#186 Donna Dooher & Kevin Gallagher: The Restauranteurs Who Brought Brunch To Toronto

Best Of Belfast: Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast

Donna Dooher and Kevin Gallagher are second and third generation Northern-Irish-Canadians who first burst onto the hospitality scene by introducing the phenomena of brunch to Toronto through their restaurant Mildred Pierce before publishing the award-winning cookbook Out To Brunch.

Driven by her passion for food, Donna went on to star in the popular Food Network show The Cookworks with Donna Dooher which has been watched by foodie fans all over the world. Alongside working in the business, Kevin has also served on the Board of Directors for the Ireland Fund of Canada and was instrumental in securing funds for building Ireland Park Canada and fundraising efforts for the Celtic Studies program at St. Michael’s College.

Their latest venture, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in the heart of Toronto’s Liberty Village, reflects their passion for 'the return to the table' and locally sourced ingredients, simply and sumptuously prepared. Throughout the pandemic, Kevin has also written Diary Of A Restaurant which his musings and learnings of years spent in the hospitality industry.

In today's episode we talk about:

• Their early memories & experiences
• How they scaled a brunch community from 15 people on a Sunday to 500+ per week
• The cultish following around their Blueberry pancakes
• And the greatest challenges/successes they've experienced along the way

Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Kevin and Donna (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/donna-doher-kevin-gallagher

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Cheers!

— Matt