WHO WE ARE?
The Garden Café Cork which is widely regarded as Cork’s Greenest Café is situated on the grounds of Cork Foyer ( formerly Assumption Convent Cork ) and is located in a beautiful Victorian style glasshouse, It offers spectacular views of Blackpool and is open daily from Monday to Friday each week for morning coffee, freshly baked scones, brownies and flap jacks .
An exciting lunch menu is on offer daily using the finest seasonal produce sourced from our community Garden Allotment and also from local artisan producers. Daily specials include Courgette stuffed with Carrigaline smoked cheese and caramelised onions, and also chicken with rosemary and roasted red peppers. Parents can also unwind and relax while toddlers play in the park, explore the community garden and enjoy the fun of the mini pet farm.
At first glance this café aspires to the high standards of many other Cork Restaurants; however there is a wider picture which focuses on providing Adult Education in a unique community spirit. The employees are in fact trainees who receive instruction in areas such as, Barista coffee training, food preparation, HACCP ,electronic point of sale (EPOS) and customer service. Mentoring is also a key factor while participants work in the Garden Café.
NON-PROFIT INITIATIVE
The assistance of Cork Businesses such as Maher’s Coffee, Supervalu Glanmire have been of vital importance as they have been extremely supportive of this venture and continue to impart their expertise by providing training workshops and assistance to our participants throughout the summer season. This could not happen without further support from St. Stephens Green Trust, Mercy Sisters Solidarity fund, Presentation Sisters.
This is a non profit initiative. Funding has been sourced from a number of organisations to which we are very grateful. It is also important to acknowledge the support of Cork City Council, Cork City ETB, HSE, Cork Foyer, Churchfield Community Trust and also the Probation service. The continuing success of this initiative is in no small part attributed to a a unique non-profit initiative and good will which exists in Blackpool which is at the very heart of our city. This initiative is essentially about bringing out the best in people and about helping them to realise their true potential.
Other initiatives of interest on this site include the construction of a stone wall building using Donegal Sandstone and also the development of our Churchfield Garden Allotment. A composting area has recently been constructed by participants using larch timber on our Blackpool site and is now fully operational.
At our work shop which is based at Churchfield a new range of Bespoke early years furniture and garden products are currently being developed by our participants under the direction of the work shop manager . The craftsmanship is of an extremely high standard.