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Living

IN THE KITCHEN WITH...DOMINI KEMP

From bringing your own reusable shopping bags to the supermarket, only buying organically grown and fairtrade produce and cutting down on food waste in your kitchen, your eating habits couldn’t be more sustainable - except, they could. When it comes to eating out, how sustainable is your restaurant of choice?

Chefs are focusing more than ever on using local ingredients and working with local farmers to reduce food miles, opting for more plant-based options on menus, cutting down on food waste and more to ensure the best possible sustainable practices in their kitchens. One such restaurant that has taken the sustainable shift is Hugh Browns, our contemporary restaurant on Level 3 of Brown Thomas Dublin.

Here, we sit down with chef and founder, Domini Kemp to find out more about Hugh Browns’ sustainable practices and what life has been like for a chef in lockdown.

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Domini on...how to be more sustainable:

“Sustainability is a complicated process and we are all conscious that there is a lot of ‘green-washing’ that goes on - so it’s important we educate ourselves and are mindful that what may seem like a good idea in 2020, may not be relevant in 2022."

Our stores were accredited as being “Zero Waste to Landfill” in 2020.

"Covid has impacted negatively in many ways as the focus has understandably been drawn away from the environment to the pandemic. It’s really important for companies to keep sustainability as a priority and as individuals. We should aim to do as much as we can around recycling, using public transport or walking/cycling and not being wasteful of precious resources."

Domini on...Hugh Browns and its sustainable ethos:

"Chefs are focusing more than ever on using local ingredients and working with local farmers to reduce food miles, opting for more plant-based options on menus, cutting down on food waste and more to ensure the best possible sustainable practices in their kitchens. One such restaurant that has taken the sustainable shift is Hugh Browns, our contemporary restaurant on Level 3 of Brown Thomas Dublin."

There has been such incredible goodwill and warm wishes amongst our team and customers. It’s been really heartening to see how excited everyone is about returning to work. But equally, it’s reminded us how important it is to communicate and check in with each other.

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Domini on...sustainable coffee

“I think the small speciality coffee suppliers do it really well – we’re using Bailies coffee, a close-knit team of dedicated and passionate people who focus on building ethical, sustainable long term relationships with coffee farming communities that are committed to quality coffee production. They are driven by a sense of responsibility to the coffee farmers. It’s this type of direct relationship building that’s the most effective and meaningful.”

Domini on...mindfulness rituals to live by

“I drink Chaga mushroom coffee several days a week and really aim to switch phones off by 8 pm. I really focus on lifestyle medicine such as exercise, mindfulness, community, stress reduction and eating a whole food plant-based low carb diet. I do a lot of intermittent fasting and ensure I get quality sleep by going to bed as early as I can. I also like tracking my HRV and sleep quality with my Oura ring.”

Domini on...staycations

“I would love to go down to the Burren in County Clare, but in reality, we’ll be busy with the restaurant, so it’s unlikely I’ll get away until autumn.”

Domini on...her must-have sustainable buys

“I love the Kinfill cleaning products – not just for the environment, but also as a way to really cut down on all the chemicals that surround us in our homes. They are beautifully packaged and are wonderful to use. A gorgeous gift!”

SHOP KINFILL

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Baked Fish Supper with Fennel & Celery

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 fillets of firm white fish, about 150g each
  • 120g celery
  • 1 head fennel, sliced into quarter-inch slices
  • 8 small anchovies, drained and chopped
  • 4 tsp capers
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Pinch chilli flakes
  • 20g butter or olive oil

Method:

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C

  • 2. Line a roast tin with enough parchment paper to create a large parcel for the fish.

  • 3. Next, chop the celery and mix well with the fennel, anchovies and all other ingredients except for the butter.

  • 4. Lay the fish fillets on the parchment paper, pile the mixture over each fillet, dot generously with butter or olive oil, wrap well and bake for 20 minutes.

  • 5. To serve, remove each fillet from the wrapper with enough topping for a portion each. But when opening the paper - beware - as steam may come out and burn you, so open up with caution.

SHOP DOMINI'S KITCHEN MUST-HAVES:

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