Cork food: Chef Alex Petit talks about the work behind the scenes in his kitchens

Born in a Paris suburb, Alex Petit moved to Dinard, the culinary heart of Brittany, as a boy of 12. He had a dream to be like his father, a businessman, but after a short stint in college studying commerce, Alex returned home with a surprising new aspiration.

“I told my dad, I want to be a chef. I didn’t know where the idea came from, but I just somehow knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Alex did indeed become a chef, studying in a prestigious culinary college in Dinard and establishing a career specialising in hotel dining. For the past 22 years, now married and father to three children, West Cork is where he calls home.

In 2022, Alex took up the role of Group Executive Head Chef for Trigon Hotels in Cork, which includes The Metropole Hotel and Cork International Hotel.

He has a passion for food, hospitality, produce and the relentless buzz of professional kitchens. In this role, he can consider the environmental impact food and hospitality has, and inspire other chefs to follow suit - a chef’s chef; one looking to make change in the industry he loves.

But how did he get here?

“A day or two after I told my dad I wanted to be a chef, he had secured me a stage [placement] in one of the top hotel restaurants in Brittany. I remember the head chef was very tough, but every day I came home and told my dad about the buzz, the chefs, the work, the flames, the smells, the products coming in - I just absolutely loved it!”

A second stage was in a seafood restaurant working prep in a basement kitchen all day long, yet Alex still wasn’t put off.

At 16, he left to study at a catering college in Dinard. As he turned 18, he came to Ireland on a placement to the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery.

“It was a requirement of the course to learn English. We were supposed to go in pairs, but I ended up on my own in the same small village in West Cork I now call home!”

Alex never forgot Ireland, and as soon as he graduated, he returned. “I just couldn’t get enough of Ireland! I came back and just kept going.”

He worked in the Kingsley Hotel, Hayfield Manor and Carrigaline Court, then he and wife Caitriona headed to Australia and New Zealand for a year, discovering new techniques, produce and flavours that made it into his cookery repertoire.

Coming home to Ireland, the pair decided to settle down in West Cork, and Alex took a role working alongside Majella O’Neill who owned the Riverside Café in Skibbereen.

“I got lucky because Majella was at the cutting edge of knowing good food and her love for seasonal, local produce. I remember Lisheen asparagus coming in the door with the dirt still on them for just six weeks until the season was done. We made our own breads every morning with our own recipes. I have carried that love for local, seasonal ingredients with me ever since.”

It was a call from the Celtic Ross Hotel that eventually brought Alex back to where his Irish journey began.

“I could feel there was real dedication and passion to push on with the food and beverage offering, changing things and not settling for average. I stayed there for six-and-a-half years, a big chunk of my life.”

The next move brought Alex to Liss Ard Estate, Skibbereen, which maintains a kitchen garden and prides itself on putting a true taste of West Cork on the menu.

“We had a gardener growing all our vegetables, Jerusalem artichokes, rainbow chard, wild strawberries, rhubarb; we’d go and pick our leaves and our edible flowers every day before service. It was one of those real rare opportunities, it was fantastic.”

But the slower pace of a country house estate was no substitute for the frenetic energy of a busy property. And so, Alex moved back to the city and a role that brings together all his experience and able to put his ideas on sustainability into practice.

“As Group Executive Head Chef for Trigon Hotels, Cork, I want people to see hotels can be more than hotels. I have always said do what you say, and I’ve met a group of people here, like Carmel Lonergan and Aaron Mansworth, who have such passion and drive for this industry. It’s not just about financial success; they see financial success as a result of what is put in place, and for the right reasons.”

The portfolio is diverse, which can bring its own challenges.

“The two hotels are completely different. The Metropole is 127 years old. With that comes systems that have been in place for years. It brings its own challenges when a role like mine that’s trying to evolve and adapt is introduced.”

“The Cork International Hotel is modern, airport-orientated, very transient. You don’t get long stays; people come in late and leave early, so the profile is very different. But it’s a hotel in the middle of a commercial park near the airport that’s extremely busy with all kinds of guests - that’s mind-blowing! We started from a very strong base up there, so it’s about doing things differently for the right reasons and that’s where sustainability is huge.”

“My role is to assess and think about change in a way that will make a better impact on the environment. We all know hospitality is a huge part of the problem we have with waste, with energy, so how do we address that in a way that is motivated by the right reasons for making change?”

A lot of businesses pay lip service to sustainability, but it is something Alex genuinely feels strongly about.

“We are not here to publicise things we don’t do, so before I go up on stage to talk about sustainability, I make sure we can stand over that.”

Trigon Hotels launched a Food Charter in January 2024, with ten commitments to making the food and drink offerings more sustainable. Each commitment has a measurable goal, and progress is reported as part of the monthly executive meetings. A year on, has the journey to greater sustainability been successful?

“Our first Food Charter was a big commitment for us to incrementally progress into our journey of sustainability. We are changing our menus four times a year with the seasons; we are on target for reducing food waste (we are below industry average now), and we are now at around 27 local producers on our menus - mainly Cork but we go a bit further out if needs to, for example, Goatsbridge Trout from Kilkenny.”

At the time of writing, 72% of all targets were completed. The biggest remaining challenge is tackling the eradication of single use plastics: no straws, plastic bags, single portion condiments, and no clingfilm which, Alex says is “like a chef’s right arm!”

One of the charter commitments is to work with charity partners. In 2024, Trigon worked closely with the Cope Foundation, volunteering over 400 hours to support the Cope Garden which grows fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs.

“They grew courgettes, potatoes, edible flowers, chard, lot of herbs. We went up one day and cooked a massive batch of ratatouille, courgette fritters and an herb salsa verde. It has been such a great experience for us as well as them.”

Each property has also committed to having at least one ‘No Waste’ dish on its menu. Alex explains: “It’s about looking at produce and using every single bit. We ask if we really need to peel a vegetable before using it? We take onion skins, dehydrate them, make a powder out of it that enhances the flavour of a dish at the end of cooking. We don’t use garnish if it’s not needed.”

The sustainability mindset extends to people, too. Trigon Hotels works with MTU and Cork Prison to support The Open Door Project and has created an apprenticeship programme in-house it hopes to roll out to other hospitality venues across the county in 2025.

Trigon has also been an enthusiastic supporter of Open Kitchen Week since its inception.

“Open Kitchen Week came out of an initiative of the Chef Network,” says Alex. “Several years ago, they launched the Kitchen Charter which is a commitment to running a fair kitchen, that we give people work-life balance, the right support and opportunities to learn and train, mentorship and an environment of camaraderie where you’re not alone but we’re all here to develop together as a team.”

“That resonated with me. Over the years, I have worked in really tough kitchens. I’ve seen things I would never want someone else to because nobody deserves this kind of treatment. Was it very formative for me? Yes, it was. Did I learn I lot? Absolutely. Did it teach me discipline and self-motivation and all those traits of character that are very important to life - 100%. But I think there are plenty of other ways to teach people that and we must adapt.”

“When Chef Network reached out with Open Kitchen Week, it really resonated with me because I have always said, no matter where I worked, the kitchen is always open - we have nothing to hide! If you want to come into my fridges and see what’s happening, please do. If you want to come in and spend a service with us, please do. Because that’s what kitchens should be - that transfer of love, passion, exchange and learning something from others.

“Everyone has their own way of bringing something to the table and we’ve got to give a platform for it.”

Since moving to Trigon Hotels, Alex says he sees a new purpose in his role as a chef now - as a leader.

“If you asked me five, ten years ago what my biggest accomplishment has been, I would have said cooking at 2 Rosette level, being mentioned in the Michelin Guide, working with the best producers; but that’s now changed.”

“My focus is fully on the teams and their development and that transmission of the knowledge and passion I have within me for the industry; for food, for kitchens; for the life of hotels and restaurants. I genuinely love that part of it.”

“I guess that comes from experience, and this role now allows me a greater degree of creativity, that freedom of research, ask what’s coming next, how do we adapt, and is it the right thing to do. Sustainability has always been important to me. Now I have more time to research, develop and progress with it.”