Dining Out Cork Ireland
County Cork is teeming with excellent small producers who endeavour to respect the environment and make their products as tasty and authentic as possible. Although an endangered species, the region's star product is of course wild salmon, smoked over oak wood. You can try the wild salmon produced by Frank Hederman, whose smokery is at Belvelly near Cobh.
You must also pay a visit to Anthony Creswell (Timoleague, 41 km/25 miles southwest of Cork), Sally Barnes (Skibbereen, 80 km/50 miles southwest of Cork) and Rémy Benoît, a Frenchman who has been in love with Ireland since 1982 and supplies wild salmon to the prestigious Peck delicatessen, run by the Stoppani brothers in Milan (Kenmare, 80 km/50 miles from Cork on the west coast).
With lush pastureland comparable to that of Normandy, County Cork produces very rich milk that is used to make several delicious artisanal cheeses that are all very different from one another. The most famous of them all is Durrus, an unpasteurised washed-rind cheese with nutty, cut-hay flavours, which has won four gold medals at the British Cheese Awards. The subtle Gubbeen is rather like Livarot from Normandy, but a little less fatty. It is made and matured with care by Giana and Tom Ferguson at their farm in Schull (southwest of Skibbereen); they also produce excellent pork meats (bacon, ham, smoked salami, sausages, chorizo) from free-range pigs.
Cashel Blue is a mild and creamy blue cheese, comparable to Gorgonzola or Fourme d'Ambert. It is made at the farm of J. and L. Grubb at Fethard, near the town of Cashel (108 km/67 miles northeast of Cork).
The county also produces some other very good cheeses, which you will find at the English Market in Cork (near Patrick Street), such as the strong Milleens cheese (comparable to Munster), Coolea cheese (a farmhouse Gouda), Bandon Vale (of the Cheddar family), Carrigaline (a Reblochon-type cheese), and Arhahan (a kind of Brie). The goat's cheeses are also delicious, particularly the Ardsallagh made by Jane at Carrigtwohill (in County Cork), and the St Tola Goats Cheese produced at Inagh, near the sea. All of these very typical cow's and goat's milk cheeses go surprisingly well with Irish whiskey: try for yourself!
Cork is so well known for its fresh produce and mouth-watering meats and dairy products. Be sure to check out the numerous Farmer's Markets and Country Markets around the Cork County region-you won't be disappointed!
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