Eating Well in the Southwest

Eating Well in the Southwest

The Southwest, especially County Cork, rivals Dublin as Ireland's food-culture epicenter. Cork has astonishing resources: waters full of a wide array of fish, acre after acre of potato fields, cows galore, wild mushrooms and berries -- not to mention inventive chefs who transform this bounty into feasts. In tiny Shanagarry, Darina Allen trains hundreds of chefs every year at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. Whether trained at home or abroad, area chefs put a premium on fresh, local (often organically grown) produce.

Mussels and scallops are farmed in the waters off the coast of Cork and Kerry, while the rivers teem with wild salmon. Small smokeries process salmon, trout, mussels, and mackerel over either oak or beech wood chips, with mouthwatering results. Most restaurants in the region bake their own bread daily, often producing both yeast breads and Irish soda bread, which uses buttermilk or bicarbonate of soda in place of yeast. Kerry is famous for its delicately flavored mountain lamb, while local beef ensures a wide selection of tender steak cuts. Organic pork from heirloom breeds of pigs might remind you how tasty pork can be. And while in the southwest, make a point of trying some local farmhouse cheeses; look out for Milleens, Coolea, Durrus, Coomkeen, Gubbeen, or the superb hard cheeses, Desmond and Gabriel, made by West Cork Natural Cheeses.

The smaller country restaurants ooze ambience, but service can be a little slow, especially in the peak season of July and August. The food is freshly prepared and usually worth waiting for, so meanwhile sample some of that home-baked bread, and maybe a glass of local stout or your usual aperitif, or maybe chat with the people at the next table to pass the time. It's all part of the Irish experience.