Baltimore is back on Michelin map

By Ellen O'Regan

West Cork restaurant Dede took home the only new Michelin star for Ireland this year at the launch of the 2021 Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland this week.

Dede, based in Baltimore and run by partners Ahmet Dede and Maria Archer, joins a list of 18 Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland.

The Michelin guide describes Dede as one of the most delightful places in its guide, and chef Ahmet’s dishes as “refined and full of personality”, celebrating the seasonal produce of West Cork while subtly hinting at his Turkish heritage.

Following the announcement on Tuesday, Ahmet Dede said they are “beyond happy, sincerely humbled and very, very grateful for the great recognition by this great institution of hospitality”.

This is not the first Michelin star Ahmet has brought to Baltimore, having maintained one for two years just a few doors down from where Dede now operates, with the now closed Mews restaurant.

This Michelin star makes it a grand total of four for Cork, with the three others, Ichigo Ichie in Cork city, Chestnut in Ballydehob, and Bastion in Kinsale, all retaining their stars.

Seafood bistro Goldie in Cork city was also a winner, as one of four Irish restaurants to take home a Bib Gourmand distinction, awarded for good food at more affordable prices than those in the Michelin category. Goldie was praised by Michelin for its “gill to fin approach”, making sure to use every part of the catch supplied by small local day boats.

Following a brutal year for the hospitality industry, the Michelin team said: “We are not blind to the harrowing times we live in and are more than aware of the hardships being faced by so many. No one can deny that what the hospitality industry is suffering through is nothing less than tragic.”