Niall Davidson is chef-proprietor of Allta, in Dublin’s Docklands. Born in Scotland, he moved to Co Derry as a boy, training as a butcher in his uncle’s Coleraine shop before moving to highend butchery in London. With no formal training, he went on to cook in restaurants such as Chiltern Firehouse and St John Bread & Wine. In 2019, he opened Allta in Dublin 2, which reopened in its new home earlier this year. He lives near the restaurant with his Ukrainian wife, Liza. Interview by Sarah Caden.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY? Me, my two older brothers and my younger sister were all born in Scotland and moved to Ireland when I was about six. My parents split up and my dad stayed in Scotland and we moved to Derry, to my granny’s farm, where my mum had grown up and where she still lives. My parents were both very hard-working. My mum, in particular, can’t stop. ? at’s been a huge in? uence on me, sometimes in a bad way, because I feel guilty when I’m not working. My dad is an architect who has been trying to retire for years but I keep dragging him back to design things for me.
HOW DID MOVING TO IRELAND AFFECT YOU? If I hadn’t moved to a farm, I wouldn’t be sitting here in Allta now. I got the bug for farming and outdoor life there. My two uncles are farmers and they took me under their wing. I bought my own sheep when I was 14. I’m a bit of an obsessive compulsive – I suppose every creative person is – and I got into what kind of sheep, where were they from, how did they taste?
WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL AND DID YOU LIKE IT? I moved from a big school of 400 children in Scotland to a school of 36 in Co Derry. My class had two boys and two girls, and I was one of the boys. Secondary school was bigger. I loved school, but I’m not a paper person. If something doesn’t interest me, no matter what the consequences, I’m not learning it. ? ere needs to be something that ignites a ? ame in me for me to give it everything – and then I really give it everything.
YOU WORKED AS A BUTCHER FOR MANY YEARS – DID YOU ENJOY THAT? After I did my A-Levels, I was a bit lost. I had been working in my uncle’s butchers in Coleraine from about 14, and I started my apprenticeship there when I was about 19. I left the butcher shop when I could weigh out exactly 454g of meat by eye in one go. I wouldn’t be the greatest employee. I always liked to stay a year, learn what I could and then move on.
WHAT WAS YOUR BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT? I got a job in Jack O’Shea’s butchers in London (with branches in Harrods and then, Selfridges). There were people buying £50 steaks, which was incredible to me, and I learnt so much from the proper old-school English Cockney butchers there. I never laughed or learned so much.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST FORAY INTO THE KITCHEN AND COOKING? The Admiral Codrington in London with a guy called Fred Smith. It was one of those London gastropubs with a great chef and incredible food. I started going in on my days off from work, then went to work for him. It was the best training on the job you’re ever going to get. The first night, I nearly passed out from the heat, the high tempo. That was my first taste of the drug of cooking.
“I’ve never had a job that I’ve had to sit down to do and I’ve never had a job that I’m qualified enough for. I’m here to learn and sweat and give it my best shot …”
HAVE YOU EVER REGRETTED NOT HAVING FORMAL TRAINING? I’ve never had a job that I’ve had to sit down to do and I’ve never had a job that I’m qualified enough for. I’m here to learn and sweat and give it my best shot.
HOW HAVE YOU DEALT WITH SETBACKS? I’ve been burnt out twice. I went to Noma for a week and I just didn’t enjoy it. I felt bad not taking the job, but apart from anything else, I was just burnt out. The second time was after I opened a restaurant (Nuala, 2019) in London and it was a complete disaster. I wasn’t good enough yet. Both times I went to home to Derry, back to the farm. My mum is that sanctuary I can always go back to. You get better at failure once you fail once or twice. After that, I was finished with London and that brought me to Dublin.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE? My mum’s a massive one, for her sheer graft and determination. She always worked as nurse and after she and Dad divorced, she pretty much raised the four of us. My wife Liza is Ukrainian. We got married in 2021, in Ukraine, during Covid, just the two of us. We still haven’t had the wedding.
ARE YOU GOOD AT SWITCHING OFF FROM WORK? Terrible. My wife could tell you that. You have to realise you can’t fix all problems all the time. You’re still a human who needs two days off a week.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR MOST PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE FEATURE? My lovely big nose. We call it the Mullan nose in my family. It comes from my mother’s father.
WHAT IS YOUR STYLE SIGNIFIER? I wouldn’t classify myself as a stylish person. I only have a beard because I don’t like shaving.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SHOES? Me and my wife have a bit of an obsession with Camper. At the moment I like Hoka and Camper. They’re my go-to for trendy but quite functional.
DO YOU USE SKINCARE PRODUCTS? I have eczema. I was in hospital with it a few times when I was young, so I put on creams twice a day and that keeps it at bay.
WHAT DID YOU MOST RECENTLY READ? Probably hazmat manuals. I’ve never been a big book reader.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO? I’m a history nut and the Irish History Podcast is incredible and I love anything like This Day in History or Real Dictators. I listen to them when I’m going to sleep. It drives my wife mad.
CAN YOU SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE? In Jack O’Shea’s, they did butchers’ back slang, where they speak backwards. It stems from the markets so, like, “red-loush” is shoulder and “bee-mal” is lamb. It’s so you could talk without the customer knowing. It still makes me laugh. I’d love to learn Irish properly. My dream would be that my kids would learn Irish and speak it fluently. Liza speaks Ukrainian, English, Polish, Italian. She’s incredible.
WHAT DO YOU COOK AT HOME? My wife and I do this little thing, a ten-minute steak dinner. We sometimes take a little bit of beautiful Jersey steak from Allta and we’d have it with fried padron peppers and some courgettes, cooked down with butter beans, garlic, yogurt and fresh parsley.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST EXPERIENCE OF GRIEF? My best friend died when I was eleven. It was so sad. It still brings tears to my eyes. He was the only other boy in my class in school. He got run over by a car. It was tough. It’s one thing your granny or your grandad, but your best friend? That’s tough.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SAY YOU’RE DOING NOTHING? Our house at the moment is a little flat near Allta. It’s nice, but it doesn’t feel like home, and I can’t really relax. I miss the beaches in Northern Ireland. Doing something in the fresh air is doing nothing for me.
WHAT DOES THE PERFECT WEEKEND OFF INCLUDE? The idea of having two days off sounds perfect to me right now. I’ve had my phone blocked for the last three years, so I don’t get any calls. That’s my idea of no intrusion.