Interview with Tony Keogh
Tony Keogh is an admirable and personable man who works as the head chef in a vegan restaurant called Cornucopia for the past 20 years. In my opinion he spoke himself a humbled and respectful man. Cornucopia is a welcoming and casual dining restaurant that serves delicious and palatable meals seven days per week. It has run for over 30 years and all food is hand-made using the highest quality ingredients.
Tell me about yourself? What inspired you to become a chef here in Cornucopia?
I have always wanted to become a chef at an early age. I was even interested in psychology and how the mind works as well as how the way of the world manages. I’ve worked in Morton’s in 1997. Then moved to Holland for a year, having a bit of crack. Then I worked in a restaurant there, too. Soon, after a few coming years he moved to Dublin and became a chef in 2001 and I consider it a privilege since then. Experimenting new ideas and expanding new horizons.
Where does most vegan produce come from?
Most vegan come from four different vegetable suppliers. We wanted to expand a bit more of the production of food here as vegan was small. And we want to develop different ideas for food so we can attract more customers.
How would you describe the pace of work at Cornucopia and would it change overtime?
Customers come and go every minute and we tend to quicken ourselves and be up and running with orders taken and served. We do try and keep a smile and be polite as possible but in situations like this where it gets so hectic that you have zero time to make conversations and be friendly but to meet the needs of customers and keep them satisfied as we can by serving them their preferred meals in the right time.
What is the interview process like in Cornucopia?
The same in every process. I take people’s CV’s and cover letters and see whether they are suited for the job or not. And check are they able to prepare the dishes in which is shown on the menu.
What is the most stressful part about working in Cornucopia?
As I employee people in the workforce, a lot of people possess different strengths and weaknesses which can affect menus from the chef’s way of cooking. Like wrong mixtures of food and such. Also, if there’s poor customer services involved that can be a problem, too and we really try to avoid that as much as possible.
