The sun is shining in Ballydehob and Béal Blásta – formerly Hudson’s – is a hive of easygoing activity. It’s a morning during the Easter break and the village is already beginning to swell with life in anticipation of events like the May bank holiday’s Jazz and Arts Festival. Outside the café, tables are filled with locals and visitors, coffees in hand, lunches being shared, children weaving between chairs. Inside, the rhythm of the day is already underway: a freshly made frittata is being sliced, cakes are cooling, and familiar greetings are exchanged across the counter.
The building itself has long held a central place in Ballydehob’s story. First opened in 1986 by Gillian and Richard Hudson, Hudson’s quickly became more than a shop and café – it became a community fixture. In 2015, Catherine Melvin and Geoff Caird took the reins after moving from Dublin, having sold their successful chocolate business. The family brought a new energy to the already thriving wholefoods café and Hudson’s remained a household name in the village and beyond – known for its plant-based lunches, hearty spelt pasties, and cakes that made it a destination in its own right.
Now, the story continues under the stewardship of Naomi and Denis O’Brien, a local couple who officially took over the business in July last year. Naomi, originally from Cork City, moved west after meeting Denis, whose family runs the Irish Whip Bar just down the road. The pair have four children – just like Cathy and Geoff before them – and a strong instinct for what it means to run a family business in a small village. It’s a rhythm they already knew well, having run O’Regan’s bar in Schull together for several years before stepping into the world of wholefoods.
Naomi is the driving force behind Beal Blasta’s daily operation, dividing her time between the kitchen, the shop floor, and front of house. Her interest in food shines through in every detail – from the menu’s commitment to fresh, wholesome fare, to the carefully curated shelves of the adjoining shop. While Naomi and Denis aren’t vegetarians themselves, the café’s popular plant-based menu remains unchanged, anchored by favourites like the peanut rayu rice noodle salad, daily soups, frittatas and quiches, and those now-famous spelt flour pasties. Customers can choose to sit in and enjoy a relaxed lunch or take their meal away in compostable containers and sustainable bamboo crockery.
Sweet-toothed regulars and travellers alike still come from miles around for the house-baked treats: salted caramel brownies, lemon polenta cake, rich coffee cake, toffee nut shortbread, and the ever-popular bakewells, which rarely last the afternoon. Everything is made on-site, and the quality is unmistakable.
The shop continues to stock a wide range of organic dried goods, eco-friendly cleaning products, and fresh fruit and veg, much of it sourced from West Cork growers and makers. Naomi is particularly passionate about supporting Irish and local producers: there’s honey from Dunbeacon, vegetables from Coolcaha Gardens, artisan bread from the Pike Deli in Clonakilty (now delivered three times a week due to demand), and select items from Cork’s English Market. She even stocks bamboo cotton socks from Polly and Andy, natural deodorants from Vico, and a special small-batch olive oil from Irish company Sant’ Angelica, which sells for €75 a bottle – and yes, it’s already finding buyers.
The core team has remained largely the same, with familiar faces continuing to greet regulars each day. Longtime staff member Ann Pessino is gradually handing over the kitchen to Alan Shannon, as she prepares for a well-earned retirement, but the sense of continuity is strong. Cathy Melvin, still a steady mentor to Naomi, works a day a week in the café, ensuring the spirit of the place remains intact.
Despite the new name, very little has changed. Béal Blásta remains a place where the door is open seven days a week, the food is consistently excellent, and the conversation flows as easily as the coffee.
