Jamie’s Italian Dundrum is celebrating its sixth birthday and gearing up for the launch of a second restaurant in Dublin.
Last March, Dublin Gazette exclusively revealed the location for the new restaurant will be in the heart of Exchequer Street, Dublin 2.
We caught up with Jamie’s partner in Dublin and the director of Jamie’s Italian in Dundrum, Gerry Fitzpatrick, at the Jamie Cooks Italy TV show wrap party to see how the plans are coming along.
They were hoping for an October opening, but Gerry said it’s now looking like an early Spring opening.
He said: “The landlord needed planning permission in the building. He’s got that permission now.
“We needed to help him out by putting some foundations in his buildings. We’ve had the lease for about a year now; we are very eager to get it going.”
This year celebrates 10 years of Jamie’s Italian, and Jamie’s Italian Dundrum has just celebrated its sixth birthday.
Gerry said: “We started off six years ago; it’s been an exciting ride. We’re delighted that we’re still here today serving away. It’s been a real success story.
“We’re very excited about Jamie’s new book [Jamie Cooks Italy – From the heart of the Italian Kitchen.] The food is amazing.
“We’re looking at dishes that we’ve never heard of, like sausage red wine risotto or Sicilian ice cream sandwiches, black rice gorgonzola and pear – gorgeous; Autumn on a plate!
“Everything from the new book we do here in Jamie’s Italian Dundrum.
“What you see him doing on the TV show you can come to the restaurant and have it the next day.”
For the new book, the celebrity chef travelled through Italy meeting nonnas (grandmothers) and learning authentic Italian dishes.
Celebrating the new book, Alex Kevlicah – the general manager of Jamie’s Italian Dundrum, who has been at the Dundrum restaurant from the very start – said: “Jamie visited rural areas and visited nonnas to get these recipes, so it’s all authentic.
“These recipes could have disappeared, so [Jamie] wanted to bring them back to the general public. So that’s what we’re celebrating.”
Leah Oats, from South Africa, is the new manager at Jamie’s Italian and is excited to be at the restaurant for its milestone this month.
“It’s our sixth birthday as of Sunday, September 23. We were one of the first international Jamie’s Italian [outlets], which is quite cool for us.
“I have such a passion for my job, I love meeting new people. All my friends I have here [at Jamie’s Dundrum] are like my family – they’ve shown me Ireland.
“It’s been an amazing experience. It’s Jamie’s passion that we live by; we are one big family!”
