Banking on Great Food: Exciting new Moville restaurant set to open this autumn
“There is a great scene in Inishowen at the minute with food and hospitality and I think we can really add to that”
Award-winning chef Sean Harrigan has been unveiled as the man in the kitchen at The Bank, an exciting new culinary venture set to launch in Moville this autumn.
Mr. Harrigan said he can’t wait to get started on a project that will enhance the seaside town and north Inishowen’s reputation as a food producing and gastronomical destination.
“I’m really looking forward to getting down to a part of the world that I love so much, getting the apron on, cooking some beautiful Donegal food and putting it on a plate,” Sean said, after his appointment as head chef was officially announced last Wednesday.
“I think anybody who knows my cooking and knows the style of cooking, the emphasis is very much on local and using local ingredients.
“My job is just to handle those ingredients well, to cook them well, season them well, and present them well and let the ingredients speak for themselves.
“I think we’ve got world-class producers and suppliers in Donegal and Ireland and my job is just to showcase that,” said the Derry man.
Mr. Harrigan has teamed up with tech entrepreneurs Louise and Paul McElvaney, of Lead Consulting, who purchased the old Bank of Ireland building in Moville Main Street five years ago.
“It is a really historic building in the middle of the town. I’m from Moville and I just want to do something with it to give back something to the town.
“Paul and I decided a restaurant would be a really good thing,” Louise said.
Last year Louise and Paul applied for planning permission for a new restaurant in the old bank, which was subsequently granted.
Construction work is well underway with a scheduled opening date of September the target.
The refurbishment of the building involves a significant investment and Louise is proud to be in a position to back her hometown.
“There is a great scene in Inishowen at the minute with food and hospitality and I think we can really add to that in Moville. We really want to build something that the locals will be proud of and that people will come to from all across the North West and I think Sean will definitely draw people from all over,” she said.
Sean is already well known in food circles as the former proprietor of The Sooty Olive, on Spencer Road in Derry, and was named best chef in the Ulster Regional Irish Restaurant Awards 2024.
Louise said his focus on top-quality, locally produced and locally sourced ingredients resonated with her and Paul.
“I envisage there will be fish coming off the pier. Sean will be doing specials with that. Likewise he will be getting meat and vegetables and everything else locally. That was one of the things that drew us to Sean… we were looking for somebody who was aligned with our vision. Sean met that absolutely in terms of the quality of his food and the fact that he sources his food locally.”
Sean’s reputation as an investor in up-and-coming local talent also chimed with the McElvaneys.
“With The Sooty Olive he developed younger chefs and brought them along on a journey. I think the visions align. You want to create and we want to create - something that the people of Moville can be really proud of and will really want to use and celebrate,” she said.
The new chef is thrilled to be embarking on the next adventure of his career in a corner of the world that he loves.
“Anybody that knows me and follows me on social media knows that every other week I’m in Donegal. I’m in this part of the world. I have a genuine love for it.
“Just to be able to get down to meet the producers and meet the suppliers… We are going to have this absolutely beautiful restaurant,” said Sean.
He has been working closely with the new owners on the development and design of The Bank, including a Grade A open-plan cooking area.
“I am going to have a beautiful kitchen. We are going to have beautiful ingredients. Listen, we just want to have a restaurant that we are all proud to work in, we are all proud to recommend to visitors, and we are all proud of what we are using in terms of the produce,” he said.
The feedback from the local community has been really supportive, said Louise.
“They’ve been really excited about it. We think if we invest in something really well – as Sean says – we want it to be a beautiful restaurant where you will spend your evening or celebrate your life events – if we invest, others will follow and build Moville. It is one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland.”
Sean concurred: “Listen Donegal is home-from-home to me and I’m just so lucky and privileged to be able to come down and be part of the community and I just can’t wait to get going now.”
Last month marked two years since Sean announced the closure of The Sooty Olive after eleven years.
After a spell chefing at The Tailor’s House in Ballygawley he is now raring to go at The Bank.
“I’m super excited to basically put the taste of Donegal on a plate and I’m hoping the people of Moville and the surrounding areas can be really proud of the restaurant that we produce,” he said.
The Bank, Main Street, Moville, is due to open in September.