Michelin man David hasn’t forgotten his Carlow roots

A CARLOW export David Murphy and his New Zealand wife Jessica run one of the most successful restaurants in Ireland.

Kai in Galway city is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, serving food inspired by international flavours and made with the very best of Irish ingredients. It was set up by the couple in 2011 ‒ Jessica is the head chef, while David works front of house.

In a prominent position as you walk into the room, a frame with the red, green and yellow Carlow colours hangs for all to see, marking a Carlow stake on the walls of the restaurant.

David is originally from Ballymurphy, Leighlinbridge and has “fond memories of growing up there”. 

His parents both dabbled in the food business ‒ his dad worked in the sugar factory and his mum worked in the Lord Bagenal Inn, Leighlinbridge. His dad left his factory job to start a fish business, selling herring, monkfish and whiting.

“Fish and Carlow ‒ you wouldn’t put the two and two together, but it was what it was at the time,” said David.

He remembers eating “lots of stew” growing up. “We would have eaten no pasta, no rice. It was very meat and two veg and spuds. A lot of eel as well, a lot of fresh eel from the Barrow. Also, my dad was a keen hunter: we’d eat a good bit of rabbit as well.

“My dad’s 80 now and, maybe, after 78 years of eating potatoes, he doesn’t like his potatoes as much. I’m the opposite. I’m still very much more of a spud eater.” 

David worked as an engineer, meeting Jessica when he went backpacking in Australia 26 years ago. 

“My wife always wanted to do a restaurant of her own and when an opportunity arose to find a space of her own, it was a no-brainer. We were going to do it together. We were never going to do it separately. So I stopped engineering and went into the hospitality world.” 

The restaurant was an instant success, being included in the Michelin Guide for the 15-and-a-half years it has been open. They’ve held the Michelin Bib Gourmand status for five years and are currently the only restaurant in the country with a Michelin Green Star, which they’ve also held for five years.

The green star is an award for the sustainability of the business from a food waste and personnel perspective.

Jessica has won best chef in the country three times and David won an award for having the best customer service at the Restaurant Association Awards and in the Food and Wine Awards several years ago.

“We’ve done very well. The accolades are great,” said David, but he describes the industry as “unforgiving”, frequently demanding 40- to 50-hour weeks. They employ 25 people between the restaurant and a small bakery.

“The restaurant is, for us, a lifestyle and a business, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a huge part of life, unfortunately, but it’s great fun, though. It’s something that we actually enjoy. It is hard work, but it’s something we enjoy.” 

Last September, the couple published the Kai Cookbook, a love letter to the west of Ireland, containing recipes and stories written by Jessica. They’re hoping to publish a second book next year.