Cooking without complications

The Irish food writer on parenthood and finding flow in the kitchen

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“I just dream of the moment where I can play jazz, have a negroni and read my cookbooks in peace,” jokes Irish telly presenter and food writer, Donal Skehan, adding wryly: “But we're in this chapter of life...”

Skehan and his wife Sofie “are smack-bang in the middle of parenthood” with “two crazy boys”, Oliver, five, and Noah, seven. The slow-baking and stew-braising days of his 20s are but a fuzzy memory, and now, aged 39, his weekends revolve around “ferrying children to different things and trying to keep up with the madness of life,” rather than making decadent, time-intensive meals.