Former Ireland rugby international Donncha O’Callaghan is more used to quantity over quality when it comes to food and meeting the demands of a high-calorie training diet. In a bid to change that, he will be taking to the kitchen on tomorrow’s episode of The Restaurant at on TV3 at 9pm. He joined Ray D’Arcy this afternoon to talk about eating 6000 calories a day after matches, trying to put porridge on a duck and his hopes for Ireland’s fate in the Six Nations.
He told Ray that, while he does cook, historically it’s been “purely for fuel” rather than pleasure.
“You’re just looking constantly at the nutritional value of the food as opposed to seeing it as something to be enjoyed, which is the wrong way to look at food but it’s the kind of athlete’s way. I’ll be honest, I was glad to do The Restaurant because you see the other side of it.“
What did he take away from his time on the show? He told Ray that since seeing the work that goes into preparing the dishes, it’s changed his perspective.
“I will never complain about food again in a restaurant. You just don't know how much work goes into getting everything right. For me, the best example I have, it’s like when a plate goes out, it’s like sending your kids out to school and then all these people – you get to watch it – and they’re like ‘Oh, that looks terrible’…and you're like, ‘What are you saying about my beautiful plate of food?’”
Among the unusual touches, Donncha brought to the menu were Barry’s Tea, Clonakilty black pudding and Flahavan’s porridge.
“It couldn’t have been more Cork Irish.”
The porridge was destined to top a duck. It’s a bold move. He told Ray he was hoping for a score of 4 out of 5 stars, to match Andrew Trimble’s score. And didn’t Ray get 4 stars when he was on? Ray had to set the record straight on that one.
“I only got 3…Thanks for bringing it up. I think about it most days.“
As for Ireland’s Six Nations hopes, Donncha expects Wales will be “tough”, even though Warren Gatland’s decision not to choose Brian O’Driscoll for the Lions squad means Donncha “can’t warm to him”.
“I know he’s aggrieved about some of the stuff [Irish rugby player] Seán O’Brien said but I think when you leave Brian O’Driscoll out of any test squad, you’re in the red when it comes to chatting to use about feeling hard done by.”
He told Ray that watching Ireland matches now gives him an appreciation for what he was a part of.
“When you’re playing in the environment, you just get into a bit of a bubble and you don’t see the joy it brings people to people outside it.”
Listen back to the whole interview with Donncha O’Callaghan here.