Southern Ireland's fertile farmland, rugged coastline and entrepreneurial folks are the prime ingredients, the reasons why Cork city has become a hotbed of sophisticated restaurants and dazzling food shops. But all of this isn't exactly new. Second to Dublin in terms of size, Cork was home to one of the world's largest butter exchanges for over 150 years and has a long history of food production and export.
Now, Cork boasts a new generation of chefs and specialty food producers. Take Dennis Cotter. He's the chef at Café Paradiso, one of the best restaurants in Ireland. The fact that it's vegetarian might come as a surprise in a country known more for hearty meat stews and blood sausages than produce. Cotter grew up in County Cork, and his menu emphasizes local ingredients in dishes like grilled sheep's cheese gnocchi in a stew of peppers, and tartlet of caramelized red onion, pine nuts and Durro cheese (made from raw cow's milk in Western County Cork).
Casual Café Paradiso packs a crowd; less well-known are the three stylish upstairs rooms for overnight guests. Included here are dreamy breakfasts: oatmeal with whiskey and brown sugar, or waffles served with caramelized apples and vanilla mascarpone.
Boqueria, a tapas restaurant, serves food sourced locally: farm cheese, fresh salmon, artisanal breads. Jacob's on the Mall also celebrates the local, from Kinsale asparagus to Castletownbere prawns.
"Cork is a city that is fed by its own markets," says food connoisseur John McKenna, founder of Ireland's Bridgestone Guides.
The English Market in the center of the city - dating back a couple of centuries - is a must-see bustle of food vendors. Upstairs at the inviting Farmgate Café, folks lunch on Irish classics like lamb stew. Photographs on the walls spotlight local farmers and artisans.
Across the River lee is the Cork Butter Museum, on the site of the original market. It tells the story of Ireland's butter trade through photos and artifacts. Nearby St. Anne's church is home to the Bells of Shandon. You can ring the bells, which first chimed in 1752, on your way up the steeple, then don earmuffs and climb the staircase, past the clanging bells, to the top for the best view of Cork.
Come happy hour, belly up for an artisanal beer. Murphy's and Beamish, both brewed in Cork, are no longer Irish owned. Franciscan Well, one of Ireland's budding microbreweries, is all local.
"We're looking for that less than one percent of the market that's open to new things," brewer Russell Garet says. Indeed, the population holds true to its Guinness, but Garet offers competition with beers like Shandon Stout and Rebel Red Ale, made in Cork on the site of a 13th Century monastery. There's a sign out front, a friar holding a pint. Slainte!.