Colour is the first thing you notice when flying into Cork in Ireland’s south and then driving west. It’s like seeing forty shades of green, as our host for the weekend put it. Beyond the stunning countryside, there’s the coastline; the blue of the Atlantic that stretches from here across to America. The locals are rightly proud of the scenery. Working with and respecting both land and sea informs the approach to cooking in County Cork. The holy trinity of local, seasonable and sustainable features strongly. Almost all we ate was delicious too.
Visitors to the area can enjoy everything from two-Michelin star dining at Dede in Baltimore through to chippers (vans selling fish and chips) plying their trade almost everywhere. We sampled neither of the above but much in between. A visit to The Algiers in Baltimore serves as a great case study. The small coastal town is arguably the place to go for fine food. At this venue, the chefs take only the finest ingredients from West Cork and infuse them with Californian and Mexican influences (Dede does similar with Turkish hints across its menu). Your reviewer opted for a classic chowder, or seafood soup at the Algiers. Here, it was elevated by crispy serrano chill, but the stars of the show were undoubtedly the local Union Hall haddock and Roaring Water Bay Mussels. The latter location was also the source of oysters enjoyed at Kinsale’s Blue Haven the day before. Each mouthful constituted a taste of the sea, or its very essence. There was a saline tang combined with a creamy finish. It was just superb.
Take any menu and fish will feature prominently. At Man Friday in Kinsale your reviewer ate arguably his dish of the trip (pictured above). It comprised a piece of perfectly grilled hake placed atop a wonderfully seasonal risotto of spinach and leek. Meat, however, is no after-thought. A drive around the area confirms the abundant presence of cows and sheep. Steak was polished off with gusto, as was a charcoal grilled rump of Irish lamb. Add perhaps a local Cashel Blue cheese sauce to the former and you could be in (Irish) culinary heaven.
Beyond the food, another standout feature of the local dining scene is the passionate involvement of the people. Many have made this part of Ireland their home and seemingly have no plans to leave. The pace of life is far removed of city-centre venues. Localism relates not just to product, but also personnel. Husband-and-wife teams front many venues and are highly visible. This was the case not just at Man Friday but also at Wild in Ballinspittle. This village, just five minutes’ drive from Kinsale has a population of little more than 200 but proudly boasts a restaurant that could hold its own in places far larger. When we visited, almost every table was occupied. Although Kinsale’s population is almost thirty times that of Ballinspittle, it has around 60 restaurants. That’s a remarkable ratio of one for every ten local citizens. Tourists inevitably pick up much of the slack, but securing reservations at some of the more prestigious dining venues (such as The Black Pig) is no easy feat. Perhaps the moral of the story is not just to book ahead, but also to plan multiple future visits to the area.