Features

A family affair

Cáit Curran visits Jim’s Kitchen in Portlaoise to investigate the secret of his durability in the restaurant trade.

After twenty-eight years of serving the public at the wonderful Jim’s Kitchen restaurant in Portlaoise, Jim Tynan has become an overnight success. The eldest of a family of ten, growing up in a household that appreciated food was the foundation for Jim’s career in catering.

“My mother was a great cook and we had vegetables from the garden that my father grew so I had a good start,” Jim says. His route to the restaurant business began, like most in the seventies, through Rockwell College. He graduated from his course with distinction and stayed on for a further three years to train students. He followed that with a stint in Claridges in London where he made an impression despite being young and homesick. He turned down Claridges offer of employment to return to Rockwell for a further six months.

“The calibre of students turned out by Rockwell guaranteed a job in London,” Jim says. “It’s quite amazing that a small college in Ireland could produce students so well trained and sought after. In Claridges I got the opportunity to put into practice what I had learned.” Working in the royal suite meant that Jim got to meet pretty much every head of state in Europe and other international dignitaries. “During my time there I served everyone from the Queen of England to Mao Tse-tung, Henry Kissinger and King Hussein of Jordan,” he says.

Quality Ingredients

At the age of twenty-two, Jim set up the Coffee Studio on Church St. Portlaoise, on the same site where his restaurant stands today. After four years, he renovated a coach house to the rear of the building and expanded to a full scale restaurant. Renovation of the surrounding Hynds Square added further to the building and Jim’s Kitchen can now seat two hundred with additional seating outdoors in the square in summer. Incorporated into the restaurant building is the food hall, selling in-house products and the best of locally sourced speciality foods.

Any time I visit, Jim’s is busy. I will never forget my first dining experience there some years ago. Eating out for lunch in most provincial towns can be a depressing experience of soggy, tasteless bought-in prepared vegetables, a rubbery roast and watery potatoes, all covered in the ubiquitous brown glue that passes for gravy. Jim’s was different. The vegetables had flavour, the joint was crisp, moist and tasty and the accompaniments were all prepared in-house. I’ve returned many times over the years to sample the mouth watering salads, vegetarian food and meat dishes, and I’ve never been disappointed.

Maintaining a high standard is not rocket science as far as Jim is concerned. “I had a good grounding in Rockwell so I know no other way,” he says. “You start out with good raw materials and you keep it simple. You never compromise on flavour; everyone in my kitchen involved with preparing food gets to taste and make judgements. It’s a team effort and everyone contributes.”

Over the years Jim has sourced good suppliers who know exactly what he wants. He loves the organic vegetables he gets from Nick Cullen that remind him of what his father grew in the garden. Equally, he is happy to sell Ralph Haslam’s organic cheese because he believes it is a quality product.

Family Business

Probably the main reason for Jim’s longevity in such a tough business is family support. His wife, Sarah, is the pastry chef who produces the fabulous confections you just can’t resist. “The same cakes and desserts that were popular twenty years ago are still in demand,” according to Jim. “We bake out of hours and everything is freshly made each day.” Three of his sisters are also involved in the business, making it a genuine family affair. “I start at six every morning and four on Saturdays. Normally, I leave at six in the evening so it is a long day. The children have grown up with the restaurant and have a great appreciation of food so it has been a good life for all of us,” he says.

At one stage Jim opened in the evenings and, despite its success, decided it was just too much work and reverted to daytime service.

Jim’s latest venture is the publication if his cookbook, Jim’s Kitchen, which has been a runaway success. The first print run sold out within a couple of weeks and it is now in its second edition. The book contains many of the tried and trusted favourites from the restaurant and an opening section on Christmas cooking that will become a bible for many home cooks.

The launch of the book highlighted just what a local institution his restaurant has become when hundreds of regular customers showed up for the launch to wish him well. “I’ve been writing recipes for years for my newspaper column so producing the book wasn’t really hard work,” he says. “I’m very proud of the fact that it is an entirely local production, from content to illustrations and photographs to printing. It is a celebration of what we do – basic, good, honest food.”

Jim’s Kitchen’ is on sale for €20 from The Kitchen and Foodhall (Tel: 057 86 62061 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ); Easons, Portlaoise; All Books, Portlaoise and online from www.kitchendresser.ie and www.goodfoodireland.ie

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