Meal Ticket: Cass & Co, Dungarvan, Co Waterford

Dungarvan, sometimes known as Fungarvan, is a small but perfectly formed coastal town in Waterford. In the heart of the town is a wide market square, so wide as to be almost charmingly antiquated. Most modern towns have built atop of such traditional meeting spaces, or have left them out of planning altogether, but Dungarvan has maintained this enviable public space. And there’s nothing old or stale about the atmosphere on the weekend of the recent West Waterford Festival of Food.

I’m in town for a pop-up lunch cooked by Stephen Toman of the Michelin-starred Ox restaurant in Belfast, hosted by the enterprising and warm Paul and Máire Flynn at the ever-buzzy Tannery restaurant. Apart from the pop-ups, talks and cooking demonstrations taking place in venues around the town, that beautiful old market space is alive with stalls from nearby producers, such as Wild About preserves, syrups and chutneys from Wexford, and Joe’s Farm Crisps from Killeagh in east Cork.

Gourmet food shop

On one of the main roads off the market square lies Cass & Co, a gourmet food shop and cafe that opened in February of 2016. Its owner, Stephen Cass, worked at the Racing Post for five years before taking the leap into food retail. "I was just food mad and I loved the Dublin food scene," he tells me over the phone after my visit. "I'm from Dungarvan and I always thought that a gourmet food shop could work in a foodie town like Dungarvan." Inspired by food stores such as O'Leary's Delicatessen in Cootehill, Fallon & Byrne and Cavistons in Dublin, he opened up shop in what was a small old pub.

The space has retained the coziness of its previous incarnation but it’s been brightened up by a front window and it’s stuffed with treats for food lovers. In the fridges, there is Ummera smoked chicken alongside Gubeen chorizo and cheeses. There are Sheridan’s crackers and Lismore biscuits on the shelves, and Pollock’s pickles and preserves next to carefully chosen wines in the pantry. When it’s available, Cass & Co staff member Karen Crotty sells her kombucha, made by herself and her partner, Mic Brennan, under the name of Karmic.

In a place like west Waterford, great produce isn’t hard to find so it means Cass’s team can easily highlight the best of local in their deli menu, like their pork and apple blaa (€5). The pork is supplied from John David Power’s butcher, literally right across the road. Cass slow cooks the pork neck and shoulder for 14 hours and serves it on the famous local blaa bun from the renowned Barron’s Bakery in Cappoquin. Cass & Co’s pork blaa is finished with a low-fat yogurt based apple coleslaw, made inhouse. It’s a very generous portion and gives you a slice of the local flavour at a great price.

Also impressive is the cherry bakewell (€2), a delicious retro cake supplied to Cass & Co by Tory Barrett, a baker from nearby Villierstown. Cass himself makes batches of lovely little coconut macaroons (€1.50). His secret ingredient is the whites from duck eggs which he gets from a local farmer. The coffee (€2.60 for a flat white) to go with it is excellent, too, supplied by Roasted Brown. “Speciality coffee has been an easy sell here in Dungarvan. Customers love it.”

To Cass’s surprise, it’s been the cafe part of the business that has taken off more than the retail side, but he hopes that the retail side will continue to develop as well as the cafe has.

Greenway success

He’s a huge fan of The Greenway. “The Greenway has already surpassed everyone’s expectations, in terms of how many visitors it has already brought to Dungarvan. I think it’s going to be the best thing that has happened to west Waterford in my lifetime.”

For those planning on an exploration of The Greenway in Waterford, Cass & Co is perfect for picking up picnic basket supplies, or as a post-Greenway cycle or walk refuelling station.