dietary requirements of their customers on a case-by-case basis. For example, their corporate based services are aimed at “refreshing tired minds and refueling the productivity of people at work” while their educational based services are aimed at “helping boost the concentration of young minds at school and college”. It is this unique emphasis on meeting the specific nutritional needs of their diverse customer base that has helped distinguish Compass from it closest competitors.

While Compass may serve approximately 4 billion customers per annum, the wide variety of food offerings available in the Phoenix Restaurant (ranging from a full Irish breakfast to Italian style pizzas) are emblematic of the company’s desire to provide students with as much choice as possible. With tailor-made menus created by award-winning chefs and ingredients sourced directly from suppliers, it is little wonder that more and more organizations are choosing to outsource their food services to Compass.

Given Compass’ proven record of meeting the highest health, safety and environmental standards, it also comes as little surprise that more and more organizations are now depending on the company to provide a range of support services such as cleaning, logistics and transport, security and building maintenance.

Despite the global economic downturn, Compass Group’s long-term objective of delivering value for its shareholders and customers looks certain to continue through the growth-focused development of their existing expertise within the food industry and the expansion of their international support service capabilities.