Irish or not, celebrating St Patrick’s Day is always going to be fun. On which other holiday is it socially acceptable to drink Guinness for breakfast and embark on a full day of revelry, fuelled by carb-laden food? But getting it right is a fine art. Especially with the current unprecedented climate – with pubs in Ireland closing and the cancellation of parades across the world. If you’re staying indoors this year, St Patrick’s Day is the perfect excuse to embrace delicious Irish produce and heartwarming tradition. To help you celebrate in style, we asked three of the finest Irish chefs cooking today to share their own food traditions – no novelty headwear necessary.

Having grown up on a farm in County Meath, Mr Corrigan has always felt connected to homegrown produce, and his career has combined a simple, ingredient-led approach with a pioneering attitude to improving the British food scene. He’s now chef-owner of four restaurants: Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, Corrigan’s Mayfair, Daffodil Mulligan and Virginia Park Lodge in Ireland.

According to Mr Corrigan, the key to a successful St Patrick’s Day dinner is to keep it simple. “My tip is to prepare as much in advance as possible, so you have more time with your guests. My menu would be potato cakes with smoked salmon, followed by a slow-cooked Irish stew.” And to drink? “Gibney’s stout is a must. And an Irish coffee to finish the night off.” If you want to carry on the celebrations, Mr Corrigan recommends paying a visit to Gibney’s London, the bar based downstairs at Daffodil Mulligan, his newest restaurant in Shoreditch. 

Mr Gill, who hails from Dublin, may have classical training – he’s worked under Messrs Raymond Blanc and Marco Pierre White – but his own restaurants speak of a more relaxed approach. Mr Gill’s cooking is about generosity, comfort and a respect for ingredients and forgotten culinary techniques.

“I’m generally working on St Patrick’s Day,” says Mr Gill. “Last year, I shucked more than a thousand oysters – just before a spontaneous blizzard hit. But if I’m celebrating, the food has to be Guinness, oysters and a Dublin coddle [a sausage stew], which my mum used to make. It’s not the prettiest of dishes – the sausages are just boiled, and look alarmingly anaemic.”

If you cook one thing for St Patrick’s Day, Mr Gill says it has to be soda bread. “Guinness soda bread is always a winner, and easy to make. I serve it with smoked salmon from Secret Smokehouse – the founder, Max Bergius, produces the highest quality cured and smoked fish there is, which goes perfectly with some fresh horseradish yoghurt, made by mixing natural yoghurt with horseradish cream, fresh horseradish, a dash of Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon juice.” To assemble the dish, “Cut some shallots into thin rings and plunge into iced water to crisp up. Slice the soda bread and build open sandwiches on the slices – start with the salmon, then add the horseradish yoghurt. Garnish with the shallot rings, plus capers, dill, borage flowers, fresh horseradish, kimchi and pickles.” For a main course, Mr Gill suggests updating  the classic Irish lamb stew by adding seaweed for a burst of umami flavour. “I deep-fry dried wakame seaweed in a fryer at 160°C for a couple of minutes until crisp, then sprinkle over the stew – it’s delicious and adds great texture,” he says.

Mr Gill’s final tip? Don’t peak too early. “Drink Guinness all day long, eat plenty of carbs and drink plenty of water,” he says. Although, admits Mr Gill, “My problem is that I still always peak too early – ask anyone.”

Opened last year, Myrtle is chef Ms Haugh’s first solo restaurant, and brings together her Irish roots with her experience in modern European kitchens (she’s worked under Messrs Gordon Ramsay and Philip Howard). The name is inspired by Ms Myrtle Allen, the co-owner of legendary cookery school and restaurant, Ballymaloe, who’s been dubbed the matriarch of Irish cooking.

“My St Patrick’s Day usually starts with me rooting through my wardrobe for something green and the classic St Patrick’s Day badge, then a sausage on a fork for breakfast!” says Ms Haugh. “A good breakfast is key. And Guinness is a must. As a kid, we were allowed to break Lent on St Patrick’s Day, which meant eating sweets – something I’d try to keep going all day,” she says.

These days, Ms Haugh’s Paddy’s Day menu is a little more elevated. “I’d start with a parsnip soup – I like to crumble a little black pudding on top,” she says. “Then roast lamb with colcannon or clapshot, and roast potatoes.” For dessert, she uses leftovers of her treacle-laced brown soda bread in a comforting bread and butter pudding – it’s the most delicious way to soak up all that Guinness.