In 1989 Paul Rankin changed the face of culinary Northern Ireland when he opened Roscoff, the restaurant that was to become the first to win a Michelin Star in the country. Soon after opening, it became the favourite meeting place for the Belfast business and arts community, and people travelled from Dublin simply to experience what was considered to be the best cooking in Ireland at the time.The influence of Paul and Jeanne Rankin on Northern Ireland cuisine continues today, with many of the chefs in restaurants in Belfast and the rest of Ireland having started their careers in the kitchen of Roscoff.

His first foray into television was in the series Gourmet Ireland, produced by Northern Ireland company Waddell Productions, and shown on both BBC and RTE. Both Paul and Jeanne starred in the show that was noted for the banter between the two. Jeanne is a successful pastry chef, and gave as good as she got when Paul tried to tell her what to do.

He has since been a regular chef on the BBC cookery programme Ready Steady Cook. In 1999 Rankin was the first chef from Northern Ireland to be awarded a Michelin Star. He has written five cookery books & runs The Rankin Group chain of restaurants & cafes, including Cayenne and Roscoff in Belfast. His Canadian wife Jeanne introduced him to cooking and is co-owner of their business. They met in Greece while he was backpacking round the world. In September 2005 Jeanne publicly acknowledged that she had been heavily dependent upon morphine and other prescription drugs for the previous seven years, following an accident, falling from a horse, and had sought help in rehabilitation . In 2006 Rankin competed in the Northern Ireland heat of the BBC's Great British Menu, a competition to cook for the Queen on her 80th birthday.

In 2006, Paul appeared on Battle Of The Stars, along with fellow chefs Jean-Christophe Novelli, Aldo Zilli and Ross Burden.He has also appeared on the TV programme Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Has recently sold off most off the Rankin Group to cover business debts, leaving only his flagship Cayenne restaurant under his control, although this too is currently under negotiation as part of an IVA [1]

The late Robbie Millar made his name while working at Roscoff.