Greg Xavier is a chef and nutritionist who specializes in a plant-based diet, which he adopted after two years of digestive problems during his college years.
He writes on his Plant Based Ireland blog and offers courses for those interested in learning more about plant-based nutrition.
Home is …
I live on the outskirts of Dalkey with my girlfriend. I grew up in Clonskeagh and lived in a house there with two friends. Then literally as the lockdown was getting closer, we just said ‘sink or swim’ and I moved in with her. Now we have three dogs, so everything is fine!
How I get around the city:
Now that I have permission, I have been taking the DART when I have to go into town, but in the past, it would have been by car or bike.
I enjoy the freedom that cycling brings. You can go practically from where I am to the city center, along the coast, on a well-protected bike path.
Best place in town for a date:
I love the Stella cinema in Rathmines. My girlfriend and I have been there a couple of times. It’s the whole experience, the way cinema used to be.
You can get good food there, you can have a drink if you want, even cocktails. The seats are big, you have a footrest, it’s a very luxurious experience and quite romantic too.
(Image: supplied)
My favorite pub in town:
I stopped drinking almost five years ago, but the one I have the best memories of is McSorley’s in Ranelagh.
There is also a non-alcoholic pub now on Capel Street called Virgin Mary. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t drink, but I really felt a sense of calm there, this beautiful sense of validation or something.
My favorite restaurant in Dublin:
Vegan butcher Sova, on Camden Street. It is a totally vegetable restaurant, very much in line with the quality and creativity that can be achieved in places like New York or London, which are really on the cusp of this trend. It’s been pretty far from my 5km for a long time, but once I get a chance I’ll definitely be back there.
My favorite coffee shop or coffee shop:
The great social outing of the day during the confinement was going to the local cafeteria. In the town of Dalkey it was a combination of Mugs and another one further down called Pepper Lane.
I was never a coffee drinker in the past and started trying to drink coffee every day but then I got a little nervous and it went decaf. In recent times, it has floated more towards matcha or chai, the end of the tea spectrum.
Where do I do my exercise:
I would say that I have been swimming in the sea, but it is more immersion in the sea. You walk in for a couple of minutes and float or paddle like a puppy.
I am lucky to be able to walk to Forty Foot. I can avoid rush hours and go down in the middle of the day or at night, when there are not so many people.
My favorite stores:
When I’m downtown, I enjoy strolling through The Kitchen Whisk or Stock; both stores have an endless supply of utensils and kitchen supplies.
There is also a clothing store that I really enjoy going to, called Fresh Cuts. It’s designed in Dublin and it’s all eco-friendly, made with organic and Fairtrade fabrics, so if I need to buy jeans or something I’d go there.
(Image: supplied)
My favorite place for a haircut :
I only cut a hair in the last two years, but the place where I landed was Kazumi. [on Molesworth Street] – my partner told me to try it because I had been there before.
I happened to be put with a woman named Olive, who specializes in curly hair. It was probably the best haircut I have ever had. I desperately need a haircut at this stage, but it is Kazumi that I will return to.
My favorite place in Dublin to get away from it all:
I’ve been climbing Kilternan in the Dublin Mountains, maybe a night or two a week, just walking through the woods.
I find that being on a screen all the time for the last year, and being confined to an urban setting, there’s something even more appealing now about stepping out into nature for an hour or two, or whatever might fit the day.
(Image: Joe King)
My favorite place to let my hair down:
Anywhere with live music, somewhere like Whelan’s, where you’re very small with emerging bands, or you’re going to see something at the Olympia or the Academy, or even 3Arena, depending on who’s playing.
I realized that when you are not drinking and want to let your hair down, it is a much more enjoyable experience if there is live music involved.
The last live event I went to before the lockdown:
Stevie Wonder at 3Arena: it was a great concert. Hearing him sing all the hits and also hearing his band do all the Motown classics, no matter how old you are or your level of interest in music, you’re going to have a good time.
Dublin’s best kept secret:
As cheesy as it sounds, I think the people of Dublin are the best kept secret. It doesn’t matter where you end up going, particularly in recent times when you’ve had to queue outside, you end up in random conversations and people are very receptive and open to that. Even just for people watching in certain places, you will see all kinds of characters.
I have been drawn to that over the last year. I hope that continues as things open up again – you realize that Dublin is a city filled with a very diverse range of interesting characters.