TV chef Nico Reynolds tells how Jamaican and Irish roots contribute to his cooking
“The mother’s side of my family is Jamaican and dad’s side is Roscommon. So there was a bit of a mix — there was always the Jamaican spice and the Irish food on the table”
Nico Reynolds has scored a hit with his cookery show
Nico Reynolds as a child with dad Andrew
Nico with his Jamaican grandmother Maviswas
Lettuce Cup :amb Koftas with Mint Yogurt
Grilled Monkfish Burger with Dill and Caper Sour Cream
Grilled Watermelon with Goat's Cheese
When Nico Reynolds was little, he would watch in fascination as his Jamaican grandmother came to visit and took to her favourite place — the family kitchen.
Grandmother Mavis would bring a twist of her family heritage to Ireland, building flavour and making the mealtimes of his childhood dance to a Jamaican beat.
In doing so, she fuelled young Nico’s imagination in the creative possibilities of cooking — but he never could have imagined it could be something he would pursue as a career.
“The mother’s side of my family is Jamaican and dad’s side is Roscommon. So there was a bit of a mix — there was always the Jamaican spice and the Irish food on the table. When I was growing up my grandmother would come over and cook the dishes,” he says, adding the emphasis would be on flavour rather than the actual dish.
“It was always my grandmother’s cooking that stood out to me. There are two things that make for a good meal and that’s anticipation and hunger — there was always the anticipation of when I’d get to eat my grandma’s food again.”
Nico Reynolds as a child with dad Andrew
When his mum Doreen passed away when Nico was just ten, his connection to family and food culture became more important than ever.
“When my mother died, I always wanted to keep those parts of your heritage that are still there, and make them your own — you want to create your own myths and stories in your own life. You can never be able to recreate the meal from your past of nostalgia. But what you can do is make nostalgia for someone else.”
It’s no surprise that as an only child who lost his mother so young, Nico is extremely close to dad Andrew, who hails from Strokestown in Co Roscommon.
“He’s always been there for me — stoic, jolly, always just saw the bright side of everything. He got me where I am today and there’s probably no way in the rest of my life I’ll be ever able to repay or show enough gratitude towards someone that’s done that for me, because it was just the two of us growing up.”
In the past couple of years, Nico’s ability to channel his own family heritage and bring zest to our mealtimes has seen his popularity soar both here and abroad. From lamb koftas to monkfish burgers with dill and caper sour cream, the young chef is bringing energy and imagination to the food we love.
This week he returns to the great outdoors with a new series of All Fired Up, the RTÉ BBQ show that aims to bring life to our summer cooking.
“I think there’s always just that bit of intimidation,” he says of cooking outdoors. “People are kind of walking around looking at the fire and going, ‘I could never do that’. There’s absolutely no reason that Ireland shouldn’t have a great barbecue culture.
"I mean, we’ve got everything there — we’ve got some of the freshest seafood and best fish in the world. We’ve got some of the best dairy products, some of the best beef. We mightn’t have the weather for it, but I’m not taking that as an excuse any more.”
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His goal in the show is to make it all a little more user-friendly, he explains. “There are tips, tricks and techniques of how to manage a flame, prepare your meats. We’ve got some light bites in there. It doesn’t always have to be meat. There are some vegetarian options. I always say that anything you can cook inside you can cook outside exactly the same, but just a little bit better.”
The 34-year-old has an easy on-screen likeability that has fuelled his success, yet it was only very recently that he started to feel confident that this was something he could pursue as a career.
“I just never saw myself doing it. I just didn’t think I had the talent — maybe a lack of confidence,” he says now.
“Once I started doing it, you’re doing stuff with other people and you get the positive feedback and you have to say to yourself, ‘They keep inviting me back’. It’s one of those things that your life can go in a completely different direction.”
Many of his days, the Dubliner says, are spent experimenting with and creating new recipes, then road testing them in the evening in time for dinner.
Nico with his Jamaican grandmother Maviswas
“It’s funny — in the morning, I actually eat pretty much the same thing every single day because my mind gets quite flighty after about two o’clock, so I try to keep the first few hours of my day regimented — some fried eggs, sardines and avocado in the morning. Then trying to write a recipe in the afternoon and testing it out at night, so I don’t really know what I’m going to cook in the mornings.”
Food has always been one of his great passions, and what was fostered at home grew even further when he went to live and work in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires. He went there for a month, but ended up in South America for six years, working in catering and running a small restaurant.
“After about three days, there was something in the start of the summer air that said, ‘I think I can do this’,” he recalls of arriving in the city for the first time. “Every single day there was the smell of brown meat in the air, cheap wine and everyone was walking around with beautiful faces on them. I was in my early 20s and that’s enough to enchant any young man. Then it was just a moment of starting to find my feet with Jamaican-Irish cooking, with flavours of Latin America.”
His time there was also spent enjoying his other great love, music, as he became fascinated with different types of Latin beats from tango to salsa to samba. He plays guitar as a hobby and you’ll rarely find him in the kitchen without music on the go. Does he feel his love for the two feed into each other?
“Since the dawn of civilisation, it’s been the cornerstone of a good meal and a feast. It’s a primal urge to go back to a good meal, and then someone whips out the guitar, the chairs start to go out in a big circle and everybody starts to sing.
“The only things that transcend all cultures are music, art and food. You don’t have to speak the language. You don’t have to say anything. You just have to point at the menu and sit down and rub your belly.”
Nico’s recipes
Grilled Monkfish Burger with Dill and Caper Sour Cream
GRILLED MONKFISH BURGER WITH DILL & CAPER SOUR CREAM
Ingredients (serves 4): ■ 4 thick slices of monkfish tail ■ 1 lemon, zest ■ 2 sweet potatoes ■ 1 tbsp olive oil For the dill and caper sour cream: ■ 1 tbsp capers ■ 1-2 tbsp caper juice (from the jar) ■ 200g sour cream ■ 2 tbsp dill, chopped ■ 2 tbsp chives, chopped ■ ½ lemon, juice ■ For the salsa: ■ 1 lime, juice ■ 1 red onion, finely diced ■ 1 green pepper, finely diced ■ Handful of fresh coriander, chopped ■ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper To serve: ■ 4 brioche buns ■ Handful of rocket leaves
Method: 1. Season the monkfish with sea salt, black pepper and lemon zest. 2. Slice up sweet potatoes into thick discs, and discard the ends. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. 3. Light the charcoal in the BBQ and when it’s at the right temperature (aim for a medium heat), add the sweet potato bites to the middle of the grill. 4. Half the (zested) lemon and use one half to clean the direct side of your grill, where the monkfish will go, while also creating a non-stick surface. Place the other lemon half on the indirect side of your grill. 5. Next, make the dill and caper sour cream. Roughly chop the capers and place into a medium bowl with the caper juice, sour cream, dill and chives. Season with sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice and set aside until needed. 6. For the salsa, place the lime juice, red onion, green pepper and coriander in a bowl and mix together. Season with sea salt and black pepper and set aside until needed. 7. Meanwhile, turn the sweet potatoes over on the grill to cook the other side, and place the monkfish over direct heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked through. After the first turn, season again with salt and pepper, and a squeeze of the charred lemon. 8. To assemble the burgers, toast the buns over direct heat, then slather with the dill and caper sauce. Add the barbecued monkfish, top with a handful of rocket, dollop of salsa and enjoy.
Grilled Watermelon with Goat's Cheese
GRILLED WATERMELON WITH GOAT’S CHEESE
Ingredients (serves 4): ■ ½ watermelon, peeled and cut into chunky fingers ■ 1 tsp vegetable/sunflower oil ■■ 150g soft goat’s cheese ■■ Large handful of basil, roughly chopped ■ Freshly ground black pepper ■ 75g walnuts, roughly chopped ■ 1 tbsp balsamic syrup ■ 1 lime, zest
Method: 1. Place the watermelon pieces on metal skewers, or wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for a few hours, and rub with a little oil. 2. Light the charcoal in the BBQ, and when it’s at the right temperature (aim for a medium heat) place a small skillet on the grill and add the walnuts, toasting for about 3-4 minutes until they are fragrant. 3. Mix the goat’s cheese, basil and plenty of black pepper together in a bowl and set aside until needed. 4. Add the watermelon skewers to the BBQ and cook the watermelon on all sides until golden and charred. This should take about 5-10 minutes, depending on the heat of your BBQ. 5. To serve, place the goat’s cheese mixture on a plate and top with the watermelon skewers. Drizzle over the balsamic syrup and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts, finishing with some basil leaves and lime zest.
Lettuce Cup :amb Koftas with Mint Yogurt
LETTUCE CUP LAMB KOFTAS WITH MINT YOGURT
Ingredients (serves 4-6): ■ 700g lamb mince (less than 10pc fat) ■ 4 garlic cloves, minced ■ 1 tsp ground cumin ■ 1 tsp ground coriander ■ 1 tsp smoked paprika ■ 1 lemon, zest ■ Large handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped ■ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the mint yogurt: ■ ½ cucumber, roughly peeled and coarsely grated ■ 1 lemon, zest and juice ■ 2 garlic cloves, minced ■ 2-3 tbsp olive oil ■ 200g low-fat Greek yogurt ■ Large handful of mint, roughly chopped ■ Sea salt To serve: ■ 10 little gem lettuce leaves ■ 50g feta ■ Sprinkle of sumac
Method: 1. Start by making the mint yogurt. Place the grated cucumber in a sieve and sit it over a bowl. Season with sea salt, mix together and then give a little squeeze so the water starts to come out. Set aside to drain. 2. In a separate bowl, add the garlic with a pinch of salt, lemon zest and a tsp of lemon juice. Combine well and set aside until needed. 3. Next prepare the lamb koftas. Place the mince in a large bowl and add the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, lemon zest, chopped parsley and a good amount of salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly with your hands. 4. Using a scales, weigh the mixture into 75g pieces, then shape each one into a kofta and place on a tray. Set aside while you light your barbecue. 5. Set the barbecue up with a direct and indirect side. Place the koftas on the direct heat and cook for 3 minutes on each side, then move to the indirect heat while you finish your mint yogurt. Check the koftas with a meat thermometer — they should have an internal temperature of about 70C. 6. To finish making the mint yogurt, pour 2-3 tbsp of oil into the lemon and garlic mix. Add the drained cucumber, yogurt, chopped mint and remainder of the lemon juice. Season well. 7. To serve, lay the lettuce cups on a serving platter and add a little of the mint yogurt to each. Place a lamb kofta into each lettuce cup, then drizzle with a little more yogurt. Garnish with some feta, a few more mint leaves and a sprinkle of sumac.
