PJ Hartnett hails from Dromcollogher, County Limerick. He is a chef whose industry experiences encompasses a period working in Oxford, eight years in Michelin-starred restaurants in France – including three years at the three michelin-starred restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris – and work in Irish hotels and restaurants including Admiralty Lodge in Spanish Point and Chez Hans in Cashel.
He originally trained with CERT in Limerick and studied at renowned Johnston and Wales University in Rhode Island, which had a big influence on his career. He joined Fáilte Ireland in 2004 as a chef-instructor and in 2011 moved into an Industry Support and Enterprise Development role. He joined the Food Tourism team in 2014.
His time in Paris restaurant kitchens taught him about passion for product and provenance and how this contribute to the customer experience. It also taught him the importance of training and of constantly striving for higher standards.
Today in Ireland he sees that we have outstanding product with great stories and “passionate people” behind it and we also have a “rising culinary talent, emerging young chefs who are constantly raising standards”.