News
Ross Lewis - Food Science graduate to receive Alumni Achievement Award
UCC Dy Science Graduate (1985) Ross Lewis is a Michelin Star chef and the owner of Chapter One restaurant in Dublin for the past 27 years.
He is internationally recognised as one of Ireland’s premier chefs and champion of Irish food produce. Since its opening, Ross and Chapter One have won numerous international and national accolades, including the Restaurant Association of Ireland Best Chef (Dublin) award (2012, 2009) and Best Restaurant award (2017, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2003). Ross and the restaurant received their first Michelin Star in 2007, and he has been awarded a star every year since.
Chapter One has been recognised worldwide as an exemplar for a distinctive style of Irish cuisine, with stars such as Al Pacino and Barbara Streisand dining in the famous restaurant. Due to his enormous success and the strength of his reputation internationally, Ross was selected to be executive chef for the State Banquet Dinner at Dublin Castle in celebration of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in May 2011.
Following from the hugely applauded success of this event, his book “Chapter One – An Irish Food Story” was released to high praise internationally, and was shortlisted for the Gourmand World Cook Books awards (2014) and Irish Cookbook of the Year (2013). In addition to his success as a chef and patron, Ross was also the Commissioner General for Eurotoques Ireland (2001-2004), and remains an active Commissioner for the organisation, which is a European-wide community of chefs which aims to support artisan and local food produce and to maintain the identity and integrity of traditional cooking. He is also a member of Bord Bia’s Taste Council of Ireland. Recently Ross has been a philanthropic supporter for a scholarship in UCC's newly launched Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture.
More recently, Ross has become a vocal and active champion for developing food and gastronomy as areas of public engagement. He has provided support for the internationally famous ‘Food On The Edge’ symposium, which takes place annually in Galway, leading the Chef Swap series with fellow Michelin Star chef JP McMahon. He has also been actively involved in supporting his alma mater UCC and the School of Food & Nutritional Science in the area of Molecular Gastronomy, to bridge the gap between food science/technology and culinary skills. In this guise, he has led workshops and seminar series for both staff and students, and encouraged students to become passionate about food, produce and the creation of a taste experience.
Earlier this year, Ross was an inaugural speaker for the annual Food Institute UCC - Myrtle Allen Memorial Lecture, to celebrate the legacy and impact of Myrtle's work in creating Ireland's culinary landscape, and UCC’s acquisition of her archive.