Sushi is having a moment in Cork right now. Photo: Mahmoud Fawzy

Is our food scene diverse enough?

July saw the opening of two new food places in Cork – Tiki Poke is located on Washington Street, next to Café Depeche - which is run by the same couple - offering smoothies, sushi and homemade granola and poke bowls (similar to Buddha bowls).

Lovers of fresh flavours with a bit of Pacific flair will be delighted at the thought of roasted watermelon.

The second offering to Cork is Sensei in Dyke Parade. Previously a corner shop (where I have bought many parking discs over the years) called Spillane’s, it has been now transformed into an eating hub for their community – offering all types of sushi and I think the only rainbow crepe cake in Cork.

The mix of food offerings from all corners of the world will make this a must-visit. I am not the biggest fan of sushi (I think I mentioned that last week that I have a problem with raw fish) but the creations look amazing. Every sushi is made to order and/or can be bought as a mix and match sushi box.

Other offerings include buns filled with pulled pork, desserts from the Philippines and a bit of French pastry thrown in. It is wonderful to see that food lovers are still starting a journey into the hospitality industry, despite the strict regulations and the current situation and I am hopeful for both new places to be very successful.

Seeing two new sushi places opening got me thinking that we seem to be following trends quite a bit. We had the donut craze, the burger frenzy and now the sushi movement but is our food scene diverse enough?

I love that we have very good Italian, Indian, Lebanese and Asian eateries but what about Greek, Portuguese, Hungarian, Caribbean or even Russian cuisine?

Over 20 years ago, there used to be a lovely Spanish restaurant in Oliver Plunkett Street which closed down rather suddenly and I missed it as it had authentic Spanish food.

Is there no demand for a more diverse food offering in Cork? I never understood the success all these burger places experienced – a burger is minced up meat topped with some sauce and leaves, pickles etc. At the end of the day – it’s a burger (you might noticed a slight dislike for said burgers!).

International food has been nationalised over the years to match people’s taste like the Indian chicken tikka masala which was offered to British palates in the 1940s in Scotland (or so the legend goes).

The same goes for Chinese food. My Chinese friends told me many years ago that food in the homeland is utterly different from the offerings in Europe.

Tapas have been hijacked from the original salty bites offered in bars in Spain to what we get now in ‘authentic’ wine bars. Are we not brave enough to try the ‘real’ thing?

Over the years, I have travelled quite a bit and have always tried to find little eateries that offered the local cuisine. I have been pleasantly surprised many times and some of the times I was rather shocked but that was the beauty of my travels – I tried.

The new Irish food is excellent but if you look at it, it has influences from people who have lived and worked here from all over the world and chefs who have travelled to learn more about food. So, real authentic food is not that ‘authentic’ anymore – Australia has been influenced by their large Asian population, American food simply doesn’t exist due to their diverse people – so let’s get inspired by the world of food.