Conrad 'Michelin Man' Gallagher is Back...

Rotund 2 star Michelin chef Conrad Gallagher is back on Irish soil - this time without the handcuffs! His brood has grown with a sexy South African bride Candice and two small boys... But is he home to stir-things-up?

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

For those of you around the Dublin social scene when the Celtic Tiger was only a mere cub, ginger chef Conrad Gallagher was the talk of the town. With a string of restaurants, glamorous girlfriends, TV shows and hangers on - it seemed like culinary Con could do no wrong.

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

But his flair for food was not matched with equal amounts of business acumen - pretty soon the debtors were at the door and the hangers-on, well, stopped hanging on... Like so many ShowBiz tales, Conrad's ended in a very public way and the outspoken chef headed off to London and then on to the USA.

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

But Dublin wasn't finished with Conrad. Not by a long shot... In a bizarre sequence of events Conrad got banged-up in prison for 6 weeks in the USA as the Gardai tried to extradite him back to Ireland over the alleged theft of three paintings from the Fitzwilliam Hotel. And extradite him they did...

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

After being found Not Guilty and with his reputation in tatters, Gallagher headed off to South Africa to rebuild his life and put his disastrous rise-and-fall as a celebrity chef behind him... He subsequently married a local girl called Candice Coetzee and had two kids... You would think that's where the story would end.

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

Not so. We spotted Conrad with his wife and young children apparently scouting for locations around the St Stephen's Green and Grafton Street area yesterday, going totally unnoticed on Dublin's busy streets.

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

Nothing has been confirmed yet but many in the media are hinting that the Michelin chef is back in Ireland for good and intends to open a new restaurant in the City Centre... Plus, South Africa is fast becoming the murder and rape capital of the world, so with a young family needing protection and security – this may all point to a permanent homecoming for the larger than life cook...

Conrad Gallagher, Candice Coetzee

It seems Conrad Gallagher may be back in Ireland for the long term and is looking to rebuild his renowned culinary empire again... But the question remains: does Ireland want him?