West Cork chef selected for BIM’s Taste the Atlantic 2024 Ambassador Programme

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, has announced the five promising young chefs who have been selected as Ambassadors for this years Taste the Atlantic, Young Chef Ambassador Programme.

Twenty-two year old, Anna O’Leary from Kilmichael in West Cork has been selected as one of the five.

Anna is the Baker & Pastry Chef at The Fig & Olive in Clonakilty.

She also spends her time on her family’s farm where she grows her own herbs and vegetables and helps with their production of beef, lamb, chicken, eggs and honey.

Anna hails from a farm in Kilmichael in West Cork, and has a passion for growing her own food and self-sufficiency as well as a love of cooking and baking.

She took her first steps into hospitality working as a kitchen assistant in the Auld Triangle, Macroom at the age of 15, and went on to work summers both front of house and in the kitchen at Gougane Barra Hotel.

Anna discovered a love of the high pressure work environment and a drive for perfection in her work.

Originally pursuing an academic route studying Nutrition and Health Science, her love of food drove her to transfer to Culinary Arts in MTU where she has just completed her second year, alongside working at The Fig & Olive in Clonakilty where she looks after baking and pastry.

She also spends her time on her family’s farm where she grows her own herbs and vegetables and helps with their production of beef, lamb, chicken, eggs and honey.

In her spare time she cooks and bakes at home, with a focus on creative ways to use what is available in season on the farm.

Being from West Cork, Anna feels connected with the sea as well as the land and wants to gain deeper knowledge of seafood production and its sustainability.

The immersive BIM programme, in collaboration with Chef Network and Fáilte Ireland, is now in its fourth year.

Anna, along with the other ambitious ambassadors will embark on a four-month programme to familiarise themselves with Irelands premium seafood and the people who produce it along the Wild Atlantic Way.

The chefs came together for their induction to the Ambassador programme, which will include visits to several seafood producers in Kerry, Cork and Galway to learn all about oyster and mussel farming, the art of seafood smoking, fish mongering skills and recipe creation.

Following applications from all over Ireland, the appointed chefs are selected based on their applications, followed by an interview process. The Taste the Atlantic Young Chef Ambassador Programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union, under the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).