Chris McClurg: Great British Menu, Michelin Kitchens & Coming Home to Belfast

In this episode of Wasted Creatives, I sit down with chef Chris McClurg to talk about his journey through food, restaurants, creativity and hospitality. Chris shares how a teenage summer at Shanks helped shape the direction of his life, why restaurants became the place where he found his tribe, and how his career took him from Belfast to London, Cornwall and the world of Michelin-starred cooking. We talk about working with Paul Ainsworth at No.6, the pressure and reality of competing on Great British Menu, the difference between cooking great food and creating a great hospitality experience, and what it means to build a restaurant culture where both guests and staff feel valued. Chris also speaks about returning home to Belfast, pop-ups at Neighbourhood, and the new chapter he and Alice are building at Regency House. A brilliant conversation about food, ambition, creativity, pressure, leadership and the emotional side of hospitality.