True character

It's true what they say about oysters ... they're known as nature's viagra due to high level of zinc present. They are also a great source of vitamins and minerals and contain omega-3 fatty acids

Galway native oysters are the best ... because they are from the wild oyster beds in inner Galway Bay and carry the flavour of the area, from the earthy flavours of Connemara's turf bogs to the minerality of the Burren, combined with the fresh Atlantic sea.

You can tell it's a Galway native ... by its flat round shell as opposed to the more oblong rock oysters.

The best way to eat them is ... freshly opened when there is an r in the month. They come back into season in time for the Galway Oyster Festival in September.

And the best place to eat them is ... Galway, of course, although they are available throughout Ireland as well as overseas. We count Richard Corrigan and Harrods as customers.

But if you're reluctant to eat them straight off the shell ... try placing one on a piece of brown bread with a squeeze of lemon, or if you prefer them cooked, they can be grilled with some chopped chilli and coriander and a squeeze of lime

My top tip for shucking an oyster is ... take your time and wear a glove.

It gives me a buzz … when I open the very first native oyster in September and it glistens in the shell .

The best advice I've ever been given is … it will all work out in the end.

If I wasn't doing this ... I'dbe producing some other wonderful Irish sustainable food.

When I'm not working ... I am at a meeting of my local GAA Club.

My favourite restaurant is ... Moran's on the Weir.

My dream dinner party guests would be … Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson, Martin Shanahan and Clodagh McKenna.

And I'd cook them … a feast of Kelly Shellfish – oysters to start, raw natives and grilled rocks, followed by wild mussel and surf clam linguine.

Five things I always have in my larder are … tinned tomatoes, rice, herbs, spices and a jar of curry sauce.

But if only had a tenner to go shopping with, I'd buy ... pasta, bacon bites and pesto.

My ideal day off is spent … relaxing at home with my family.

I'm really good at … trying to please everybody.

I wish I was better at ... taking time off .

I often imagine myself … living in France.

Not many people know this about me, but ... I was knighted recently into the Confrérie des fins Gousiers d'Anjou.

My guilty pleasure is … Crème Brûlée.

In conversation with Marie-Claire Digby

Diarmuid Kelly will appear in the Chef's Skillery section of the Taste of Dublin festival on Saturday, June 15th. See tasteofdublin.ie