Awards stack up on Cork’s food scene -  so who were the winners and losers?

IT’S awards season for the restaurant and hospitality industry, and Cork continues to notch up the wins for what the county has to offer.

In the recent Virgin Media Gold Medal Awards, rising culinary star Meeran Manzoor scooped Ireland’s Best Chef of the Year.

As Executive Head Chef of The Blue Haven in Kinsale, Meeran has been turning heads and tantalising taste buds in the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Rare 1784, with its unique fusion of Irish seasonal produce, classical French technique and ancient Chettinad cuisine from his Indian homeland.

Food critics are continually excited by the creativity flowing from Manzoor’s kitchen, and I can only see a bright future for him.

Originality, authenticity and consistency are the hallmarks of what inspectors are looking for in the world’s most anticipated and recognisable food awards: The Michelin Guide.

On Monday the guide announced its awards for the UK and Ireland Guide, and Ireland – as well as Cork – did extremely well.

A quick recap on the Michelin rankings:

- Michelin Guide Entrant: included in the Guide as a place worth a stop.

- Michelin Bib Gourmand: good food at a reasonable price.

- Michelin Green Star: restaurants committed to sustainable gastronomy.

- Michelin Stars: 1, 2 and 3.

So how did the rest of Ireland do?

Kicky’s in Dublin entered the Guide; Amy Austin, Lotties and La Gordita in Dublin, Solas Tapas in Dingle and Home in Belfast all came away with a new Bib Gourmand; D’Olier Street in Dublin, Homestead Cottage in Doolin and The Bishop’s Buttery in Cashel all received their first Michelin Star.

And Cork…?

After handing back his Michelin Star and taking a huge gamble to reshape his restaurant into a casual dining bistro and natural wine bar, Takashi Miyazaki was rewarded with a new Bib Gourmand for Ichigo Ichie Bistro & Natural Wine. A huge achievement after being open for just a few short weeks as this new reincarnation, boding well for the gamble paying off.

In 2023, newly opened Terre in Castlemartyr surprised no-one when it was awarded a star a few months after opening, and for 2024 it was the hottest of hot tips for picking up a second star – which it did.

Alongside Dede at The Customs House in Baltimore, who retained both of their stars for another year, Cork now boasts two Two Michelin Star restaurants bookending the county east and west.

It’s a far cry from a few short years ago when there was barely a whiff of any such recognition. It has been a long time coming; Cork’s reputation as the breadbasket of Ireland is decades in the making and where most of Ireland’s speciality food producers call home.

Any chef looking to establish a restaurant in Ireland, where every ingredient they could possibly wish for is available on their doorstep, should be considering Cork as the epicentre of Irish contemporary cuisine and food culture. Many have done, and now the accolades are coming in thick and fast. But I have questions, still.

The only Michelin Green Star in the country is with Kai in Galway.

Although I don’t question this is a good and sound choice, I struggle to understand why Goldie Fish & Ale in Cork isn’t a recipient. 

As Ireland’s only specialised restaurant to consider the fish from gill to fin, working with sustainable day boats on a whole catch basis and making every bit of it shine and taste delicious, it should reasonably be a shoo-in for a Green Star. Michelin clearly think otherwise.

The speed with which some restaurants receive a Michelin nod often causes furtive whispers among those to who such things stand out. But many new restaurants are conceived and designed with Michelin in mind. Planning forward rather than retrospective action seems to smooth the path somewhat.

Then there is the case for what it costs to dine at a one - or two-star restaurant. One of the reasons Miyazaki gave for handing back his star and going with a completely different concept was that, in effect, he missed the Regular Joe customer and that being a special occasion restaurant wasn’t hitting the spot for him professionally and creatively.

On the other hand, there is a cohort of restaurant go-er that will only dine in restaurants listed in the famous red guidebook, and any tourism professional will tell you Culinary Tourism is a very valuable part of Ireland’s visitor experience.

Notwithstanding, Michelin Guide gauges the barometer for a certain kind of dining experience well. Cork now has twelve red-book nods in total between the book, bib and stars which, when considered in the round by anyone looking to figure out where is hot in Ireland to dine out, makes for a very compelling food story for the Rebel County.

Check out the full Michelin Guide for the UK and Ireland at www.guide.michelin.com/ie/en