If ever there was a year for comfort food.

No matter how catastrophic the past ten months have been for you, there is still joy, no matter how small, to be found in the arms of a heaping calorific plate of something so outrageously naughty that you would never normally dream of allowing it past your lips.

Step forward Lekker, the latest stall to join the festive fun at the Marina Christmas Market on Centre Park Road.

At Lekker, you are invited to forget your troubles and order yourself a large serving of happy by slathering your entire meal in a great melting blanket of cheese.

Their famous raclette is the stuff of dreams; hot, gooey cheese pillowed on top of a crispy bed of duck fat potatoes:

 

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If you’ve been trying to put a brave face on things as we ride out 2020, Lekker’s owners can empathise.

David Quirke and Rory O’Leary came up with the idea for Lekker when the pandemic put a sharp stop to work at their event companies Red Penguin and Catered.

“We have been out of work since March,” David told Yay Cork.

“The ease of the lockdown for other industries didn’t come for us. We couldn’t re-hire our staff. Events were/are over for the foreseeable. We were at an absolute loss as to what avenue to follow or what to do next.”

Then they spotted an opportunity at the Marina Market: “We realised Catered could diverge and adapt momentarily to the market business. With Rory being a part of the nearby successful Goldberg’s, we knew the market and knew we wanted to provide more than burgers.

“We are huge foodies and we appreciate the luxuries of life! Hence – raclette cheese – a Swiss delicacy – just made for oozing and melting.”

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.

 

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Customers can add chorizo or serrano ham, while little visitors will go mad for the poffertjes – bitesize Dutch pancakes topped with chocolate, white chocolate and caramel.

“We realise markets (especially at Christmas) are family events,” adds David.

“We both have young daughters, so these mini Dutch pancakes – bitesize circles of deliciousness – passed their taste tests and were swiftly added to the menu!”

Lekker is open now at the Marina Christmas Market, 10am to 8pm daily until December 24th, 2020.