By MICHAEL McDONNELL
michael@northern-standard.ie
MONDAY NIGHT LAST will be remembered as a major milestone in the career-path of Monaghan Town native and acclaimed chef Peter McKenna, after the restaurant he jointly owns and runs in Glasgow was named AA Restaurant of the Year for Scotland 2015–2016.
Peter and his family — including his wife Chala and parents Susan and Seamus, the well-known blues music aficionado — were enjoying what they reckoned would be a great night out at the AA Hospitality Awards in the plush Grosvenor House Hotel, London. But the last thing they expected was that the 36-year-old Monaghan man’s eating-house, The Gannet, would come in ahead of all the other contenders in Scotland.
“We were invited to the awards ceremony and bought a table,” a delighted Peter told the Northern Standard this week. “But we weren’t shortlisted or anything like that — it was open to restaurants countrywide!”
“The first we knew we won was when it was announced in the Grosvenor. It was incredible — I just can’t explain it in words,” he enthusiastically admits.
The coveted Automobile Association’s annual accolade sees awards presented in categories including Restaurant of the Year, Hotel of the Year and Pub of the Year for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (see www.aahospitalityawards.com).
Peter and his business partner Ivan Stein opened The Gannet in October 2013, and they had already started to compile an impressive collection of awards including Best …
