Donal is a self taught home cook who writes and photographs food for a living. He has been cooking from an early age and was inspired by a family of foodies with food quickly became a way of life. During his teens he worked with his aunt Erica Ryan, one of Ireland’s top food stylists, and got the chance to work alongside some of Ireland’s top food photographers including Jocasta Clarke and Walter Pfeiffer.

After a brief stint in a restaurant on an island off the west coast of Sweden, Donal came back to Ireland full of ideas and ready start his very own food blog, thegoodmoodfoodblog.com where he wrote about his food adventures and recipes. After only 6 months blogging, he was approached by Irish Publishing house, Mercier Press to write a cookbook based around the recipes on the blog.

Good Mood Food was released in October 2009 and received fantastic reviews. The success of the book lead on to the world of TV and radio appearances which include Ireland AM, The Afternoon Show, ICE, Nationwide and Market Kitchen in the UK, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show and The Tubridy Show.

In March 2010, he won the award for Best Food/Drink Blog at the Irish Blog Awards in Galway. His brand new book Kitchen Hero was released in March 2011 and a 13 part television series which accompanies it aired in May 2011.  Donal writes a regular column for the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine and a weekly column in The Cork News.

Donal first appeared in the Chef Demo Theatre at Taste of Dublin 2010 and went on to appear as a guest chef in the Live Theatre Show at Taste of Christmas last year and was back on stage again at Taste of Dublin 2011. Keep an eye out for Donal once again at Taste of Christmas this year as he brings cooking back home and gives his tips for creating the perfect Christmas dinner.