Cavan chef uses his loaf for new cook book idea

by Róisin McManus

Celebrated Cavan chef Shane Smith has released his first cookbook, ‘Loaf Tin Bakes’, jam-packed with 80 simple recipes that anyone with a 2lb loaf tin can master.

Shane recently held a book signing for around 200 people in Easons in Cavan, and the cookbook reached the top spot for hardback non-fiction and overall best selling book across all categories in Ireland.

Originally from Lavey, Shane is an award-winning pastry chef with more than 25 years of experience working in some of Ireland’s top pastry kitchens.

Coming out of COVID, he noticed a lot of people were interested in cooking and online classes, and opened his own online cookery school. This was the first in a series of exciting enterprises he cooked up.

After working in professional kitchens for more than two decades, Shane decided to set up his own consultancy business in 2022, share this wealth of experience as a consultant in kitchens.

As well as consultancy, Shane is also a brand ambassador for Kenwood and Gem.

Speaking to the Celt, Shane says his parents, who both ran their own businesses, inspired his entrepreneurial spirit.

“Having your own business and working for yourself is something I would have seen a lot at home,” he reveals. “I had that grá in me to do my own thing.

“I took a leap of faith and stepped outside of the steady wage coming in every month and did the consultancy and the online school, and it just boomed. I’ve been very lucky,” he admits.

In October 2024, Shane went back to college and completed a HDip in Further Adult Education. He now teaches part-time in Dunboyne College of Further Education, which he really enjoys as he gets to pass his knowledge on to others.

“As a chef, you’re always teaching, even though you’re in a kitchen,” he explains.

“There’s something lovely about giving back.”

“I’m still always continuing to learn,” he adds. “Even from the young students coming in, I learn off them as well.”

Based in Cavan, Shane spends five days a week on the road for work, typically between Dublin and Meath.

Growing up, Shane was “surrounded by food”. His mother was an “amazing cook”, both of his grannies were “brilliant bakers” and his dad grew his own food.

“Looking back on it now, we were very lucky that we grew up in a family that loved home cooking and good food,” he praises.

“I never thought, at a younger age, that I could have a career in food,” he admits.

When he was 16 years old, Shane and his mother attended an open day in the Hotel Kilmore about becoming a professional chef. His heart was set.

“I just knew the minute that I went in, this is the path that I want to go down,” he recalls fondly.

He applied for weekend work in the hotel and soon started doing a few hours prepping in the kitchen and helping out.

Within a year, he was running the kitchen’s carvery section.

“It was like a duck to water,” he remembers.

“I knew the minute I went into a professional kitchen; the adrenaline and the fast pace, it was noisy and bustly, I was hooked on it from day one.

“Thankfully I’m still as in love with the career today as I was 26 years ago.”

Like his foundation, Shane encourages prospective chefs to seek hands-on industry experience to decide if this is the career for you.

“In any career, you really have to have a passion for what you do,” Shane says. “It needs to be enjoyable. Working in hospitality; it’s a tough job,” he confirms.

Compared to when he left college, Shane says there are now a multitude of options for people in the industry.

“Years and years ago when I was in college, you either left college and worked in a hotel or restaurant,” he recalls. “There’s so many other avenues now between product development, food styling and photography.

“There’s lots of opportunities out there for anyone that wants to progress.”

Good food

Recalling his early days as a chef in Cavan, Shane says the food scene here “has totally changed”.

“There’s some absolutely stunning restaurants in Cavan,” he praises.

“There are restaurants in Cavan that could rival some of the best restaurants in Dublin.”

In January 2025, Gill Books reached out to Shane. After an initial meeting with the publisher, he was asked to come back with a few ideas for a cookbook with a “hook”.

Luckily, Shane had an idea in the back of his head for “quite a few years”.

“I make all these beautiful cakes on Instagram and Facebook and I put them up,” says Shane. “Every time I put up a loaf tin cake; whether it was a brown bread or a lemon drizzle, people used to go crazy for it.”

After some research, it emerged his idea was “something different” as nobody had done a loaf tin cookery book in Ireland or the UK.

“I put all my eggs in the one basket, went back in and pitched the idea of the loaf tin cookery book,” he remembers and Gill “absolutely loved” it.

Shane was passionate about his idea and wanted to create a book with achievable recipes that were easily accessible for people without loads of ingredients and equipment.

“There’s probably not a kitchen in the country that doesn’t have a loaf tin somewhere,” he says.

Not without its challenges, the process of writing ‘Loaf Tin Bakes’ was a “learning curve”.

“I’d always dreamed about doing a book but I honestly underestimated the amount of work and people that’s involved in getting something like this off the ground and into bookshops around Ireland,” Shane acknowledges.

“It’s a huge amount of work but it’s been thoroughly enjoyable.

“It’s good to be naive in some scenarios because if I had known the amount of work it was going to take, I would have been completely overwhelmed,” Shane admits.

Initially, he started off with around 180 recipes before scaling it back to 80.

He tested each recipe throughout summer 2025, despite the odd ray of sunshine causing trouble.

“There was a spell of good weather in July, I was out in the test kitchen and the butter was melting,” he laughs.

“It was just super stressful.”

After the recipes were tested and decided upon, the book itself had to be completed.

Shane worked with photographer Claire Wilkinson and food stylist Charlotte O’Connell to shoot the dishes.

The book was designed by Hart Studios in the UK before being sent to Italy for printing.

“It’s been all over Europe to get back to Cavan,” Shane remarks.

The process of the book was not the only difficulty Shane encountered during this time.

Shane’s dad Sean Smith, a well-known painter in Lavey, passed away three months before Shane was approached about doing the cookbook.

‘Loaf Tin Bakes’ is dedicated to Shane’s late father, his “number one supporter” who was “always there” for him. There are also a number of recipes in the book that are dedicated to him.

“It’s been an extremely difficult 18 months,” Shane admits.

“He would have been so proud today if he was around to see the book,” says Shane, adding that writing the book allowed him to momentarily “step away from the real world of grief” and missing his father.

“It was a coping mechanism almost to get through that process of grief and loss. It’s a huge part of the journey,” he continues.

“Having it dedicated to dad is the best thing I can do.”