Under a starry sky in the Italian countryside on holidays with their girls, Paul and Máire Flynn pour a glass of Prosecco and toast to 20 years: two decades of running a successful restaurant, the staff who helped them along the way, the support from the town of Dungarvan. Twenty years running the Tannery, the destination restaurant that helped put the food scene in west Waterford on the map.

“God, it all sounds very romantic, we definitely must have had a few glasses of wine,” laughs Paul, the chef who is known for his TV appearances, cookbooks, his high-profile work with Lidl and his years as food writer in The Irish Times.

Paul Flynn is certainly the face of the Tannery but – to anyone who has stepped foot into this modern Irish restaurant – it is clear success is very much a team effort.

His wife Máire, is warm and welcoming and, as photographs are being taken, we chat about their holidays in Italy, the sailing camp their daughters Ruth and Anna are enjoying, good summer reads and house prices. Paul may be the culinary genius, but Máire is responsible for the relaxed vibe that is characteristic of the Tannery.

London Experience

Creating this atmosphere was no accident. Having left Dungarvan when he was 18, Paul spent 10 years working in top restaurants in London. When he and Máire set up the Tannery, though, they were determined to create something different.

“I began to hate those Michelin star restaurants in London and the formality of it all,” says Paul. “The way I trained, it was very formal, posh, snooty waiting staff. I never got it. That feeling of joy, laughter and fun: that’s what dining out should be. It should be eating for pleasure. We really felt strongly about that.”

In fact, this couple felt very strongly about a lot of things when they opened the Tannery in 1997, and not everybody agreed. “There were lots of people with opinions,” says Máire. “We used get a lot of ‘you know what you should do’ in regards to the food, the décor, the menu. Sometimes, though, you need to listen to your inner voice, draw on your inner strength.”

Paul adds: “Honestly, if we had started serving steak and chips back then, we would be retired now – happily retired, I would like to add – but we like to challenge ourselves. Because back then, steak and chips was the standard meal out for a lot of people.

“However, we were ambitious and wanted to go beyond that. Our dream was to be a destination restaurant, as good as any restaurant in Dublin, London or New York, but we also had to think about what people wanted in the town.

“What we really wanted to be was a local restaurant but an ambitious one, a restaurant in the country with a cosmopolitan feel. Striking that balance wasn’t always easy.”

The Tannery

“Ah, we were never easy on ourselves,” jibes Máire. “To be honest, we didn’t know any better, we were foolish, really. I mean people thought we were mad setting up in the old tannery, as it was.”

Paul reflects: “I remember cycling past here on the way to the lookout as a kid, and you would have to cover your nose from the smell of animal hide. But we had this vision: we wanted to be another Kinsale. We believed in the town, the people and believed we could be part of that.”

Isn’t there something lovely about that, we say. “It’s lovely and exciting until you live through it,” laughs Máire.

Because even though their first summer had steady business, once the dark months came, Paul says it was like someone turned the lights out. “We would be doing eight or 10 plates on a midweek night in the winter.”

Máire says: ”Local support kept us going. Those early years were hard, but I don’t regret or resent them. We had a good work ethic, and I don’t believe when people say they had luck on their side. I think you create a lot of your own luck.”

Rising Profile

“Now we had a bit of luck,” pipes in Paul. A chance meeting with the editor of the weekend supplement in The Irish Times saw Paul begin to make a name for himself, which led to TV and media work.

That, fused with a change in the Irish psyche, meant that from 2000 onwards, people from across the country were planning trips to their little corner of Waterford.

With that came the cookery school and accommodation for guests. Their dream of becoming a destination restaurant started to become a reality.

As a couple, Paul and Máire have persevered through the bad times and enjoyed the good times together. But time to get real: what’s it like running a business with your partner?

“It’s tricky,” says Paul, “I don’t think anyone else would put up with it.” He glances over at his wife, “Jesus, what are you keeping in there?” he teases her.

“You really can read my mind,” she says, bursting out laughing.

An awkward silence is followed by another nervous laughter that speaks volumes: how much do we tell the journalist?

“We usually have a very united vision on what we are going to do,” says Máire, “but it takes a bit of tweaking from the two of us. I’ll tell you,” she says winking. “Paul is flahoolic with the money, he is penny-wise but pound-foolish. He will be going around turning out lights to save money but is planning on installing a new music system while he is doing it. I’m the one who minds the money.”

Growing Family

“In general, though, you do take work home, you absolutely do. We really have to make an effort not to talk about it for the kids’ sake,” says Máire.

“Ah, they don’t have it that bad, they could write a guidebook on restaurants,” says Paul. “They are really interested in food, but you kind of have to keep a cap on that. There is nothing worse than a 10-year-old foodie saying she loves sushi. That can be painful, so we nip that in the bud.”

Bigger Picture

The girls arrived eight years after the Tannery opened, and having a family helped them see the bigger picture in life, admitting they barely took a night off before that.

“That coincided with the recession, and they were some really tough years. You know, I can pinpoint it down to one night,” says Máire. “It was September 2008 and we were at a family wedding. I rang the restaurant and Una said” ‘It was a very weird night, only about 60 people.’

“At that stage we were sitting 110 on a Saturday night, but after that we didn’t say the words ‘fully booked’ for about four years. It was never ending, we couldn’t get the momentum going,” Máire remembers.

Although there was no talk of a shut down, Máire say quietly: “There were times – plenty of times – when we were worried. And I mean really worried. It made us into better business people, though.

“We looked at things differently. How can we be more popular to people? How can we make our food offering more appealing? We had to adapt. Now it feels like we are just back on solid ground: like we have been through a storm. We are so relieved and happy that we survived – and it really feels fantastic to make it to 20 years.”

Future Plans

As well as that, it made them look at life differently, and recently Paul handed over the head-chef reins to Sam Burfield. “I needed to slow down,” says Paul. “It’s a young man’s game, there are no two ways about it. I love cooking, but restaurants are intense. My body couldn’t cope, I started to make mistakes. I would be the one who overcooked the steaks, rooky stuff. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.

“I needed to be the conductor, rather than the lead musician, and that definitely prolonged my love of food and the restaurant. Because if I didn’t do that, I think I would be deeply unhappy now.”

Máire adds: “It’s a natural progression. Paul has a gift for teaching, and he really sees his role now as imparting knowledge to the younger generation.”

“She’ll have me put out to grass,” Paul teases.

Considering these life changes, what does the future look like for the Tannery?

“We have the cookery school with a beautiful dining room,” says Paul, “and maybe sometime in the future, I’ll do classes and dinners, keep them small, creating events that people would cherish getting into. Keep us in the game without the enormous pressure. We really do think small is beautiful.” CL