ABOUT US

Dooks Fine Foods is a local café, food retailer and restaurant based in the Medieval walled town of Fethard, Co. Tipperary. Fethard is situated at the foot of Slievenamon in the heart of the ‘Golden Vale’ and ’Ireland’s Ancient East’.

Owner and chef, Richard Gleeson, made a great food journey before resettling in his hometown, with his young family. Here, he set out to realise his dream of transplanting the joy of glorious, appetising food and warm hospitality from his family home and Mother’s kitchen, to an inviting restaurant setting.

Homemade Experience

The Dooks Fine Foods products and experience are all created with great care to proffer that nourishment of body and soul; celebrate excellent produce; and present a warm welcome to the open, bright, happy restaurant. A daytime dine-in and take-away breakfast and lunch menu is fortified by the huge range of confectionary, breads, delicatessen options, and artisan Irish foods. An experienced teacher, Richard also runs seasonal cookery demonstrations which are relaxed and fun foodie experiences. The seasonal evening tasting and small plate menus have been met with great acclaim, where fine dining standards of cuisine meet a relaxed and informal dining setting.

Winner of the Best Restaurant in Tipperary Award from the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2019, Dooks offers fresh homemade food to eat-in, take-away and healthy food options to order online. Our shop and online store offer luxury gift ideas and food gifts including vouchers, organic wines, artisan hampers, some of the best coffee in Tipperary, and homemade catering options for all private events.

Richard &
the Team

Richard’s love for food, which he acquired in his Mother’s kitchen where a waste not attitude and appreciation for fine ingredients and balanced flavours are the core values, inspired his departure from a career in advertising to train at the renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School. Continuing his training at some of London‘s best daytime establishments, including Melrose & Morgan, Petersham Nursaries (Skye Gyngell), and Ottolenghi, Richard further honed his skills and knowledge.

Returning to Ireland, he joined forces with his long time friend, Ross Staunton, at Food Game in Dublin staging a pop-up, small plates evening menu and cookery demonstration series, to great commendation. He worked for three years with Lynda Booth at the Dublin Cookery School, teaching, while developing the Dooks Fine Foods plan! Now a confident restaurant, artisan food shop and delicatessen, Dooks Fine Foods is supported by an excellent local team, who’s personal investment in the business ethos and offering make the acclaimed customer experience what it is!

Food at Dooks

The core Dooks Fine Foods ethos is locality, seasonality and sustainability- all qualities carried through the menus and product range to the fully compostable takeaway packaging used at all times.

Richard’s soul warming, comforting and tantalising dishes all come with restorative qualities, using natural ingredients, full of flavour and colour. From warming meals for breakfast, lunch and seasonal tasting menus; to the tempting array of baked goods and sumptuous cakes; the delightful selection of store-cupbourd goodies, jams, preserves, biscuits and sauces; carefully selected beverages, teas, coffees & wines, there is something to delight any food enthusiast at Dooks. Evening and private dining menus best embody the chef‘s innovative approach to modern Irish cuisine, for which he received the Best Emerging Irish Cuisine in Munster Award in 2019. Artistry with herbs and seasoning, while asking a lot of simple fresh ingredients, whose mileage has been as low as possible to the plate, derive maximum flavour results.

Provenance & Suppliers

The very best of Irish food is represented in healthy, delicious, homemade food at Dooks. Dooks has become a champion of local and Irish producers and suppliers. This list of suppliers is a testament to the exceptional quality of food producers in Tipperary and Ireland.

Dooks Fine Foods has been privileged to be welcomed into such a rich food landscape where decades and generations old food producers have been flying the flag for Irish food all around the globe. None more than Cashel Farmhouse Cheeses, the incredible neighbouring Tipperary Food Producer here in Fethard. Not to mention the Cahir Apple Farm with the Traas’ sensational array of top quality culinary products.