Chef Darren Pettigrew reinvents Irish cuisine

By Claire Sibonney

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Dublin-born chef Darren Pettigrew is not afraid to bring home-style Irish fare to upscale palates, just don't call it pub food.

Pettigrew, 36, recently opened a "gastro bar" called Stella Maris (Latin for "star of the sea") with his fellow Irish-American partner Keith Doyle in New York city's historic Seaport district.

He describes the food at the restaurant, divided into a separate cafe, dining room and bar, as "uncomplicated modern bistro fare."

Besides an extensive raw seafood bar and classic European dishes from France, Spain and Italy, Pettigrew includes a few Irish favorites as well -- cockles and mussels, crubeens (Gaelic for pigs' feet) and pea soup -- which he calls a "wink at Dublin."

He spoke to Reuters about his inspirations, love of cooking and a new ingredient.

Q: How would you define Irish cuisine?

A: "We got a bad rap. Let's just say there is no Irish cuisine. There are a couple dishes, there's a working man's dish, we're going to do it here. It's basically boiled sausages and Irish bacon and potatoes and a few vegetables. It's called coddle. You have it with a pint of Guinness and some brown bread. The joke is corned beef and cabbage, you don't eat corned beef in Ireland."

Q: Do you have a culinary mentor?