Welcome to my kitchen, my home kitchen that is, rather than my work one at Mae restaurant.

Meet the new Irish Times cookery columnist Gráinne O’Keefe

I’m an all-day breakfast kind of person. I love breakfast food, but prefer to eat it later in the day, rather than early in the morning. I usually start my day with a juice and lots of sparkling water, which makes brunch the perfect meal for me. I’m an egg lover too. Scrambled eggs at midnight after service? Yes please! For me, brunch is always based around eggs in some form. They are versatile and also carry flavours well.

Brunch doesn’t need to be about smashed avocado, loaded nachos and bottomless sweet cocktails. Personally, I prefer classic brunch dishes elevated with umami rich ingredients. These three recipes are my favourites. They would also work as a midweek dinner, or as a starter course for a dinner party. All of these recipes can be mixed and matched, and will even work well together, if you are very hungry or throwing a brunch party.

I like to browse Asian shops for condiments and ingredients to use in dishes. You will find all sorts of umami rich ingredients there, such as miso paste, bonito vinegar, black garlic and peanut rayu.