Jacque Barry

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“I cook every day. I shop every day”. Go ahead and add up all the days that have been involved in Jacque Barry's career, as a cook and a restaurateur, but you will need to get the calculator out and take your time, for you need to multiply those days by 32 years to get the total number of days cooking, days shopping, for Jacques restaurant, in Cork city.
Longevity seems to blossom amongst the Cork culinary mavens. And innovation. After 32 years, Jacque has knocked down the wall of her restaurant – literally! – and carved out a new space, where she and her partner, Eithne, will serve small plates and nice wines – cheese croquettes; Italian meatballs; smoked haddock fishcakes; platters of cured meats. You might be in Venice, if the river running outside wasn't the River Lee.
She was born into the business, her Mum an hotelier, an aunt on her father's side who ran Dromoland Castle. She has the gra for it all, the love of the service, the way in which restaurants tick, the ways in which they must change and adapt as demographics shift and customers change.
The attention to detail extends to the minutest things – a sound system that delivers clarity at low volume; the Michael Clifford sandwich of spiced beef with avocado and red onion jam; the colour the ceiling has been painted; the grilled bread with the meatballs; the awesomely cool music they curate.
She seems forever young, and will tell you that “I couldn't bear the idea of not working. This is my way of life”. Ms Barry will talk about the ethos of a restaurant, and her own food ethos is one of honesty – honest food; true cooking; an unpretentious search for the good things she can find from her suppliers and deliver to her customers. And she knows just the tune to whistle whilst she delivers.

23 Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork City
021 4277387
www.jacquesrestaurant.ie