Where we came from...

Colm hales from Northern Ireland while his wife is originally a Dubliner. Most people will know them as the previous owners of the Shanakee bar. But there’s much more than that contained in his Curriculum Vitae.

Qualifying as a chef in Cathal Brugha Street, he went to Canada in the 80s with his wife, spending 8-9 years there, working all the time as a chef in the Hilton hotels. Then followed a four year stint in Australia as Executive Chef for the Park Royal Hotel in Sydney which meant being in overall charge of all kitchens. Then followed a transfer to New Zealand to a sister hotel, the Park Royal, Wellington. All these have 5 star ratings.

On his return to Kinsale in 1994, Colm developed the Shanakee in to a thriving pub / restaurant business. Subsequently, deciding he wanted to downsize and run a smaller pub, he bought the present bar, the Silver Salmon, as it was called then and personalised it to Dalton’s. He has a reputation for serving good food for the lunch trade and is one of only thirteen bars in Ireland to get a mention in the Michelin guide.

The idea of the cookery school grew after a group of women asked him to give them lessons. This resulted in an eight week course at the Community School. The course ranged from giving your own party, Christmas functions, catering for different numbers of guests, developing menus, to the importance of timing, style of service and presentation. The course ended up as a social evening where more was learnt by Colm demonstrating 4-5 dishes per evening and giving handouts as to how everything was done, discussions and, of course, eating the food.