Kieran Clifford. New Yorker

fatbaby Bakes was born out of frustration. After moving from New York to Dublin, Kieran Clifford couldn't find a decent bagel anywhere in Ireland. So she decided to make them herself — properly.

In 2022 she completed a Commercial Baking programme, then travelled back to New York to work inside a bagel bakery and learn the authentic method from the ground up. In 2024 she launched fatbaby Bakes from her home in Ringsend.

Every bagel is made the traditional New York way — boiled first, then baked, using barley malt syrup imported directly from the US. That's what gives them their chewy crust, dense interior, and golden colour. No shortcuts.

Fatbaby Bakes is a one-woman operation. Kieran bakes every single bagel herself, every Saturday, starting at 3am. That's the whole point.