After Dinner Speakers: Paul Rankin, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Fry

As well as appearing on a number of television shows, Paul Rankin runs a successful restaurant and business in his native Belfast. His wife Jeanne is also a familiar face, cooking alongside him. Paul left Belfast to travel the world in 1980, meeting Jeanne on the way. They journeyed together, often working in kitchens to earn some cash. In 1984 they ended up at Le Gavroche, the Roux Brothers’ restaurant in London. There they worked their way up the kitchen ladder, learning the tricks of the trade. The couple then travelled again, working in Canada before returning to Belfast and setting up Roscoff. The restaurant won Northern Ireland’s first Michelin star which they kept for eight years running. They closed Roscoff in 1999, but refitted the premises and opened Cayenne, a restaurant with a more informal feel. Paul and Jeanne appeared together on their television culinary journey Gourmet Ireland in the mid-1990s and The Rankin Challenge towards the end of the decade. Two successful books also came out of this project. Since then, Paul has become a regular on our screens on MasterChef, Who’ll Do the Pudding? and, of course, Ready, Steady, Cook. Jeanne, too, still appears on a number of shows.