By Michelle Crean

There's a new face behind the scenes at one local restaurant on High Street who is serving up mouthwatering meals to the customers.

Hemant Tajpuriya has joined the team at TOBA as their new Head Chef, creating authentic southeast Asian recipes.

From Nepal, located in southeast Asia, Hemant's ethos ties in nicely with TOBA's who have a strong emphasis on delivering healthy, nutritious, clean food for customers at great value.

Hemant coming on board re-enforces this authenticity, explained Manager Darragh Walshe.

"Hemant brings enormous experience to our team," Darragh told the Killarney Advertiser.
"He grew up in a small town called Biratnagar located in the southern part of Nepal, with a passion for cooking and went on to graduate with a diploma in food production and quality control."

Hemant arrived in Ireland six years ago to further his education, has worked in some of the best well known Asian restaurants since his arrival and has been the Head Chef for the past three years in his most recent position.

Good fortune has brought Hemant to TOBA. He was down visiting a friend in Killarney during the summer who happened to be a member of the TOBA team and was introduced to Darragh.

"It was the feel good factor that Hemant had for the town of Killarney and the people that made his decision an easy one. He said since his arrival in Ireland he has never seen a town so beautiful. He has been made to feel really welcome by everyone he has met and is looking forward to the next chapter in his life in Kerry."

OPEN

Darragh said that TOBA will remain open going forward as a takeaway and delivery service.

"It was a devastating blow earlier this week for the entire hospitality sector and for Killarney in particular," he said.

"We want to keep our doors open to provide a service for the community. We are just about to reach our one year anniversary and it has been one hell of a rollercoaster. Despite all the setbacks we go to work each day with a positive frame of mind and just keep plugging away. The locals were absolutely brilliant to us over our opening few months and during the lockdown in particular they were unbelievably supportive. We ran some social media campaigns as a sign of our appreciation for all the local heroes for their efforts during the early stages of the pandemic and it is because of all this support that we will keep the business going."

TOBA will be open five days a week for the moment from Wednesday to Sunday from 4.30pm to 9.30pm. "We will provide takeaways, collections and deliveries every night and we will run some competitions to try and keep the spirits up during these difficult times."