Seán Kinsella (1931 – 20 May 2013) was an Irish

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

, regarded as Ireland's first

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...

, who owned and operated the Mirabeau restaurant in

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for m ...

, Dublin, during the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

Kinsella was born in 1931 in

Cooraclare Cooraclare () is a village near Kilrush, in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a Cooraclare (parish), Catholic parish by the same name. Location The village of Cooraclare is in the parish of Cooraclare (Kilmacduane) in the Roman Cat ...

, County Clare, but moved to Dublin as a child, and grew up on

Clonliffe Clonliffe () is an area on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, between Ballybough and Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra in the Dublin 3 postal district. Location Clonliffe Road, previously known as Fortick ...

Road in north Dublin. He left school early, and by age 14 was working in the kitchens of Dublin's

Gresham Hotel The Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark. Founded in 1817, the current structure was completed in 1927 and ...

. He later worked in Jammets, a leading Dublin restaurant, and from 1953 to 1972 worked as

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival UK, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transp ...

vessels, mainly the SS Oronsay. In 1972 he met his wife Audrey in New York. Later that year the couple returned to Ireland and bought the existing Mirabeau restaurant, on the coast road at Sandycove on Dublin Bay. Under Kinsella, the restaurant acquired a high reputation, attracting a clientele of wealthy local and international celebrities. It distinguished itself by not showing prices on the menu (apart from the host's menu), presenting the ingredients before cooking for the guests' approval, serving generous portions, and allowing guests to stay as long as they wanted. The restaurant won many international awards, including the Wedgwood Award as one of the world's top 50 restaurants in 1981, and Kinsella himself received an honorary doctorate from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in the United States. Kinsella lived a flamboyant lifestyle, displaying his

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

car and mixing in the highest levels of the Irish social scene, though he never drank alcohol. Kinsella regularly took part in charity catering events, such as cooking Christmas dinners for the homeless at Dublin's Mansion House. In 1984, financial difficulties with the tax authorities resulted in the closure of the Mirabeau, and the Kinsella family, who had been living on the premises, had to leave. The restaurant was bought by investors, and

Michel Flamme Michel Flamme is a French chef. He worked in "Byerly Turk Restaurant ", the restaurant of the Michelin starred Kildare Hotel and Golf Club (K Club) in Straffan, County Kildare, when it earned its stars between 1993 and 1994. Early life and ca ...

became the chef. He suffered from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and died on 20 May 2013, aged 81. The site of the restaurant is now occupied by an apartment block.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsella, Sean Irish male chefs 1931 births 2013 deaths People from County Clare