His company, Vanilla Ventures, supplies gourmet delicacies including foie gras, truffles and artisan cheeses.

Irish palates have definitely changed over the last couple of years. The opportunity for global travel has made the world far more accessible. People then return home and recreate or seek out similar food experiences.

Snail caviar is probably top of our 'most unusual product' list. The eggs are almost translucent in colour and they taste of very earthy moss.

I studied for a BA in hotel and catering management. After a short stint working in a hotel after college, my wife and I moved to London and I worked in finance for five years. It's an amazing town for food.

I was in amsterdam on a business trip in 2002 and was introduced to two guys who had began their business back in 1994 by importing bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar which they discovered while on a food holiday. I was so bowled over by the quality of all the foods that I wanted to see if a similar import/ wholesale venture could be set up in Ireland.

I've always loved my mum's home cooking – my favourite is any roast on a Sunday.

Vanilla venture is now in its fourth year of operation. My business partner Robert Dunleavy and I set the company up. Our first trade was a kilo of truffles to a hotel just outside Naas.

We have over 1,500 different products. The popularity of certain types of food changes with the seasons and what's in vogue. Currently, our wild game from a 2,000-acre shoot in Yorkshire is a very good seller.

I travel where possible, whether that's visiting a local cheesemaker here in Ireland or visiting their counterpart in the Basque region of Spain. This is definitely the part I enjoy most of my work. For me, visiting suppliers and learning the story behind a food ingredient enhances the enjoyment of the food itself.

I crave sushi and wish we had more affordable good sushi places to eat it in in Ireland.

In terms of dishes I like to cook and eat, any slow-cooked meat dish is good – acorn-fed Iberian pork neck slowly simmered for a couple of hours in cider, garlic, leek and sage is a favourite. The cooking liquid is then finished with a dash of calvados and fresh cream before pouring over the sliced meat.

The most exciting product I've discovered of late is Irish wagyu beef. It's going to be great. What better place to rear such an amazing animal than here in the home of good beef?