IMPECCABLE TASTES!

Owner of diner in West Cork village is chef of the year

A TURKISH chef working in a ‘blip’ of a tiny village in Cork has been named chef of the year at the Irish Restaurant Awards.

Ahmet Dede could not attend the glamorous ceremony, attended by many of the country’s most prominent food experts, because he was ‘on daddy duty’.

Maria Archer, his business partner and co-owner of Dede in Baltimore, Co Cork, explained: ‘Ahmed is so excited, he’s had an incredible year. His baby Aleyne was born this year as well, so that’s why he wasn’t at the awards, and he had early prep on this morning as well.

‘That’s the thing about these top chefs, they work extraordinarily hard to be the best they can possibly be.’

Ms Archer described their restaurant as a ‘Covid baby’ having been due to open in March 2020, just as the pandemic was triggering Ireland’s first lockdown.

It eventually did open in July that year, and went on to win a Michelin star in 2021, but Ms Archer said this is the first year that they have had a ‘clean run at it’

‘We’re only a tiny restaurant, a blip’

with no closures. Mr Dede’s cooking, which is underpinned with classic techniques, draws on his Turkish roots, using spices and ingredients he imports to add a dimension to the best of local produce from West Cork.

Speaking of the award of Best Chef in Ireland, she said: ‘We’re only a tiny restaurant, a blip in a tiny village, so to get such recognition... you would imagine this would go to a major Dublin restaurant, or a big Cork city one. It’s wonderful.’

The title of Best Restaurant in Ireland went to Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, re-asserting its status as one of the most in-demand food spots in the country. Tiller and Grain, on Frederick Street, Dublin 2, won the Best Café award, The Sky and the Ground in Wexford was named Pub of the Year, while the gastro pub title went to the Rusty Mackerel in Carrick, Co. Donegal.