Celebrity chef, Richard Corrigan said on Friday that he hopes current energy and food inflation doesn’t drive us into a situation where a toasted sandwich will cost €10.
Mr Corrigan expressed the sandwich price rise fear when commenting on new accounts showing that revenues at his business at Virginia Park Lodge in Co Cavan last year increased almost threefold to £2.18 million (€2.49 million).
The surge in revenues at the chef’s Irish business contributed to overall revenues at the Richard Corrigan restaurant group last year rising from £2.75 million to £9.03 million.
The sharp increase in profits at Richard Corrigan Restaurants (Holdings) Ltd resulted in a return to pre-tax profit to £156,109 after recording a pre-tax loss of £1.47 million in 2020.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Corrigan said the results were due to the whole team behind his Virginia Park Lodge and London restaurants. "It was a team effort. We worked hard to bounce back."
He said: "The Virginia Park Lodge is trading robustly and strongly. It is a multi-generational family project."
Mr Corrigan’s Virginia Park Lodge operation benefited from the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in early June 2021 and he said that the business has enjoyed a further rise in revenues this year.
He said: "Covid has been very tough for hospitality everywhere. Unlike a lot of our colleagues, we came out of it in flying form and most importantly light in debt."
Mr Corrigan operates three restaurants in London, Bentley’s, Corrigan’s and Daffodil Mulligans and is to open a new Dublin restaurant, The Park Cafe at One Shelbourne Rd on November 5th and revealed that he is investing €2.7 million into the venture.
The new restaurant will initially create 50 jobs and Mr Corrigan said that it makes sense to invest in Dublin now.
“Dublin is a vibrant, growing city and is in a place where there is stable government and good financial government unlike London where all my colleagues think that the Conservative crisis is starting to play havoc with everyone there," he said.
Mr Corrigan said he is also spending another €800,000 on the opening of a six bed townhouse, the Deer Park Inn in Virginia in December or January.
"It is an extension of The Lodge. Ireland is important to me and I am very happy to hang around Ireland.
He said: "I could put this money into London. I have done enough in London and it is for another generation to carry on the London project."
Mr Corrigan's 33-year-old son, Richard Jnr is now managing director of the entire group. “I will concentrate on head chefs and kitchens myself and the operations side will fall to my son. I will become more of a teacher and a motivator to head chefs behind the scenes," he said.
The UK and Irish group last year benefited from other income of £266,533 made up of £160,538 in Covid Job Retention Grant and a Covid-19 Business Support Grant of £105,995.
The group’s revenues were last year made up of £4.7 million in food; £3.13 million in beverage; £648,118 in other income and £521,090 in room rental.
Numbers employed increased by one to 145 and staff costs increased from £2.3 million to £3.54 million.
