I’m always curious about where chefs do their food shopping, convinced that good cooks will only use the best ingredients and therefore have a trove of excellent resources to share. It turns out they do. I asked six of them to share their favourite places to buy food, and the answers reveal that some of the best shops are hidden in plain sight, that well-stocked spice shelves are key, that farmers’ markets are to be treasured, and that there is even a supermarket worth planning a holiday around.
ERICA DRUM
Chef and virtual cookalong host based in Dublin
My local corner shop, Timgad, is a true mecca for fabulous Mediterranean and north African food. You’ll get a better selection and better value here than you’ll find at the supermarkets, for example the impressive variety of tahini they stock. Hulled, non-hulled, toasted, non-toasted, they all have different flavours and levels of bitterness. Abdul, the owner, is from Algeria. He is very kind and aware of my curiosity about food.
The Corner Butcher is another local gem. The lockdowns have brought us very close. I buy Rings Farm free-range and organic chicken from here. If I ask in advance, they’ll keep chicken carcasses or quality beef bones for me to use for making stocks at home.
I’ll go out of my way to visit Minetta, a tiny deli with attitude. Here you’ll find a fantastic mix of Italian, international and local products alongside their delicious wholefood salads, takeaway coffee and toasties – the crab and Gruyère toastie is really wow.
When I need a one-stop shop for new recipe ingredients, whether it’s Darina Allen or Ottolenghi, I can generally find what I need in Lotts & Co. From the best Irish produce to hard-to-find imported ingredients, they have it all.
My mouth waters when I think of Scally’s SuperValu in Clonakilty. This shop took my breath away. It should be the benchmark for supermarkets all over, from the impressive local cheese selection to the spice souk-style counter. I dream of the day I can go back. I’ve planned holidays around shopping here.
Timgad Halal Food Store, 205 South Circular Road, Dublin 8
The Corner Butcher, 112 South Circular Road, Dublin 8, thecornerbutcher.business.site
Minetta, 1a Howth Road, Dublin 13, minetta.ie
Lotts & Co, 46 Clontarf Road, Dublin 3, lottsandco.ie
Scally's Supervalu, Clonakilty, Co Cork, supervalu.ie
CAITLIN RUTH
Chef with a food truck based in west Cork
I visit Clonakilty Farmers’ Market weekly and more or less buy the same things. I’ll pick up Baltimore Bacon’s 100 per cent meat sausages and their hot smoked loin of bacon. From Shehymore Chicken I’ll add a massive free-range chicken from Chicken Dave. At Olives West Cork, I’ll stock up on Italian sliced meats, olives and cheeses. Then it’s on to Mealagulla Orchard for apples and juice, harvested and pressed by James Scannell in Ovens, Co Cork. I can’t miss Hungry Crow Chocolates for their vegan mint Viscount biscuits, I’m addicted.
West Cork Asian Spice Store is a great source for spices. Ten years ago you couldn’t buy fenugreek seed or curry leaves in Clonakilty, as I did the other day when I was making aubergine pickle. Now you can, thanks to this shop.
Not every town will be lucky enough to have a natural food shop as bountiful as The Olive Branch. I buy all of my nuts, pulses and grains here. It also has a great range of organic vegetables, a little sushi ingredient section and organic wine.
The Lettercollum Kitchen Project is well known for its ready-made food, but they also carry a wide array of speciality ingredients. Here you’ll find pomegranate molasses, harissa, dried chilies and a rake of other stuff.
Clonakilty Farmers Market, Emmet Square, Clonakilty, facebook.com/clonakiltyfridaymarket
NeighbourFood Timoleague and Lisavaird, Co Cork, neighbourfood.ie
West Cork Asian Spice Store, Spiller's Lane, Clonakilty, Co Cork, facebook.com/clonspices
The Olive Branch, Spiller's Lane, Clonakilty, Co Cork, theolivebranch.ie
Lettercollum Kitchen Project, Connolly Street, Clonakilty, Co Cork, lettercollum.ie
JULES MAK
Chef-owner at Mak D6 and Hush Rathmines in Dublin
I probably shouldn’t tell people this because I own a dim sum restaurant where we make our own dumplings, but I often buy the frozen dumplings from Asia Market on Drury Street. Usually I get some prawn har gau and pork shu mai. They are so easy for home cooking; you can just throw them in the steamer. You can get bags of frozen bao buns there, too; you won’t get them many other places.
The Oriental Emporium is a real one-stop shop for Asian cooking. They have a bigger selection of spices than the supermarkets, and you’ll find lots of the spices whole, so you can grind them yourself.
Nearby Moldova is great for vegetables; they are always fresh because it’s such a busy spot. They stock jars and jars of pickles, stuff you wouldn’t see in the supermarket. And they get Cheetos sometimes, which my wife loves.
Lynam’s Fine Foods is my daily go-to, a convenience store with a little bit of everything. I love the rib-eye steak from FX Buckley and their carrot cake I think could be the best in Ireland. They also stock my favourite gluten-free bread, a buckwheat sourdough from Slainte Pantry.
I’ve been going to The Village Butcher for years. I think they are brilliant – they will help you as much as they can and always try to source what I need. I’ve also only recently discovered the Toons Bridge shop on George’s Street for olives and cheese; there is a real authentic feel here, like a shop you might find on holidays.
Asia Market, 18 Drury Street, Dublin 2, asiamarket.ie
Oriental Emporium, 101 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6, orientalemporium.ie
Moldova, 133 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6, moldovastore.ie
Lynam's, 5 Farm Hill Road, Dublin 14, lynams.ie
The Village Butcher, 44-46 Ranelagh, Dublin 6, thevillagebutcher.ie
Toons Bridge, 24 George's Street, Dublin 2, toonsbridgedairy.com
CHRISTINE WALSH
Head chef at Èan bakery and restaurant in Galway
I cycle down to do my grocery shopping on a Saturday morning before work at Galway Farmers Market. I make sure to get down there before 9am as it gets really busy.
My first stop is Stefan at the Gannet Fishmongers so I can chat to him before the queues and crowds gather and see what’s in Irish waters and what’s going to be coming up in the week’s ahead. Then I stop off at Cait Curran’s vegetable stand and I’ll have the chats with her and Kate, and get whatever she has in season – it’s all top quality.
Sheridan’s Cheesemonger is a weekly stop for cheese and crackers and some luxury bits, if I’m not too broke. I might pick up a really good-quality olive oil or a tin of anchovies. They also stock great passatas, salamis and olives.
I have a slight obsession with Asian foods and condiments, so I’ll always visit Asiatic Manilla and Jasmine Asian Grocery. If I can’t find what I’m looking for in one, the other one will have it. I could spend an hour between the two places just browsing and reading labels – it’s a hobby at this stage. It does leave me with a huge cupboard full of jars and bottles, but they all get used at some stage.
The Galway Market, Church Lane, Galway, galwaymarket.com
Sheridans Cheesemonger, 14 Churchyard Street, Galway, sheridanscheesemongers.com
Asiatic Manilla, 50 Upper Abbeygate Street, Galway, asiaticmanilafoodstore.com
Jasmine Asian Grocery, 8 Mary Street, Galway, facebook.com/jasminegalway
Temple Bar Food Market, Meeting House Square, Dublin 2, templebarmarkets.com/foodmarket
KEITH COLEMAN
Creative director of food at Slane Castle Estate
For vegetables, I travel to McNally’s Farm fortnightly and pick up a big box of produce, along with cheese from Corleggy, smoked trout from Goatsbridge and a few other lovely bits and bobs. They also stock a nice selection of kid goat and veal from Broughgammon Farm so I usually stock the freezer with some roasting joints and sausages.
We’ve set up our own farmers’ market in Slane, so I tend to shop there now, but before that I’d be at Naomh Olaf Farmers’ Market in Sandyford a lot. McNally’s has a stall there; there is also a great fishmonger, Out of the Blue; and there’s James Malone Fruit for gooseberries. Look out for his green strawberries, too, a lot of chefs love these.
If I’m in Dublin for a meeting, I’ll usually pop into The Fumbally and stock up on dried goods such as pastas, olive oil, good Parmesan and the best tinned tomatoes. Also fresh Rosa Madre pasta, Gubbeen smoked bacon, Lilliput Trading olive oil and vinegars.
On my way out of town, I would also usually hit up the Hopsack in Rathmines. I find they’re great for dried foods such as lentils, chickpeas, beans and rice. They’re very busy, so you’re guaranteed freshness, as opposed to a supermarket where a spice could be sitting around on a darkened shelf for months. And everyone in the shop really knows their stuff, especially Finn, the owner.
I’ve also found my local Polostore, and generally the eastern European shops, are great for loose vegetables and fruit, and yogurts and sour cream.
McNally's Farm, Balrickard, Co Dublin, mcnallyfamilyfarm.ie
Naomh Olaf Farmers Market, Holly Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin, naomholaf.ie/the-club/farmers-market.728.html
The Fumbally Market, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8, thefumbally.ie
The Hopsack, Swan Centre, Dublin 6, thehopsack.ie
Polostores, various locations, polostores.net
NICO REYNOLDS
Pop-up chef based in Dublin
The shops I use the most are the Asian markets. I love them for the myriad cultures and tastes. Two of my top spice picks would be sumac and allspice – these might not be easy to come by in a supermarket. Sumac has a lemon tang to it, almost like a sherbet note, and it’s perfect with chicken, fish and vegetables. Allspice, also known as Jamaican pepper or pimento, has the aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, hence the name.
Look out for dried limes: leave them to sit in curry to add extra zing to the finished mouth feel. And lime leaves are great, too – think bay leaves, but with a sweet tone. You’ll also find a great variety of chillies in the Asian markets, fresh and dried: red-eye chillies, jalapeño, habaneros.
These shops are also great for vinegar. Look for palm sugar, coconut or chilli vinegar. I use coconut vinegar in my cooking a lot, it has a less acidic bite to it and feels holistic with the coconut milk I tend to use. And chilli oils, too. The classic LaoGanMa chilli oil is a must-have – ideal for adding quick spicy flavours to any dish.
For meat, I tend to keep it local and buy from Strand Fare in Sandymount as it’s just a stone’s throw from where I live.
Han Sung Asian Market, 22 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1, hanyang.ie
Asia Market, 18 Drury Street, Dublin 2, asiamarket.ie
Oriental Emporium, 30-32 Abbey Street Upper, Dublin 1, orientalemporium.ie
Strand Fare, 4 Seafort Ave, Dublin 4, strandfare.clickandcollection.com
