Athy baker to open food spot at Shackleton Museum

The well-known Athy baker Graham Herterich is to open a dining space in the new Shackleton Museum which will be known as the Shackleton Experience.

Graham, the much-loved Irish baker, author, and the entrepreneur behind ‘The Bakery by The Cupcake Bloke’ in Rialto, Dublin 8, is set to launch the venture this October, according to a press release.

Visitors to the Shackleton Experience will enjoy high-tech interactive exhibits alongside a unique collection of original artefacts.

After the success of Graham’s retail pop-up in Athy two years ago, ‘Ernie’s @ Shackleton Experience’ – a name inspired by Ernest Shackleton and Graham’s grandfather, Ernest – will serve up tasty dine-in, take-away and retail options for locals and visitors alike. Graham is also the talent behind mixing old-school Irish recipes with fresh, modern flavours. He will run the outlet in addition to his existing business in Dublin.

Graham Herterich was born in Athy and raised above his family’s butcher shop on Duke Street, and his love for food started young. He followed his passion to Waterford Institute of Technology, where he trained as a chef. From there, he worked as a product developer and production manager for a coffee chain, securing practical hands-on experience in large-scale kitchen operations and creating recipes – both sweet and savoury. But it was the joy of baking, passed down from his grandmother, that pulled him back to his roots and eventually inspired him to open his own bakery.