Seeking Spiritual Fulfillment At The Purple Fig

By Laura Neill

Good judgment is the meaning of purple, a color known for its sense of fantasy and mystery; it is often associated with spiritual fulfillment and royalty.

Purple Fig, one of Manhattan's newest and trendiest restaurant bars has therefore hit the nail on the head with its name, reflecting house chef Conrad Gallagher's prestige.

It also sets the mood and color scheme to the restaurant, with an exciting menu that touches on comfort.

Irish celebrity chef Conrad Gallagher originates from Hawthorn Heights in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

His passion for cooking began with his mother and grandmother's home cooking. It influenced him so much that whilst attending Scoil Colmcille and St. Eunan's for education, he decided to leave at the young age of twelve to begin training in the culinary arts.

Conrad was trained by and amongst some of Ireland's top chefs at Killybeg's catering college. On completion of training he soon decided to move to New York, to pursue his dream of becoming a world-class chef in the city.

Here, he joined the Plaza Hotel, moving onto the Waldorf=Astoria's Peacock Alley where he spent two years under Laurent Manrique. He also worked at Restaurant Daniel and Park Avenue during his time there.

Conrad was just seventeen years of age when he took the plunge to move to the Big Apple, staying until he was twenty-three, after which he moved back to Ireland and rapidly created a mini empire of restaurants by his mid twenties.

With accomplishments galore, Conrad has never looked back.

At age twenty-five, he had become the youngest person ever to achieve a Michelin star to their name, for his Peacock Alley Restaurant in Dublin.

Other awards he has achieved include Irish chef of the Year in 1996 and 1999-2001, as well as Restaurant of the Year, Best Service and Wine list. He has even been listed in the Conde Naste Travelers Top 15 restaurants in the world.

Today Conrad has recreated himself after the financial crisis hit him full force, causing him to close his line of restaurants in Dublin, by opening this elegant bistro in what was once the All State café.

Owner Paul Hurley contacted Conrad when he heard he had moved to Las Vegas. He asked Conrad to give assistance towards some of his restaurants and the particular concepts of them he wasn't happy with.

Taking the challenge, Conrad was brought on board as restaurant consultant.

Transformation is certainly what he accomplished.

Conrad describes new restaurant Purple Fig as "a modern French Bistro that specializes in provincial French food with a really really sexy wine bar."

The restaurant catches the unique connection between people and food. He said, "It is French style cooking with a little bit of a New York accent to it."

All ingredients are sourced from small farms and growers. Purple Fig promises excellence in fresh, clean and uncomplicated ingredients. The menu is about using great ingredients while respecting their natural flavors.

It makes its own breads and pastries fresh daily, as well as doing its own butchering and filleting. They even find time to make their own black pudding!

Dishes to tantalize your taste buds include pea soup, black bass pan roasted with truffle-crushed potatoes and espresso duck egg crème brulee. All of which are original yet appetizing in their own way.

The ambience of the restaurant does not let down the high standard of the menu either.

Despite a lonely outset appearance in a quiet neighborhood, once inside a different story is told with the warmth of the original fireplace from P. D. O'Hurley's intact, preventing the lifeless refurbished feel many restaurants fall trap to.

The relaxed feel and pace to the restaurant differ from the huge crowds Conrad is used to catering for. Conrad is a chef who has mastered the fine art of working under pressure.

Twenty-five thousand people per day, eleven days consecutively is the largest crowd Conrad says he has catered for, at the Bank Golf Classic in South Africa. Impressively he has also catered for the MTV European Awards for three years.

Famous names Conrad has had the pleasure of cooking for include Jon Bonjovi, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Bill Clinton on St. Patrick's day 1996 to name a few.

To this day Conrad maintains a good friendship with the former US president Bill Clinton.

Telling us a little bit about how he convened Clinton, Conrad said, "When I was 17 and pretty young I worked at the Waldorf=Astoria and met him through that experience.

"From this he asked me to the white house to cook dinner for him. A few years later he visited me in a restaurant I owned in Dublin and again in London, we have remained good friends since."

Despite having an impressive list of customers to his name, Conrad realizes the importance to engage with and ensure every meal is special to each customer's individual needs.

"In the world of social media every single customer is a critic now."

Proving the dangers of facebook, tweeting and good old-fashioned word of mouth he tries to overcome the problem by placing the best possible dishes on the menu.

"I think the most important thing for me, that I try and do is to put together some focus groups before the restaurant opens and do a series of tasting.

"This way every single dish we put on the menu is tried and tested. Once approved and set, it is put on the menu and then a matter of the kitchen and dining room operating in a really consistent way.

"When we get to these stages in a niche we become comfortable and confident but, restaurants do have bad days."

Conrad is currently working on the opening of his second restaurant in the city, Desmond's Steakhouse and Grill that he shall be running alongside Purple Fig.

Regardless of each restaurant contrasting in their cuisine forte, Conrad believes he is a "pretty good all rounder". He said, "I believe I will do a good amount of research into a particular food style and practice and train and develop the menu until the restaurant opens."

Conrad has wrote and published many cookbooks including New Irish cooking, One pot wanders and Take six ingredients as well as having hosted his own television cookery shows.

Currently Conrad is making the most of the low profile lifestyle he can enjoy here in the United States.

It was not long after sneaking into the city under the radar, that people began to realize what a talent he is and as a result has been inundated with tempting offers.

Conrad said "I haven't decided whether to do TV or books in New York, the problem is it makes you well known however there has been rumors and talks of Head Chef New York," a spin off from his cookery show Head Chef on TV3 in Ireland. C

The Purple Fig is located at 250 West 72nd Street between West end Avenue and Broadway. It offers prix fixe dinner menus from 42 dollars for 5 courses from 5.30 to 6.30pm and an a la carte menu available from 5- 11pm. So pop there for a visit, after all happiness is homemade!