Chatting to Noel Newell is like opening Pandora’s Box – you just would not know what far flung location he’s going to casually mention next. Now the Executive Chef at new Sligo Food Trail members, The Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone, Noel has a CV that reads like a travel brochure.
It all started in Rosses Point for Noel, washing pots as a raw teenager in the busy kitchen of Austie’s. That inauspicious start didn’t put him off and straight out of school he began work as a kitchen porter in The Bistro. It didn’t take them long to spot potential and by the end of his first shift he was working in the kitchen proper. Apart from mastering pizza making, that was when the cheffing bug really bit and Noel lost no time in formalising his education. Starting with Cert in Bundoran, he then went on to the culinary school in Killybegs where he really earned his stripes. It was a challenging course and graduation was far from guaranteed. Noel credits two practical placements in The Castlecourt Hotel, Westport and The Nuremore in Carrickmacross under Michael Rath as being instrumental in his development as a young chef.
Ever seeking pastures new, Noel’s path took him to Jersey working in a fish restaurant called The Old Courthouse followed by a year in fine dining. He loved the approach to food and ingredients in Jersey, and relished the challenge of a new kitchen. Indeed, after leaving the Channel Islands, kitchen challenges became his stock in trade and he soon carved out a niche for himself with Radisson hotels that would take him around the globe.
Noel proved himself in the Radisson Letterkenny and got headhunted to work as Executive Pastry Chef in the brand new 500-bedroom Radisson at Stansted Airport, setting up the kitchens and swiftly rising to Executive Chef. Next up was Manchester Airport where a Kosher kitchen brought yet more learning. He became part of the Task Force, a select group of chefs with the ability to problem solve in kitchens, either in their set up phase or struggling. For nine years he worked with the Radisson Hotels, and as he puts it, “I always kept my passport with me”.
He worked in the heart of London, in the Portman, W1, beside Locatelli and other celebrity restaurants, flying in seaweed-fed Shetland lamb for events. He spent two years in Russia, in Chelyabinsk, Sochi and Moscow with up to 127 people working under him – and barely a word of English between them. No pre-prepped veg in those kitchens, absolutely everything had to be made from scratch. Shetland and Chicago fitted in there somewhere too and in between times Noel spent periods at home in Ireland, even running his own restaurant for a short spell.
In 2018 he came home for good, spending nearly three years at Breaffy House Hotel before joining his old colleague Michael Yates in the Diamond Coast Hotel. Remarkably, it’s the first Sligo hotel he has ever worked in. With his team, Noel is transforming the menus, passionately talking about the quality of local lobster, respect for ingredients and doing the simple things well. This chef knows what he’s talking about.
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