From a young age I have always dreamed about opening my own restaurant, and as I am writing this it still feels like a dream to finally call myself a restaurant owner. My love affair with kitchens and food began when doing my work experince through school with a local restaurant Francos. From that moment I felt at home with the fast paced, foul mouthed environment and knew the kitchen was where I wanted to be. I have had the pleasure of working under some of the best chefs in the country and across the world. When taking the leap into the Michelin star world I moved to Edingburgh to work for the legend that is Tom Kitchin. Although it was not a long stint I will never forget the skills I learned under Tom and it gave me a clear vision of the chef I wanted to be. On my return to Ireland I was invited to work alongside the main man Neven Maguire in Macnean house. Neven's restaurant is one of a kind and I have yet to work in one like it. I was privileged to be appointed the sous chef role and worked under head chef Glen Wheeler who is still a great friend of mine to this day. After 4 years with Neven, I found myself looking for a new adventure. I travelled across the globe and cooked in some of the most beautiful destinations in the world including Australia, Thailand and Dubai. I returned to the emerald isle but not for long as I continued my career as a chef working on a private yacht sailing the mediterranean and Indian Ocean.

On returning home to Enniskillen for good, I was offered my first head chef job where I learnt the skills that gave me the push to start this venture on my own. The best is definitely yet to come with The Street Kitchen and Paget Lane.

Marty McAdam