Hall of Fame

Star Chefs The top 10 of Ireland and Malta.

Ten chefs who made the kitchen famous. Their stars, their shows, their restaurants, and the moments that made them, told as short stories with every source linked.

  • Ireland
  • Malta
Thibault Van de Sompele By Thibault Van de Sompele Updated

The Ranking

  1. No.1 Neven Maguire Ireland The Cavan chef who made a border village a destination and became Ireland's favourite TV cook. 82Fame Score Open Their Timeline
  2. No.2 Darina Allen Ireland The founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School and Ireland's best-known cooking teacher. 79Fame Score Open Their Timeline
  3. No.3 Richard Corrigan Ireland The Meath farm boy who won Michelin stars in London and built a restaurant group from Mayfair to Cavan. 77Fame Score Open Their Timeline
  1. 4

    Rachel Allen

    The Ballymaloe teacher whose warm, easy TV cooking and bestselling books reached more than 30 countries.

    Fourteen TV series for RTÉ and the BBC shown in some 30 countries, about two million BBC viewers, 14–15 bestselling cookbooks with over a million copies sold, Market Kitchen, Saturday Kitchen and Channel 4's My Kitchen Rules, and decades of teaching at Ballymaloe Cookery School.

    Ireland6 milestones2 restaurants

    65Fame Score
    • Recognition12/40
    • Media37/40
    • Press16/20
    Open Their Timeline
  2. 5

    JP McMahon

    The self-taught Galway chef behind Michelin-starred Aniar, Food on the Edge and The Irish Cookbook.

    Aniar in Galway has held a Michelin star since 2013 and kept it in the 2026 guide; he founded the international Food on the Edge symposium in 2015 and wrote Phaidon's 500-recipe The Irish Cookbook, among four books, plus columns and lectures on Irish food.

    Ireland5 milestones3 restaurants

    64Fame Score
    • Recognition26/40
    • Media22/40
    • Press16/20
    Open Their Timeline
  3. 6

    Mickael Viljanen

    The Finnish-raised chef who won two Michelin stars twice in Dublin, at The Greenhouse and Chapter One.

    Two Michelin stars at The Greenhouse in 2019, the first second star in the capital since 2000, then two stars again at Chapter One within seven months of reopening in 2022, held in the 2026 guide; a 10/10 Irish Times review and Food & Wine Chef of the Year twice.

    Ireland6 milestones5 restaurants

    63Fame Score
    • Recognition36/40
    • Media10/40
    • Press17/20
    Open Their Timeline
  4. 7

    Patrick Guilbaud

    The Frenchman who brought fine dining to Dublin in 1981 and has held two Michelin stars since 1996.

    Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud has held two Michelin stars every year since 1996, including in the 2026 guide; a first star in 1988, the Légion d'honneur in 2015 and a 40th anniversary in 2021 make him the grand old name of Irish fine dining.

    Ireland7 milestones5 restaurants

    62Fame Score
    • Recognition36/40
    • Media10/40
    • Press16/20
    Open Their Timeline
  5. 8

    Dylan McGrath

    The fiery young Michelin chef of Mint who rebuilt himself as a Dublin restaurateur and MasterChef judge.

    A Michelin star at Mint in Ranelagh in 2008–09, among the youngest Irish chefs to win one; the RTÉ documentary The Pressure Cooker, years as a MasterChef Ireland judge, Dylan McGrath's Secret Service and Dad Food; Georgina Campbell's Chef of the Year 2016. Recent press is mixed after two closures in 2024.

    Ireland6 milestones6 restaurants

    61Fame Score
    • Recognition22/40
    • Media30/40
    • Press9/20
    Open Their Timeline
  6. 9

    Kevin Dundon

    The Wexford country-house chef who took Irish food to RTÉ, the BBC, PBS and an Irish pub at Disney World.

    Dunbrody House and cookery school since 1997, executive chef of the Shelbourne from 1994, the PBS series Modern Irish Food, Saturday Kitchen, Guerrilla Gourmet and Dancing with the Stars on RTÉ, chef partner at Raglan Road in Florida and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.

    Ireland6 milestones5 restaurants

    60Fame Score
    • Recognition12/40
    • Media32/40
    • Press16/20
    Open Their Timeline
  7. 10

    Kevin Thornton

    The Cashel cook who became the first Irish chef to win two Michelin stars, at Thornton's in Dublin.

    The first Irish chef to hold two Michelin stars (Thornton's, 2001–2005), with stars from 1996 to 2015; trained with Paul Bocuse; RTÉ series such as HEAT and Guerilla Gourmet; a photography book and Fringe show. Less in the news since Thornton's closed in 2016.

    Ireland5 milestones3 restaurants

    58Fame Score
    • Recognition32/40
    • Media16/40
    • Press10/20
    Open Their Timeline

How We Rank

The fame score is HappyChef's editorial assessment out of 100: recognition by guides and awards (max 40), media reach through TV, books and beyond (max 40), and how positive and widespread the recent press is (max 20). Every fact behind it is sourced on the chef's page.

We update the ranking every month. It follows a six-month weighted average of the fame score, so one quiet month changes little.

For AI And Researchers

Every chef, restaurant, milestone and source of this ranking as one JSON file.

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