Great news for Chinese food-lovers
Popular local Chinese street food restaurant Noodlee has announced a €3m investment across Cork city and county as they are set to open 15 new stores of the chain in the coming months, resulting in the creation of up to 200 jobs.
The major investment in Cork’s food and hospitality industry is part of a significant expansion by the brand, who hope to bring their authentic Chinese-style cooking and recipes to a broader Cork audience.
The decision to expand the brand further afield comes following the initial success of two of their stores – one located in Avenue De Rennes in Mahon, and the flagship store next to UCC on Western Road.
Three additional stores in Carrigaline, Fermoy and Mallow will open in the coming weeks.
Not to be confused as a noodle bar – Noodlee offers an extensive array of Chinese dishes that have been slightly modified to appeal to Irish and European taste pallets, with extensive vegan and vegetarian options available. They are also currently the only restaurant who offers fresh to order noodles.
Each Noodlee recipe has been created and developed by Chinese chefs and aim to provide a healthy, nutritious, affordable alternative option to the conventional Chinese takeaway options and other fast-food outlets in Ireland.
The restaurant’s concept was developed by owner Song Ye. Mr Ye is well known in Cork as a long-standing and highly respected restaurant owner – he is also behind the hugely popular Fudi and more restaurants in both Douglas and Blackpool.
Explaining the concept and ethos of Noodlee, he says:
“Noodlee in Chinese culture means Chinese street food and that’s exactly what we are pioneering in all of our Cork restaurants. We believe this is the future for Asian and Chinese cuisine – both in Ireland and internationally. People have become increasingly more health conscious in recent years and Noodlee represents a healthier and affordable nutritious option for takeaway food.
“We have a long tradition of offering our customers affordable, tasty and high-quality food through Fudi and More and our existing Noodlee stores and that will continue,” he added.
In addition to providing investment and employment opportunities across all of their Cork stores, both Noodlee and Fudi and more offer training opportunities for young Irish chefs.
Due to staff shortages in the hospitality industry, and a lack of availability of chefs familiar with cooking Chinese dishes, Song admitted it was difficult to find staff to make their dishes but says they wanted to support the local economy in Cork by embracing the challenge of hiring staff with no experience and investing time to train them in the Noodlee way.
Song began hiring Irish chefs – specifically with the intention of training them to create their own authentic Chinese dishes. This is a policy he has successfully implemented, with Irish staff across all restaurants now skilled in recreating Asian dishes.
It is expected that Noodlee restaurants will open in Douglas, Ballincollig and Middleton shortly after their newest stores open, followed by an additional three stores in Blackpool, Mayfield and Cobh, with discussions continuing for other locations.
Mr Ye says that the long-term goal for the brand is to become an international franchise – with one Noodlee restaurant already in the UK, located in Nottingham.
For further information on applying for a job at Noodlee, visit info@noodlee.ie download the “myNoodlee” app to view their full range of Chinese dishes.