Taste the Nation: Offbeat Donuts fills a hole in the Cork sweet-treat market

From Cuisine de France and breakfast rolls to coffee and doughnuts, Corkman Brian O'Casey's long journey has brought him to the chain's first shop outside of Dublin

Brian O'Casey, founder, pictured at the opening of OffBeat Donuts in Cork city. One of the country's leading bakeries has opened its first outlet outside of Dublin. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan

It’s often said that when one door closes, another opens, and for Corkman Brian O’Casey, this much has proven to be true.

A former product-developer for the likes of Cuisine de France and Pierre’s, including the Celtic Tiger-era arrival and popularisation of chicken fillet rolls and spicy wedges, with all their culinary consequences, he spent 25 years in total working in the bakery business, from primary process to consumer-facing branding. But as homegrown businesses gave way to multinationals, and downward pressure came from supermarkets like Lidl entering the bakery space, O’Casey saw his craft changing in fundamental ways.