Meet Peter Connolly

'By the time the Olympics is over I will have helped serve over 3.5 million meals,' Shannonharbour"s Peter Connolly says. Peter, who began his training in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore, and is now head chef in the National College of Ireland in Dublin, is one of two Irish chefs chosen to represent the country as catering company Aramark come into the home stretch of their catering contract at the Olympic Games in China. 'My typical day consisted of starting work at noon and finishing at midnight,' Peter said of his role in the Olympic kitchen. 'There was me and one other American chef over a brigade of 150 Chinese chefs on our shift. 'The operation was the biggest in the world ever. The restaurant can seat 6,000 people at any one time, making it the biggest restaurant in the world.' Of the day we spoke to Peter, he said: 'We cooked 75,000 meals today - 25,000 for breakfast, 25,000 for lunch and 25,000 for dinner.' Peter enjoyed a childhood in Moystown, with brothers John, Paddy and Aidan and parents Ann and John. A cookery fan from a young age, Peter switched from Ferbane Vocational School to Banagher Vocational School in first year, as he says boys weren"t allowed to do Home Economics. After school Peter went to college in Athlone IT, where he completed a two-year professional cookery course, and then went on to Galway Mayo IT to do an Advanced National Cert in supervisory development. Since then he has gained lots of work experience, including some time working for Australian Football League team the Richmond Tigers in their clubhouse. 'My mother is a great cook,' he says. 'We would always get big dinners when we were younger and Mum would come out with the famous phrase: "You wouldn"t get that in The Gresham"'. Whether or not you"d get what Peter is cooking just now in The Gresham is debatable, but you"re sure to get a fantastic variety of food in the kitchen in the Olympic Village. Aramark, which was chosen by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games to provide catering services for the Olympic Village, two media centres and two media villages during both the Olympics and Paralympics, served approximately 3.5 million meals to 65,000 athletes, coaches, staff, officials and media guests during the course of the Games. Service in the Olympic Village operated around the clock, offering an incredible variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, lean protein and other foods to suit all tastes and needs. The largest Olympics operation ever undertaken, the company created a World Menu of over 800 recipes on an eight day schedule rotation for this year"s Games featuring Asian, Mediterranean, International and special dietary cuisine that was designed for variety, nutrition and a taste of home for visiting athletes and officials. A traditional Chinese tea house was also built on site, and the Olympic Village dining hall was the size of approximately three American football fields and could hold up to 6,000 diners at a time. Nutritional information on each dish was available in English, Chinese and French, and a nutritional help desk was open every day from 8am to 8pm. For the large scale project, which was the 14th time Aramark were chosen to cater for Olympic athletes, nearly 7,000 managers, chefs and employees were employed from all over the world. 'When the company got the contract for Beijing they wanted an international input to all the food,' Peter says, 'so I was chosen to represent Aramark Ireland.' 'I find the Chinese people a real pleasure to work with,' he continues. 'In all my meetings with them here they have just been so nice and welcoming.' And Beijing is a destination of choice for Peter as well. 'Beijing itself is the most amazing place I have ever been. I got to see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, and I still have quite a bit of time left here. I was also lucky enough to get tickets to the National Stadium (the Bird"s Nest) where the athletics is taking place for the Men"s 100 metres final.' 'I have talked to several Irish athletes as well, and quite a few American ones who are really eager to talk to you once they hear the Irish accent!' One thing that is missing for Irish people at the Olympics, Peter says, is bacon and cabbage. 'That"s one item that"s not on the menu,' Peter laughs. However, he says he has come across a few menus with dog on them in restaurants outside the Olympic Village. 'I"m afraid I didn"t try it - I don"t think I could stomach it,' Peter says. 'I have eaten scorpion though. It wasn"t that bad, but was very crunchy.' Peter arrived in Beijing on July 1, and won"t fly home until September 30, and during his time in Beijing has celebrated his 28th birthday. Not something he"ll probably be doing again anytime soon, he is now gearing up for the Paralympics before returning home at the end of next month.