Maurice has sights set on the long game
Lisburn chef, Maurice Stinson has been a fixture at Ed’s Bar and Grill since it opened and while he couldn’t be happier, his long-term plans include going into business for himself…
Like many head chefs, Lurgan-born Maurice Stinson’s ultimate goal is to open the doors on a restaurant of his own. For the present, however, 35-year-old Maurice is very comfortable in his position at colourful Lisburn eatery, Ed’s Bar and Grill, where he’s been since 2006.
Maurice enjoyed a sound start to his kitchen career when he signed on as a trainee chef with Derek Patterson at The Plough in Hillsborough nearly 20 years ago. He worked his way up to a chef de partie position and in 2000, he moved to Derek’s other venue, The Pheasant at Annahilt as second chef.
The move to Ed’s came when the venue first opened in 2006 – Maurice was initially second chef but when head chef, Andy Falker, moved on in 2009, Maurice moved up.
The venue itself has become something of an institution in Lisburn. It’s a lively, family-orientated restaurant with strong Mexican influences sitting alongside a varied array of steak, chicken and burger dishes. Typical of Maurice’s quirky take on convention is his French-style seabass in vanilla crème sauce with caper mash.
Michael and his wife, Joanne, have three kids – Ami (7), Ethan (5) and Jake (1) – and he concedes that mixing family life with his schedule in a busy restaurant can be tough, although over the years, he’s learned to cope with the demands:
“I’m used to it all by now and I enjoy what I do,” he tells LCN. “If someone was just setting off in this career, it can be hard on them, but I’ve built my family life around it and it benefits me. I can pick my kids up from school at a time when many other fathers probably couldn’t. Sometimes, at the weekends, I’m not in a position to be with the family because I have to run the show in here but the job does give me a sense of self-worth and that’s important.”
Michael’s opinion of the general standard of chef skills locally is fairly complimentary, although he believes it’s higher in busier areas such as Lisburn and Hillsborough. If he’s heading out himself, he prefers to go right into Belfast where the choice is much more diversified.
“My long-term plan would be to open my own place some day, that’s the next step for any head chef I would presume”, says Michael “but I’m happy in my current position at present, with three kids to look after and the bills to pay. In a few years’ time, I would like to think that I would be in a position to do something on my own.”
Maurice says that his personal preference would be for a 50 or 60-seater restaurant, perhaps with an Italian influence.
Meanwhile, there’s enough to keep him busy at Ed’s:
“Because we’re well-established – this will be our 10th year – there have been a lot of places that have come and gone in that time. We started well during the recession and the regulars that we picked up have stayed with us,” adds Maurice. “In three years’ time, I hope we’ll be doing even better. If history is anything to judge by, we should still be on top of our game. I think we’re the best restaurant in Lisburn, we’re probably the most established and things are looking good for the future.”
