By Charlotte Lavin
A former Galway based chef has created an online community called SONAS. SONAS, meaning ‘’happiness’’ in Irish, is an online community of food lovers, which offers cooking classes and events both online and offline.
Born in Belgium with Irish origins, Killian Crowley started his culinary journey at 14-years-old at l’Ecole Hoteliere. He worked every summer in Michelin-starred restaurants before going to Monaco to work for Alain Ducasse. He then moved to Brussels where he worked for Christian Hagen at Bon-Bon.
This experience provided him with an exemplary CV from a very young age. In 2018, he won the San Pellegrino young chef UK & Ireland.
‘’I took a liking to gastronomy. It was only later that I realised that once I knew how to do everything at the top, I could do whatever I wanted afterwards,” said Chef Crowley.
His experience in Galway started in 2016, when after years of working on the continent, he took a job as a chef de partie for Aniar, a Michelin starred restaurant located on Dominick Street.
The experience he gained in Galway brought him to his recent business venture.
‘’When you have grown up in the centre of Europe, Ireland’s lifestyle is very different to what you’re used to. This can be felt in the management of restaurants,” he said.
Chef Crowley described how he learned to handle pressure differently, and the soft management style used on the island is something he took with him when he left.
He added that this ‘’different dynamic,’’ allowed him to turn his attention to many other things outside the kitchen.
Chef Crowley, who also worked as a consultant for restaurants worldwide before the pandemic, now focuses on online cooking classes and private events. He also gives classes to companies and individuals, sometimes for free.
‘’I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to eat well’’, adding that some people may not have access to cooking classes. But as long as he is cooking for himself, he ‘’may as well do it on camera to help other people’’. He added that in his opinion, ‘’eating well at home should not be a privilege.’’
In 2021, he says he wants to promote and grow the platform.
His classes are available online every Wednesday night. To take part, subscribe to SONAS’ newsletter.
Published on Galway Pulse, April 2021.
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