Meet Belfast’s leading chefs

Michael Deane is regarded as the godfather of cooking in Belfast. He’s hailed as revolutionising the eating out scene in the city having held onto his Michelin Star for 13 years – the longest ever in Ireland. Michael now has seven restaurants, including EIPIC (his Michelin Starred restaurant), Meat Locker and Love Fish. Michael’s career began at Claridge’s in London before he returned to Northern Ireland in 1993 to open his first restaurant, Deane’s on the Square with his cousin, Haydn Deane. It was here that Michael really made a name for himself by earning his first ever Michelin Star. In 1997 Michael opened a two-storey establishment in Belfast’s city centre on Howard Street, which included Deane’s Brasserie on the ground floor and Restaurant Michael Deane on the first floor. In the same year the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star. It held this for 13 years, making it the longest running and only Michelin Star holder in Northern Ireland at the time.

Simon McCance has successfully steered his multi-award winning restaurant, The Ginger Bistro for the past two decades. Previous accolades include best casual dining restaurant in the Irish Restaurant Awards. The original restaurant, which opened on Ormeau Road with backing from restaurateur Nick Price in 2000, was such a hit that just four years later Simon was able to move his business to its current location right in the centre of Belfast. Simon was formerly the head chef at the now closed Nick’s Warehouse – one of the restaurants behind Belfast’s surge as a foodie destination. Since those days, Simon has continued to evolve his style and creativity, and is now a master with fish particularly. Today “Ginger”, as the restaurant is affectionately called by locals, is seen as a Belfast institution.

Ox has held a Michelin Star since 2016, all thanks to the brilliant Stephen Toman. As recently as 2019, the restaurant was awarded the prestigious Best Restaurant in Ireland award at the Food and Wine Awards. Belfast-born Stephen and Brittany native Alain Kerloc’h met at L’Arpege in Paris, where they were mentored by the infamous three-star French chef Alain Passard, before opening Ox together in March 2013. The pair were determined to bring imagination and creativity to Belfast. This starts with a challenge and the challenge is putting vegetables centre-stage of the dishes, followed by top-quality meat and sustainably-sourced fish. Having cultivated friendships with local suppliers, the food served at Ox is seasonal and at its best when served to customers. Stephen has consistently been praised for his restaurant’s creative nature, stunning food and exceptional service.

James Street South owner and head chef Niall McKenna has been cooking since he was 15. He even moved schools to go to De La Salle in Belfast as it was the only boys school that offered Home Economics. He then went onto study professional cookery at Belfast Metropolitan College between 1987 and 1988. After his studies Niall moved to London where he spent 12 years training under Michelin-starred chefs such as Nico Ladenis, Gary Rhodes and Marco Pierre White. When he returned to Belfast he worked at the Porcelain Restaurant, where he managed the hotel kitchens, restaurant and private dining rooms before finally opening his own restaurant, James Street South in 2003. Since then Niall has gone on to open a number of other award-winning restaurants before appearing on the BBC TV series Great British Menu in 2010, where his dessert was served at the series finale banquet. In 2014, he was named Northern Ireland Tourism Hero at the NI Tourism Awards. The same year, he set up the James Street South Chef Apprenticeship Programme, which gives hospitality students the chance to learn their skills from some of the best chefs in Northern Ireland.