Secret Service, Dad Food And A Kinder Spotlight

Television first showed Dylan McGrath as the shouting chef of The Pressure Cooker. Years later, it showed a very different side of him^[3].

In 2023 he fronted Dylan McGrath's Secret Service. In the series, he taught kitchen skills to people from marginalised backgrounds^[1]. The Irish Times reviewed it in March 2023^[2].

A Story Of Kindness

The review struck a new note. The Irish Times saw enormous kindness in the show, and its headline said his kindness mattered more than the catering^[1][2]. For a chef once cast as a villain on screen, it was quite a turnaround.

The series built on a long television career. He had been a judge on MasterChef Ireland, and before that the documentary The Pressure Cooker had made him a household name^[1][3].

Dad Food

Then came a book. Dad Food is a collection of reliable home recipes, aimed at helping men cook better at home, whatever their skill level^[1]. It covers brunches, grills, roasts and barbecues^[1].

In 2024 Dad Food was shortlisted for Food & Drink Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards^[1]. It brought his cooking into ordinary kitchens across the country.

Still Cooking

The restaurant trade around him was struggling. In August 2024 he closed Rustic Stone and Brasserie Sixty6, while Fade Street Social carried on^[3]. He remained one of the best-known chefs in Ireland, now as much a teacher and author as a restaurateur^[1][3].

The Irish Book Awards summed him up simply: one of the best-known chefs in Ireland, with several Dublin restaurants and years as a MasterChef Ireland judge behind him^[1].

It is a career with many chapters: a star in Ranelagh, a famous documentary, a restaurant group, a TV judge's chair and finally a book for home cooks. Through all of them, the boy from Belfast kept cooking^[1][3].