Star Chefs · Ireland
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.
Kevin Dundon was born in Dublin, learned to cook at his mother's kitchen table and graduated from the Dublin Institute of Technology in 1986[1][2]. He spent around eight years in Canada with Fairmont Hotels, becoming its youngest executive head chef at 22[1][2][3].
In 1994 he came home as executive chef of the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin[1][2]. He and his wife Catherine bought Dunbrody House in Co Wexford in 1996 and opened it as a hotel and cookery school in May 1997[2][3][4].
A cooking slot on a travel show filmed at Dunbrody turned him into a TV cook[3]. He appeared on Saturday Kitchen and Guerrilla Gourmet, fronted Modern Irish Food on PBS in 2013, wrote Full on Irish and was chef partner at Raglan Road at Disney World until 2017[1][2][6].
He later danced on RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars, and in November 2025 he received the Listowel Food Fair Lifetime Achievement Award[5][7].
Life Timeline
Tap any moment to read its story.
- Training From His Mother's Table To A Caribbean Galley Dublin-born Kevin Dundon learns to cook from his mother, trains in Switzerland and Dublin, graduates in 1986 and heads off to cook at sea. Read The Story
- Career Youngest Head Chef In Canada, Then The Shelbourne After about eight years with Fairmont in Canada, where he became its youngest executive head chef at 22, Dundon returns in 1994 to run the Shelbourne kitchen. Read The Story
- Opening Dunbrody House Opens On The Hook Peninsula Kevin and Catherine Dundon buy Dunbrody House in Co Wexford in 1996 and open it as a country house hotel and cookery school in May 1997. Read The Story
- Book A TV Slot And A Book Called Full On Irish A travel show filmed at Dunbrody asks Dundon to cook on camera, and the slot becomes regular. In 2006 he publishes Full on Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking. Read The Story
- TV & Media Modern Irish Food Reaches American Homes On 27 October 2013 Dundon brings Modern Irish Food to PBS, nine episodes for US viewers. He is also chef partner at Raglan Road at Disney World until 2017. Read The Story
- Award A Lifetime Achievement Award In Listowel On 8 November 2025 the Listowel Food Fair, in its 30th year, gives Kevin Dundon its Lifetime Achievement Award for his work for Irish food. Read The Story
Restaurants
- The Old Schoolhouse Dublin, Ireland cook One of his first kitchens after college. [1]
- Fairmont hotel Calgary, Canada executive head chef · …–1994 He became Fairmont's youngest executive head chef at 22. [2]
- The Shelbourne Hotel Dublin, Ireland executive chef · 1994–today [2]
- Dunbrody House Arthurstown, Ireland chef-owner · 1997–today An 1830s country house with the Harvest Room, a seafood bar, a pub and a cookery school. [4]
- Raglan Road Orlando, United States chef partner · …–2017 An Irish pub at Disney Springs, Walt Disney World. [6]
Ranking History
Rank9Six-month average60Assessment of the month60
We update the ranking every month. It follows a six-month weighted average of the fame score, so one quiet month changes little.
| Assessment of the month | Rank | Fame Score | Six-month average |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 9 | 60 | 60 |
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these sources. Each number in the text points to the source it came from.
- Official Kevin Dundon: About Kevin Dundon - Kevin Dundon online cookery courses
- Press IrishCentral: Kevin Dundon brings world class Irish food to U.S. TV screens
- Press The Irish Times: First encounters
- Official Dunbrody House Hotel: Hotels in Wexford | Wexford Hotels | Dunbrody House Hotel
- Press Hospitality eNews: Celeb Chef Chases Glitterball
- Press WDWinfo: Chef Kevin Dundon Says Goodbye to Disney Springs' Raglan Road Irish Pub
- Press Hotel & Restaurant Times: Celebrity Chef Kevin Dundon receives 2025 Listowel Food Fair Lifetime Achievement Award