Technology
Donal Skehan says owning family home 'means everything' after 14 years of renting
Donal Skehan has said it "means everything" to own a property after years of renting.
Donal, his wife Sofie and their two sons moved from LA to Dublin in 2020, and purchased a cottage in Howth in 2023.
While he is happy with how things have turned out, the celebrity chef admitted he wasn't ready to leave LA at the time.
"I found it really hard to come back," he admitted. "I wasn't ready to leave. We'd worked so hard: I had a show on Food Network, was judging on HBO Max, appearing on Rachael Ray and the Today show. I loved the LA food scene. People think it's all palm trees and celebs, but its an incredible food city. We'd spend weekends in the San Gabriel Valley eating Asian food; you could eat your way around the world there."
Speaking to the RTE Guide, he added: "It was tough to leave, but when Ollie was born, something had to give. Sofie was homesick, and we knew it was time. The early years back were rocky, you have to re-establish yourself, but now the kids are settled, and so are we."
The couple have settled into their Dublin home well.
"To have a place of our own means everything," Donal said. "There's a real sense of home now. I always thought you had to be in London or New York to keep things going, but you don't, you can dip in and out. Dublin is home base."
Donal is always on the go, between writing books, TV appearances, his own lifestyle brand Wind Shore Goods and his podcast with Dancing With The Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, Let's Do This. However, he said he's programmed to be busy.
"I think it's in my blood," he said. "My mum and dad had a food business, wholesale fruit and veg, then prepared fruit for supermarkets. From the day I was born, I've seen that work ethic: my dad up at four in the morning, my parents still working now in their 60s and 70s. If you grow up in that world, you've a constant appetite for what's next.
"I get a high from producing a cookbook or a TV show. I love bringing projects to life. The world of food is endless - you can go to a new country and find a whole other cuisine to explore."
Donal Skehan has said it "means everything" to own a property after years of renting.
Donal, his wife Sofie and their two sons moved from LA to Dublin in 2020, and purchased a cottage in Howth in 2023.
While he is happy with how things have turned out, the celebrity chef admitted he wasn't ready to leave LA at the time.
"I found it really hard to come back," he admitted. "I wasn't ready to leave. We'd worked so hard: I had a show on Food Network, was judging on HBO Max, appearing on Rachael Ray and the Today show. I loved the LA food scene. People think it's all palm trees and celebs, but its an incredible food city. We'd spend weekends in the San Gabriel Valley eating Asian food; you could eat your way around the world there."
Speaking to the RTE Guide, he added: "It was tough to leave, but when Ollie was born, something had to give. Sofie was homesick, and we knew it was time. The early years back were rocky, you have to re-establish yourself, but now the kids are settled, and so are we."
The couple have settled into their Dublin home well.
"To have a place of our own means everything," Donal said. "There's a real sense of home now. I always thought you had to be in London or New York to keep things going, but you don't, you can dip in and out. Dublin is home base."
Donal is always on the go, between writing books, TV appearances, his own lifestyle brand Wind Shore Goods and his podcast with Dancing With The Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, Let's Do This. However, he said he's programmed to be busy.
"I think it's in my blood," he said. "My mum and dad had a food business, wholesale fruit and veg, then prepared fruit for supermarkets. From the day I was born, I've seen that work ethic: my dad up at four in the morning, my parents still working now in their 60s and 70s. If you grow up in that world, you've a constant appetite for what's next.
"I get a high from producing a cookbook or a TV show. I love bringing projects to life. The world of food is endless - you can go to a new country and find a whole other cuisine to explore."
