Past Ballymaloe 12 week Certificate student Garrett Fitzgerald, together with James Boland, set up Brother Hubbard. It is a small, owner-run, independent café on Dublin’s Capel Street.
‘Our focus is to do a good job, serving people simple, good food and drinks that they can enjoy, and that we can enjoy making and serving. Our menu is simple and small – so we can try and make things the best they can be.’
In the morning, Brother Hubbard serve a selection of baked goods, made freshly early each morning. For lunch a selection of salads, sandwiches, and soup is on offer and in the afternoon there are more baked treats. With a menu that is constantly evolving, expansion plans, a 100% edible garden in the works Brother Hubbards is a must see in Dublin. Garret and James popped by the Cookery School to say hello and we asked them how they got on since they left the Cookery school in 2008.
After my amazing 3 months in Ballymaloe, I left Ireland and spent 1 year travelling my way around the world, investigating all the cuisines I had encountered on the course. I then spent 1 year working in Melbourne, known for its superb cafe and casual dining scene, where I worked in 2 small, owner-run and quality oriented cafes and bakeries. This experience was really valuable and helped me build on all that I had learned at Ballymaloe.
After Melbourne, and on my way back to Ireland, I stopped off for 4 months in the Middle East to learn more about the amazing food culture there as I decided I wanted that to be one of the key influences on my approach to cooking.
Having finally returned, and after a long gestation, I managed to open Brother Hubbard on Capel St in March 2012. The cafe is greatly influenced by myself and my partner's experiences and the wonderful cuisines we encountered, reflecting all we have learnt from all over the world, from Ballymaloe to Beirut to Byron Bay! It is hard work but we love what we are doing and proud of what we've achieved. We now employ 14 people and are about to undertake a substantial expansion.
And it all started, rather wonderfully, one sunny September day in Ballymaloe.
