There is mindfulness in the method of Derry’s Ciaran and Melanie Breslin.

If we say that we call it culinary mindfulness, you might ask: Well, what’s that about?
To try to explain it, take the example of Ciaran and Melanie Breslin, of Derry’s Primrose Café.
He’s a butcher. She’s a baker. If you bring the idea of culinary mindfulness to their respective skills, you ought to find the perfect collaboration in the form of a hamburger: his beef, and her breads. Their mindfulness ought to draw attention to each detail of the hamburger: the beef; the bap; the condiments.
If the mindfulness is successful, you should end up with the perfect burger.
Which is what you get in Primrose Café: the perfect burger.
Why is it perfect? Because every detail is thought through, and the end result is a burger that demonstrates perfect balance amongst every element of its making.
And, just to ice the cake, Manus and his team at Primrose serve the burger with that brilliant grace and charm that is the mark of Derry hospitality.
It’s only six years since Melanie Breslin first opened Primrose Café, on Carlisle Road. The bistro and coffee shop was an immediate success, because every element was just right. Today, there are two Primroses, the newest one on Strand Road, and this charming waterside location on Atlantic Quay, close to the river.
But you won’t just go for the hamburger. Depending on the time of day, it might be the superlative little lemon meringue tarts that bring you back – that pastry! – or a sausage sandwich on their ace soda farls that makes for a brilliant breakfast.
And it’s all thanks to the mindfulness in the butchering, and the baking.