Buncrana's singing chef cooks up a recipe for success in Scotland

A Buncrana-born chef has turned her love of food, music and a bit of craic into her first cookbook, celebrating her Donegal roots while sharing some of her own culinary creations with readers.

Denise Majella Eccles, who has lived in Scotland for the past 24 years, has just published ‘Dmen Kitchen Cookbook’, adding another achievement to a growing food business which includes running an award-winning pop-up fish and chip shop from her home in Perthshire.

For delighted Denise, the new book is a “dream come true”.

She has also been celebrating success at the Scottish Fish and Chip Awards, where her Dmen Kitchen venture reached the top five in the competition.

The 45-year-old businesswoman was also selected as a finalist in the Best Mobile Fish and Chips category, an impressive achievement for a relatively new operation competing against some much bigger names.

The cookbook, now available on Amazon, is the culmination of a journey which began during the Covid lockdown, when Denise started hosting online cooking sessions, and sharing simple recipes with viewers from around the world.

There was always something extra to her broadcasts, with plenty of singing, laughter and conversation accompanying the cooking. It was during these sessions that she earned her affectionate title of the Irish Singing Chef.

“It all began in lockdown when I started doing lives and creating simple dishes, and people would watch from around the world. We would sing and cook and have a bit of craic and a wee chin wag. This is where I got the name the Irish Singing Chef. I love a sing song,” she explained.

As viewers repeatedly requested their favourite recipes, Denise began putting them down on paper, eventually turning them into a cookbook featuring her own creations and fusion cooking methods.

Among the dishes is her much-loved Muff Chicken, created using Muff vodka, while the book also features a selection of Donegal-inspired favourites, including turkey and ham and traditional vegetable soup.

Being from Castle Avenue in Buncrana, and proudly describing herself as a ‘townie’, Denise was determined to include a little piece of home in the collection.

“My heart will always be led back to my Buncrana, Donegal,” she said.

She credits her brother Darren and her partner Laura with helping bring the cookbook project to fruition, while her daughter Darcy also has a special connection to the business name too.

“Dmen was what nursery used to call my daughter Darcy May Eccles Norris, and it stuck,” she explained.

Mum to two kids, Darcy and Charlie, Denise admits that her achievements are something she could scarcely have imagined as a young Scoil Mhuire pupil trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

“I'm very proud and have achieved something I never thought I would do, and I have done it. A wee Scoil Mhuire pupil not having a clue what I wanted to do, to now having a book and another in the making!”

Having already turned one dream into reality, the Buncrana woman is not finished yet, with a second cookbook already in the pipeline.

And whether she's cooking up a storm, serving fish suppers or entertaining an online audience with a song, Denise is determined to keep her Inishowen roots close to her heart.