Putting vegetables first: The Cork chef who has led the way in plant-based eating

Denis Cotter has always put vegetables at the centre of the plate in Café Paradiso. Almost 30 years later, the rest of the world has caught up with him

Chef-Patron Denis Cotter at Cafe Paradiso, Cork. Picture: Miki Barlok

Limp carrots, sulphurous cabbage and waterlogged turnips: in the 1990s, Ireland was not a good place for vegetable lovers. But there was a bright light in that overcooked world. In 1993, Macroom man Denis Cotter opened Café Paradiso on Lancaster Quay in Cork City, proving that you could make simple Irish vegetables exciting — and that there was an audience for it. 

By putting vegetables at the centre of the plate, Cotter was a man ahead of his time. Almost 30 years later, the rest of the world has caught up with him. Plant-based eating is no longer niche, locally sourced food is king and Paradiso is a much-loved institution frequented by anyone with an interest in food.