Chipper chips:Kenmare, in Co Kerry, has its unfair share of places to eat, but you'll miss one of its finest attractions if you confine yourself to the restaurants that feature in guide books.
Wharton's Traditional Fish & Chips, in the town centre, is a gem. My cod was encased in the finest, lightest batter, into which crushed black peppercorns had been incorporated. It was so fresh I swear I saw it twitch as it hit the oil. The chips are hand-cut from potatoes that are, amazingly, chosen for their "fryability". And they have cider vinegar if you fancy a change from the stuff you usually get in chippers. My bill came to €8.95. www.wartonskenmare.com. Tom Doorley
Village people
Frédéric Cordonnier's CV lists some illustrious names, including Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Longueville House, The K Club and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud (where he spent eight years as head chef). The Frenchman (left) is now executive head chef at Lyons Village, in Co Kildare, after two years in the same role at the Tea Room, at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. "I enjoy seeing people interested in what they are eating, and I use a mixture of cooking styles, different tastes and textures to keep menus imaginative," he says. In his new post he takes on responsibility, with Richard Corrigan, for the Mill restaurant and Café La Serre. Marie-Claire Digby
Tasty pastries
The technology that has brought part-baked bread to every supermarket shelf has made it harder and harder for bakers to set up on their own. So a new bakery, such as the Pins, in Barna, Co Galway, is a welcome find. It's part of the Twelve, a snazzy boutique hotel, and when the hotel's pastry chef, Sunil Phommadura (above), has some down time he's baking for the tiny new shop, on Barna's main street. Originally from Sri Lanka, he learned his craft from his father, a classically trained French baker; his career has included stints in Canada and Bermuda. The Connemara taste buds are no different from those anywhere else, he says, although he has been a little surprised by the demand for exotica such as his passion-fruit and mango cheesecakes. His takes on strawberry shortcake, fudge cake and lemon meringue pie have proved particularly popular since the Pins opened, in June. Moving to Ireland has broadened Phommadura's bread-making repertoire. He has been baking walnut, onion and tomato breads for years, but he had to get a local woman to teach him how to make Irish brown bread. "It's no problem to me now," he says. "We bake everything fresh every day, and, no matter what bread you bake, that makes all the difference." Bernice Harrison