Cork food: 'Fast Al’s and Hillbilly’s are a rite of age for every Corkonian'

The U.S burger and fries chain, Wendy’s, has chosen Cork as the first place to plant its flag in Ireland. People are, generally, not happy about it. We probably don’t need another burger t, pizza place or chicken shop, but the stats say otherwise.

In November, 2024, it was reported that for every 100,000 people in Ireland, there were 28.5 fast food outlets. Burgers, pizza and chicken shops are booming with major chains enjoying an expansion of the market share by 3% since 2023.

Our takeaway and fast-food habit is often linked to time pressure. Bord Bia reported in 2020 that 10% of all evening meals were take away or home delivery, rising to 15% at weekends. Almost half of us haven’t planned what the next evening meal will be which is fertile ground for throwing in the towel and grabbing a fast bite instead.

But before there is a collective clutching of pearls, it’s probably worth ing that our fast-food guilty pleasures have long been part of the city’s food landscape.

Dare I say Cork invented fast food culture in Ireland?

Cork has ambitions to become the World Gastronomic Capital by 2030. It’s a lofty goal, but what does it mean to be gastronomic?

For me, it means understanding how we all interact with local food and food culture. It shouldn’t include only fine dining restaurants and the very best of the best of artisan produce to the exclusion of all else, because that kind of food is not accessible to everyone. That’s to say it should be in the reach of everyone, but right now it isn’t.

When it comes to food tourism (ultimately what this accolade seeks to tap into), a key aspiration for visitors is to have an authentic food experience, particularly those that enable visitors to find a way to access “local flavour.”

In Cork, local flavour can be the artisan food producer, the ground-breaking restaurant, the street food favourite, local market, the characterful pub, or the best place to grab a sandwich.

It’s old and new rubbing shoulders and welcoming everyone, and when we talk about food culture, it might not always be about the pinnacle of what food can be, but rather the collective experience.

In Cork, that might be grabbing a late-night slice from Fast Al’s or a Hillbilly’s Snack Box (with gravy); a smash burger from Yellow Submarine or loaded sausage sambo from O’Flynn’s. Lest we forget those misty-eyed and queuing at Lennox’s as it fried its final battered cod.

These are all local food culture phenomena but originated as international imports to Cork City’s food landscape. Yet they hold resonance for an “Eat Like a Local” food experience although different to the wider artisan food producing ethos of Cork.

Both Fast Al’s and Hillbilly’s were established following experiences of Corkonians travelling abroad and bringing back exciting tastes of America (the New York Slice Shop, since 2003, and South American recipe deep fried chicken, since 1997).This was at a time when we were all enjoying the roar of the Celtic Tiger. Ireland was opening to the world, and the world was opening to Ireland, and there was an ebb and flow of food cultures in and out of Cork.

Fast Al’s and Hillbilly’s are a rite of age for every Corkonian – whether you were born and raised here or freshly landed. They are the late-night saviours of every merry Corkonian fresh from a few cheeky creamy Beamy’s on a school night with an absolute goo on you for a slice of double pepperoni.

It galls me no end that Dublin has claimed the title of being home to Ireland’s first slice shop when Bambino blew up Instagram. I said as much to a fellow (Dublin-based) foodie friend, and they just laughed at me. They just won’t be told, but of course we know better.

Look, I’m sure there’s a case to argue that Dublin’s Insta-worthy Chimac Korean Fried Chicken is at least on par as our home-grown Hillbilly’s, but don’t be wasting your breath on it.

I can clearly , and with huge fondness, when O’Flynn’s first began cooking their delicious sausages in the English Market. They have been making their gourmet sausages since 1921 but were the first to offer cooked food to go in the English Market from a tiny little corner stall in the mid-noughties.

It’s not exactly a salubrious and roomy spot even today, but back then it was basically a table and a frying pan. The smell of sausages and frying onions hit you the moment you walked into the market, and today – even with a store on Winthrop Street and a new location opposite UCC on Washington Street – there is always a mighty queue of salivating punters waiting to place their order for a loaded gourmet sausage sandwich.

Let’s not forget the absolute lengths the lads from The Yellow Submarine went to bring their gospel of Beatles-themed smashburgers to as many inches of Cork as they could.

The big yellow food truck seemed to be broken down at the side of the road more often than it was motoring, but still the crowds came – and do still come, now they have set down roots and opened their bricks and mortar burger t in downtown Fermoy.

Somehow, food tourism must be able to do both the artisan and popular culture food experiences.

The latter often acts as an accessible, affordable gateway to understanding that there is a deeper gastronomy at play.

But it is the storytelling behind these particular fast-food ts that provide authentic context for why they are so rooted in the food culture of Cork city.

So, why is there such furore about Ireland’s first Wendy’s? It cannot be the food they are peddling because we love a bit of it – clearly. So, is it because it’s not home-grown? Or that there’s no back story?

Maybe. But really, it’s just not Cork enough, like.