Ten years after planning permission was granted for the development of the Dublin Fruit and Vegetable Market, and with a further two year wait as Dublin City Council lavishes €44 million on an architectural jewel which it allowed to fall into disrepair, what can we expect from the planned Dublin Food Market?
Well, we can probably expect more photocalls of men in suits wearing high-viz jackets and hard hats.
And we can probably expect more delays, which is the one thing that has characterised the project ever since it was first proposed way, way back in 2002, a mere 23 years ago.
We read the story in The Irish Times whilst sitting at a table on a Wednesday afternoon waiting for our order of seafood chowder and fish and chips to be cooked at the new Ocras stall in Cork’s Marina Market.
Ocras is a mighty addition to the roll call of food vendors at the Marina Market. Chef Lee Kennedy has a really delicate touch with seafood, which meant that the fish and chips was a sublime bet. Beef dripping chips had the crunchy exterior which makes grown food lovers weep, the beer batter on the haddock was exceptional and as light as muslin, and the peas were proper marrowfat peas.
A slinky tartare sauce and a confetti of good samphire meant this was a cracking late lunch of food cooked to order and cooked with expertise.
Every bit as good was the seafood chowder, fashioned with smoked haddock, Glenbeigh mussels, a lathering of dill, flakes of cod and salmon and – nice touch! – some brown bread croutons standing in for the traditional doorstep of brown soda bread.
The seasoning of the two dishes was spot on, and we will be back for the cod wings, the fish tacos, the crab sandwich and the panko crumbed monkfish.
Hunger sated, we then strolled around the market, which at 3pm on a September Wednesday was hoppin’ with diners.
We had some superb handmade fior de latte gelato at the Gilamore Stall, and an excellent Americano from Alchemy Coffee, one of the great Cork champions. We bought a couple of bottles of the legendary Football Special soft drink, an icon from Donegal’s food history, at the lovely Farmshop.
Basically, we were behaving like tourists, taking our time, just strolling around finding the good food, curious about this big barn on the edge of the River Lee which is jam-packed with really fine food artisans.
It’s an awesome destination, something that feels like it has been magicked from the ether. And it isn’t even the premier market in the city, a title jealously guarded by the English Market in the centre of town
The thing is, of course, that the Marina Market did not cost €44 million to develop, and the project has grown organically and steadily over the past three or four years.
The Pairc ui Caoimh zone in which it is sited is already being developed to become a major housing hub, and the walks and cycle paths around the River Lee are like something you might find in Copenhagen. It’s a place where you can live your best life, and even get your hair cut at JB Barbers.
So, we have to ask the obvious question: why can’t Dublin create what Cork can create? In Cork, they can fashion an omelette out of anything foodie. In Dublin, they seem unable to crack an egg.
