Seán Kinsella

Seán Kinsella (1931 – 20 May 2013) was an Irish restaurateur, regarded as Ireland's first celebrity chef, in Cooraclare, County Clare, but moved to Dublin as a child, and grew up on Clonliffe Road in north Dublin. He left school early, and by age 14 was working in the kitchens of Dublin's Gresham Hotel. He later worked in Jammets, a leading Dublin restaurant, But last Good Friday ("my one day off," says the pale and wan Mr Kinsella, who had another yesterday and spent it cooking lunch for 30 to launch his latest enterprise), along came the people from Dolphin Records to set up their equipment and perch on the counters for 4 ½ hours, in the Mirabeau kitchen, while Mr Kinsella cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner, and talked and talked about it. No, not a studio mock-up, those are yer actual slamming oven doors and clattering iron frying pans you hear on "Seán Kinsella's Kitchen", a cassette tape of advice from one of the country's most successful restauranteurs. He's not talking about gourmet food, he says, just advice for your average housewife or denizen of a flat...

Under Kinsella, the Mirabeau 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. Kinsella lived a flamboyant lifestyle, displaying his Rolls-Royce car and mixing in the highest levels of the Irish social scene, though he never drank alcohol.

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