New Cork food shops
May 5th, 2011
The opening of a new speciality food shop in Cork is an event worth marking, but just before Easter there were two of them – although the shops are very different from each other they both stock Cookies of Character.
The first to open was in the English Market: “Sweet Paradise”, next to the Princes Street entrance, sells an amazing array of French and Irish sweet things – nougats, caramels, dragées, cookies and biscuits (French sablées and wafers as well as Cookies of Character), fudge and chocolate-covered dried fruits, and is probably unique in Ireland. The wonderful pastel shades of the bags of nougat are in striking contrast with the neighbouring stalls! It is run by the same people who have the excellent Creperie in Schull, West Cork, and we hope it has the same success.
The second was “Nelly’s Pantry”, which opened just before Easter on Bishopstown Road, next to the Bishopstown Bar. Owner Lynn MacCarthy describes her shop as stocking “Gourmet, Specialty and Artisan Foods”, and she has a huge range for fairly small premises – and still found room for a coffee machine. Cork producers are well represented, including both sweet and savoury baked specialities (some of them gluten-free), meat and fish products and ready-to-eat goodies, as well as Kerry artisan ice-cream, lots of speciality groceries and of course Cookies of Character. Lynn opens at 7.30 in the morning for coffee-to-go, and doesn’t close until 7.00 p.m.