Join Open Kitchen Week & Turn Passion Into Profession with Chef Network

Have you ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes in a professional kitchen? As part of its Open Kitchen Week initiative running from 10th - 16th November, Chef Network invites you to step 'behind the pass' and experience the inner workings of top kitchens across Galway. Discover more here...

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In its third year, Open Kitchen Week is Chef Network’s initiative designed to offer aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts a hands-on glimpse into the world of professional kitchens. Whether you're a student exploring career options, a passionate home cook, or someone considering a career shift, this unique opportunity opens the doors to real-life kitchen experiences across Ireland’s top restaurants, hotels, bakeries, cafés, and workplace kitchens. Even those already working in the industry can take part to broaden their horizons and gain insight into different culinary sectors or styles of establishment.

From hotel kitchens to restaurants, Michelin-starred venues, and chocolate producers, Open Kitchen Week offers a unique glimpse into a wide variety of culinary environments in Galway. Participants will have the chance to step inside kitchens at local hotels such as The Twelve Hotel in the coastal village of Barna, to the Clayton Hotel in Briarhill, experiencing everything from the pace of breakfast service to the fine dining.

Jp McMahon’s co-hort of restaurants in Galway will take part in Open Kitchen Week, offering a variety of kitchen environments with Cava Bodega, a Spanish tapas restaurant, recently opened Kombu Ramen and Bao Bar, a Japanese-inspired restaurant, and Michelin-Star Aniar, which serves a 24-course tasting menu highlighting the unique terroir of the west of Ireland.

Open Kitchen Week Ambassador and Founder of Grá Chocolates, Gráinne Mullins, fondly remembers her first time in a professional kitchen and jumped at the chance to take part as a host kitchen for Open Kitchen Week. “For me, Open Kitchen Week is a chance to give back to the industry that has given me so much. I still remember the excitement of my first work experience placement in my transition year. That glimpse into a professional kitchen lit a fire in me that led to a ten-year career in fine dining before I started Grá Chocolates. Now, I always want to offer that same inspiration to the next generation. We're throwing open our doors at Grá Chocolates to aspiring young chefs, pastry chefs, and chocolatiers, letting them see what a day in our world is really like. I'm truly honoured to be the ambassador for this year's event and to help shine a light on the incredible kitchens all over Ireland”.

Registration for Chef Network’s Open Kitchen Week, taking place from 10th to 16th November 2025, is open now at openkitchen.ie Keep up-to-date with the latest news by following Chef Network on social at @chefnetworkirl

Photos: Open Kitchen Week Ambassador & Founder of Grá Chocolates, Gráinne Mullins and Chef Network Spokesperson and Sous Chef at Glovers Alley, Aoife Comerford. All photos courtesy Open Kitchen Week.