The Good Things Cafe

In case you missed all the shouting, I'm in Ireland right now--I arrived over a week ago, and I'll be back next week (please, can I stay longer?). The purpose of this trip was (a) to get the cottage into shape, with paint and curtains and the like (and to confer with my very ambitious handyman), plus (b) do research for the County Cork Mysteries, which involves talking with my police friend and my bookseller friend and anybody else who'll hold still long enough.

But of course there's food. I think I've said in the past that I plan any trip to Ireland to include a visit to the Skibbereen farmers market, which is amazing (and one of the best in the country), and also visits to local restaurants. When I first came to Ireland nearly twenty years ago, the food was as bad as you'd always heard. Now it's terrific.

On the corner on the right

The Good Things Cafe, in the center of Skibbereen, is one of the latest additions, and it's really amazing (check out the website at www.thegoodthingscafe.com). They serve food in a delightful corner restaurant that is both nicely designed and also welcomes all kinds of people--when I had lunch there, I saw a young mother with a small child, three middle-aged ladies lunching together, and a couple of guys from down the street. Normal people enjoying good food. 

The place is the brainchild of chef Carmel Somers, who's worked in restaurants before, in a different part of the country (starting with a small cafe next to her parents' pub). She created this restaurant from a blank canvas: she was responsible for the kitchen (of course), setting up a sunny space that makes room for as many as six cooks working at once, and also creating a set-up for cooking classes; she designed the layout of the ground floor space, and even selected the glassware and china. But her most important contribution was her philosophy of food--absolutely fresh and local, combined in ways that are interesting without being trendy or silly. Just good cooking, and she oversees every part of the process.

And she gave me the opportunity to do something I've wanted to do for years: to observe a working restaurant kitchen. I squeezed into a corner and just watched.

Yes I did eat: a lamb-burger with eggplant and more than one spicy sauce with a middle-eastern leaning, accompanied by a quinoa salad with fresh herbs and some mixed leaves (lot that term!). Upstairs in the kitchen (yes, the young staff does a lot of running up and down to deliver food) I watched one of the chefs making one of the sauces that decorated my lunch, and it took him close to half an hour, adding one ingredient at a time and tasting, tasting, tasting. The place is not big: one gorgeous six-burner gas stove (those are expensive!), a large stand mixer, and a walk-in fridge the size of my bedroom at home (well, almost). And of course work space on stainless steel islands, that Carmel designed for the space.

Carmel and the saucemaker

And beyond the food (as if that weren't enough) I had the chance to talk with Carmel about how you put together the kitchen you want, how you staff it (a lot of young kids, who work around their school hours and during the summers), how you design a menu. This wasn't just idle curiosity: I want Rose in the County Cork series to really find her calling in cooking, and Carmel reinforced what I've been thinking. Any young chef has to really care about making good food, and serving it well. And that's how Rose feels.

Do you have to wonder why I love Ireland? Beautiful views, clean air and water, and great food. I will definitely be going back to the Good Things Cafe.

Don't forget our giveaway, which ends next week! Click on the cheerleaders for the details.

Promo? How about a peek at the cover for Many a Twist, the next County Cork Mystery, coming in January 2018?

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