A Conversation With Executive Chef Paul McKnight Of Culloden Hotel And Spa

Culloden Hotel and Spa is a monument to elegance. Set into rolling hills outside of Belfast, Ireland it provides a calming experience if there ever was one. It has a marvelous restaurant called The Mitre. I had lamb and it was perfect, excellently prepared and served.  It was presented in The Mitre's dining room overlooking hills and manicured lawns. The whole experience was exceptional. The meal was so fabulous that I wanted to meet the chef.

Paul McKnight has been the executive chef at Culloden for over 30 years. At 17 years old, he came to work at the hotel in the gardens and when, as he explained, "winter came I was asked by the owners would I like to help in the kitchen and haven't looked back since then."

He attended Portrush Catering College where he learned more of his craft. He was appointed executive chef in the 1980s and since then has had several internationally famous chefs work with him. These have included Gordon Ramsey, Phil Howard, Raymond Blanc, and Derry Clarke to name but a few. He also gained experience working at The Plaza Hotel in New York.

I sat down with McKnight to learn more about the veteran chef:

The Daily Meal: How important are locally sourced products to your kitchen Philosophy?
Paul McKnight: We are passionate about food and believe that eating is one of life's greatest pleasures. We embrace the use of carefully selected, local, and seasonal quality foods to enable our chefs to prepare and create the most delicious dishes in our kitchens. When sourcing our food, I look for produce which stands out from the rest – from where it originates, to the way it is produced, to its flavor.

Ireland's temperate climate and rainfall produce lush pastures, ensuring superb quality dairy produce.  All milk and cream is sourced from Fairview Dairies in the Castlereagh Hills, where the McDowell Family have been selling fresh, wholesome dairy produce for over 100 years.  Our yogurt, found on the breakfast menu, is live probiotic yogurt, naturally made at Clandeboye Estate with milk from Lady Dufferin's award-winning pedigree Jersey and Holstein herd.

We use only fresh, locally produced breads. The Irwin family has been at the heart of the local bakery industry for three generations, producing the finest range of Irish breads. We can guarantee quality and freshness in every slice of Irwin's bread.  Our Guinness wheaten bread is a real specialty and captures perfectly the authentic taste of the black stuff! We also source specialty breads from The Yellow Door Deli and Patisserie.

What are your goals in the kitchen?
Hotel dining in Ireland has reached new heights in the last few years, with some of the best restaurants being found in hotels. Our goal is to become the best hotel restaurant in Ireland and the first choice for people when they are working out where is best to dine around Belfast. 

We want to become the leaders in banqueting food offering and with Ireland's strong culinary heritage we will achieve this by using local Irish produce to showcase some of the fantastic food Ireland is famous for. [pullquote:right]

When sourcing lamb, we are careful to only use the freshest local lambs or hoggets in season from approved local farms. Lambs are grass-fed and matured to enhance tenderness and natural flavor. We work with Carnbrooke Meats in County Down whose preference is for lamb from the Mourne Mountains area from small local farmers like Alan Newell from Binnian Mountain, ensuring the best in tenderness and taste when it reaches your table.

With 2016 being Northern Ireland's Year of Food, my goal is to give all visitors a taste of what makes our local menus so special. The island of Ireland has a proud heritage of farming and fishing, resulting in an abundance of sensational produce and we want to give all our guests a true taste of this in everything we serve.

Finally, what are your plans for the future?
We aim to always be one step ahead of the competition, to continue to embrace the use of carefully selected local and seasonal quality foods, and to provide a customer experience so good that we give new meaning to guest dining.