IN BED WITH IMEN MCDONNELL

The ultimate polymath, Imen McDonnell is an American cookbook author, food stylist, photographer, producer and filmmaker based on her husband’s ancestral farm in Co Limerick where they live with their teen son Geoffrey.

McDonnell has styled campaigns for both print and television for Failte Ireland and Discover Ireland, AppleTV+ and has had work published in Condé Nast Traveler (USA), Town & Country (UK), The Guardian, The New York Times, The Irish Times, Saveur magazine and more. She’s the author of The Farmette Cookbook, organises Lens & Larder photography retreats, wrote, produced and directed the award-winning short film Small Green Fields, and is a member of the Irish Food Writers Guild and the Irish Guild of Set Decorators. She most recently worked on Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted TV series filmed in the west of Ireland.

We need a lie down just reading that CV. So how does she juggle her many passions and talents? Kettle on…

I was born and raised in total Americana Midwest – in a quiet town on Lake Michigan famously known for being the “Home of the Ice Cream Sundae”. I grew up with a lot of freedom and spent most of my free time on the beach. In many ways it was an idyllic childhood, and in other ways it was challenging feeling “different” as someone partially of North African descent in a largely Scandi/European-American community.

I remember always dreaming of life in a more diverse setting and indeed went straight to university after high school – studying fashion design and then broadcast journalism eventually landing work in the multicultural cities of Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Brooklyn.

You began your career in television and commercial production in New York, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. What inspired you to do a complete pivot and move to rural Ireland?

LOVE! It was a giant leap of faith, but at the time I was producing commercials for a large advertising agency and was assured that I could continue my work remotely, so I felt pretty secure in my decision. We also had a deal that if I didn’t settle in, [husband] Richard would give it a go in the USA. Eventually I found TV production work in Co Limerick as fortunately a funny little show called Killinaskully was being filmed locally for RTÉ and I jumped on that opportunity to build a new career in Ireland.

What was the biggest culture shock when first you moved to the wilds of West?

We initially lived in the village of Adare and after we were married and had Geoffrey we decided to build our home on the farm which is extremely rural – a lifestyle I had never experienced. (I had also never actually been on a working farm until I met my husband!) I really thought there wouldn’t be a shock as such, but despite speaking the same practical language, Americans and Irish can be quite culturally different. I’d say the biggest culture shocks were around not having convenient access to food/ingredients, great dining options, entertainment/the arts.

When did you realise you could turn your passion for food and cooking into a career?

When Geoffrey was a toddler I decided we would plant our first garden together. There was American food I was missing (kales, chards, buttery salad greens, radishes, squash varieties, etc that at that time you couldn’t find in supermarkets) and I wanted G to understand where food came from so between the farm milk/dairy, poultry and our orchards/veg garden, we really were quite self sufficient for his formative years.

I had always loved cooking, but with my career mostly ate out in the USA so I also had a brilliant time learning how to cook and develop recipes for things I craved or adapting traditional Irish recipes that my husband loved and adding a modern twist. When I couldn’t find production work I put my creative energy into writing, styling and photographing my food journey which ultimately became a column and then a book, workshops/retreats, etc.

Your Lens and Larder retreats combine photography and food, helping photographers hone their craft amongst slow food producers. But what have learned most about yourself by running them?

SO much! I feel so blessed to have worked with some of the most talented photographers, writers and stylists in the world on our retreats. I learned that one of my greatest gifts is bringing people together and making magic. I positively thrive on that.

How do you balance work and wellness?

I actually work to be “well” and stay grounded by getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, exercising/being in nature, taking supplements, seaweed baths, etc, but sometimes working on a big shoot or travelling can throw me off balance and I just have to put the work in to get back on track.

Dreamiest location you’ve been on for work and why?

Too many to choose from! But, for now I’ll say it’s a toss up between shooting a beauty commercial in a complete white-out blizzard for St Ives, high up in the Swiss/Italian Alps or filming a variety show in NBC Studios, 30 Rockefeller New York where so much television history has been made… both places where I felt beside myself in absolute awe as the cameras rolled on.

What would a perfect weekend look like to you?

Hanging with family, pottering in the polytunnel, coffee and bagels/doughnuts with the FT Weekend, beach walks with doggos, cooking with my son.

What books are on your nightstand?

At the moment – Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, Jen Beagin’s Big Swiss and Susan Spungen’s new cookbook, Veg Forward.

What’s your guiltiest food pleasure?

Without a doubt, a homemade apple cider doughnut coated with cinnamon sugar. Or, a giant slice of pizza – preferably NY style.

Given your background, presumably you still have a keen interest in TV. What standout series have you enjoyed hunkering down at home with this year so far?

I finally started Succession and am obsessed. Two episodes left. I’m also actually loving the new SATC season of And, Just Like That… which is thankfully back to delivering the best sort of laughter, tears, and emotions I need!

What keeps you awake at night – and what puts a spring in your step in the morning?

Anything can keep me up at night which is why I’m a little crazy about sleep hygiene these days. Good PJs are part of the regime. I love the morning and usually wake up with a pep in my step, but coffee and exercise are a plus.

Who would be your top three celebrity pyjama party guests and what would your playlist include?

The late André Leon Talley [Vogue], food writer/broadcaster Ina Garten, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi… and I must add a fourth, filmmaker Nancy Meyers… because they all seem like total mensches, and an eclectic playlist of BlueNote and jazz standards playing quietly under the din of eating utensils, bottle pours and splendid conversation.

Which are your favourite Moon + Mellow pieces and why?

I love them all, but especially adore the exquisite jellyfish pattern in navy, and all of the crop styles. The house coat is divine. The fabrics are beautiful and soft, yet durable and unfading.

The ultimate polymath, Imen McDonnell is an American cookbook author, food stylist, photographer, producer and filmmaker based on her husband’s ancestral farm in Co Limerick where they live with their teen son Geoffrey.

McDonnell has styled campaigns for both print and television for Failte Ireland and Discover Ireland, AppleTV+ and has had work published in Condé Nast Traveler (USA), Town & Country (UK), The Guardian, The New York Times, The Irish Times, Saveur magazine and more. She’s the author of The Farmette Cookbook, organises Lens & Larder photography retreats, wrote, produced and directed the award-winning short film Small Green Fields, and is a member of the Irish Food Writers Guild and the Irish Guild of Set Decorators. She most recently worked on Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted TV series filmed in the west of Ireland.