Conrad Gallagher (born 12 March 1971) is an Irish-born chef/restaurateur from Letterkenny, County Donegal, based in Dubai since 2016. He was the youngest chef ever awarded a Michelin star at the time, for Peacock Alley in Dublin, at the age of 26 in 1998. In a career that has attracted both accolades and controversy, Gallagher has owned restaurants in Dublin, New York, London, Las Vegas and Cape Town, and has featured in two reality television cooking series. He opened restaurant consultancy Food Concepts 360 in 2018. Gallagher also owns chef recruitment agency The Chefs Connection and opened The Chefs Playground in Johannesburg, South Africa, in April 2020 as a culinary training centre and specialist shop for chefs’ apparel and equipment. In February 2021, Gallagher opened "Off the Menu Food Emporium", a delicatessen, coffee and wine shop serving tapas-style meals, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He also opened Bistro Vin de Boeuf, in St Francis Bay.

Gallagher was raised in Hawthorn Heights, a housing estate in Letterkenny, County Donegal. He was educated at Scoil Colmcille and St Eunan's College, both schools in Letterkenny. In his autobiography Back on the Menu: My Rollercoaster Life, he revealed how the kitchen was home to him as a child and how he disliked school because of the abuse he received at both institutions.

Inspired by the cooking of his mother and his grandmother, he left St Eunan's at the age of 16 and began training as a chef at Killybegs Catering College. During his formal training, where he worked under some of Ireland's top chefs, Gallagher won four gold medals in the Chef Ireland culinary championship and was selected for the national culinary team that won four gold medals at Hotelympia, the UK's largest food service and hospitality event.

While he was offered career launching positions in Ireland, he determined he should go to New York City to further pursue his dream of becoming a world class chef. In New York, he joined the Plaza Hotel. The Waldorf Astoria's Peacock Alley later recruited him, where he spent two years as sous-chef under Laurent Manrique. While living in New York he went on to work at the restaurants Daniel and Le Cirque. On Saint Patrick's Day 1996, Gallagher cooked for President Bill Clinton and his guests at the White House.

Gallagher and his brother Keith ran the Metropolitan Bar and Restaurant in their native Letterkenny.

Gallagher came to fame with his restaurant Peacock Alley in Dublin, first in Baggot Street, later on St Stephen's Green. With Gallagher at the helm, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 1998, retaining that status until 2002.

He left Ireland to return to New York City, where he married an American citizen and opened a bar, Traffic, at First Avenue and 50th Street in Manhattan. He was accused in Dublin of stealing three paintings, worth €11,000 from Dublin's Fitzwilliam Hotel. The original contract was furnished stating Gallagher owned the three paintings and the jury returned a 'not guilty' verdict less than two hours after it started deliberations. In his autobiography, Gallagher describes the proceedings as "a bit of a circus" with days that were "long and painful."

Whilst living in South Africa, Gallagher consulted for Sun International Group where he was appointed Group Executive Chef in 2004. He operated Geisha Wok and Noodle Bar in Cape Town, where he occasionally hosted live cooking classes. Geisha Wok and Noodle Bar stopped trading in August 2009 when Gallagher decided to move back to Ireland and open Salon Des Saveurs. He was declared bankrupt in South Africa in August 2009 following an application by two companies seeking payment of debts. Two properties and his home's contents were auctioned off to part-pay debts of about €200,000 to a bank and supplier.