Move over Cork; specialist food producers are growing faster than nettles in the midlands. Caroline Allen talks to a diverse group, from blueberry growers to organic yoghurt makers, who will gather at a special market in Portlaoise next Friday.
DAIRY DYNAMICS
Cheese made from milk from Ralph Haslam's Mossfield Farm at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom mountains in Clareen, near Birr won a gold and two silver medals at the World Cheese Awards 2005 in London last month. Haslam developed Mossfield organic farm cheese with Dutch cheese maker Marion Roeleveld, from Portumna.
The Gouda struck gold in the category for farmhouse cheese with a weekly production under two tonnes, and was awarded a silver medal in the new cheese category. The farm also won a second silver medal in this section for Mossfield Organic Farm garlic and herb cheese.
Haslam converted to organic farming three years ago and the move has been an unqualified success. "Market prices were dropping and fixed costs rising. My son Jonathan, who runs The Organic Store in Birr, had been interested in organics for years. I researched the market, was finally convinced by Pat Mulrooney, an organic dairy farmer from Clonmel."
The Haslams also produce Mossfield chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and vanilla ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts, and organic vegetables. The Birr shop provides valuable feedback, as do clients such as Jim Tynan in Portlaoise, and Peter Ward of Country Choice in Nenagh. "Our customers are very loyal and they tell us exactly what they think of products. Meeting and listening to people is vital."
The need for customer feedback is a reiterated by Temple Bar market regular, Pat Hyland of Abbey Cheese in Ballacolla, who sees the same faces week after week at farmers' markets. "People tell you what they want and we try to provide it," he says.
Hyland transports the Abbey blue, brie and smoked cheeses and Saint Canice's feta and goats' cheeses he produces in custom-designed trailers he bought in France. Although benefiting from brisk business in the capital, he would like to see more markets closer to home. "They should rotate, like the fairs of the past," he suggests.
"Our business was static at one stage, but since the markets have taken off, they have helped us get a good price for specialist products. Otherwise, we would have had to go for volume. The supermarkets want everything cheaper and cheaper, he says.
The Organic Store, Main Street, Birr, Co Offaly, 0509-25881, organicstore@eircom.net.
BED, BREAKFAST, AND CAKE
Linda Deverell runs a guesthouse and Saturday morning market along with her daughter Rachel at the family farm and equestrian centre near Tullamore. The Deverells' homemade breads, cakes, jams and chutneys are sold at the market, which runs from 10am to 1pm, and they plan to open on a daily basis soon.
"We have a lot of guests from abroad and they love to bring Irish food such as jams and chutneys back with them," she says. "A lot of people have forgotten how to bake, or never learned, and a lot of people, particularly men, like the simple things such as apple crumble," Deverell says.
The Mulhalls of Coolanowle House, Ballickmoyler, on the Laois/Carlow border, find that their customers, too, often need a bit of help getting back to basics. "At farmers' markets, we often get people asking us what to do with a joint of meat, so we sell cooked organic beef and lamb for those who can't or won't cook," Bernadine Mulhall says.
Mulhall's husband Jimmy converted their lands to organic farming six years ago, and some of their produce is served at dinner in their guesthouse. Their son Eddie runs a leisure centre, which includes fitness classes for local people. "Because we are quite rural, we have had to develop as a destination, rather than just a B&B," she says. The couple are regulars at the farmers' markets in Carlow and in Ranelagh. "It's great to interact with customers, but if we thought farming was hard, selling is twice as difficult. Farmers have got so used to providing the raw material for factories. It is a huge change to go from growing something to marketing it," says Bernadine.
Annaharvey Farm Equestrian Centre and Guesthouse,Annaharvey, Portarlington Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly, 0506-43544, www.annaharveyfarm.ie.
Coolanowle House, Ballickmoyler, 059-8625176, info@coolanowle.com, www.coolanowle.com
SECCOTO COFFEE ROASTING
Tom Naughton, a former IT consultant, now runs a coffee business. "Why can't coffee be roasted locally, instead of clocking up all those food miles?" he asks. Naughton took a redundancy package from Siemens and established the Seccoto Coffee Roasting Company in his home town of Portarlington. A member of the Laois Food Producers' Group, he will showcase his collection of 100 per cent Arabica coffee at the farmers' market in Lyster Square, Portlaoise, next Friday.
Naughton developed a taste for speciality coffee when he spent a summer working for a coffee roaster in Holland. "My wife, Catherine, and I wanted to set up our own food business, and we had done some coffee roasting at home," he says. Having bought a Probat roaster, grinders and quality control equipment, funded with a LEADER grant, Naughton set out to respond to the growing Irish coffee culture.
The Irish have elements of American and European coffee drinking habits, according to Naughton. "We drink less than the Americans, but we like milky coffees - cappuccinos or lattes rather than espressos," he remarks. His best seller is Corrig Blend, a mix of Central American, Kenyan and Columbian coffee. "I can work with five or six different beans or only a couple of beans, roasted to different levels. Each batch is roasted separately because some beans are physically bigger. It's akin to cooking spuds."
Seccoto Coffee, 15 Foxcroft Court, Portarlington, Co Laois, 0502-40098, info@seccoto.com, www.seccoto.com
JAMMY MOVE
One thing that gives her the edge over her competitors, says Helen Gee from Ballypickas, Co Laois, is that her jam is a hand-made product. "Not many foods are made by hand any more," says the farmer's wife, who went into jam-making eight years ago. "Winning an award at the Abbeyleix Food Fair was a turning point. I decided to concentrate on jam, using Irish ingredients," she says.
Gee's son Clive is now employed doing deliveries, and the company had a €110,000 turnover in the current year. Her jams, chutneys and relishes are sold at the Temple Bar, Naas, Athy, Castlebellingham and Farmleigh farmers' markets. They are also available in delis including Listons of Camden Street, Dublin, and served in restaurants such as the Idahoe in Cork. "Farm shops such as McEvoys and Hickeys in the Louth/Meath area, and the catering trade are a growing market for me," says Gee. "It's not all money for jam," she adds defensively. "It's hard work, too." Another fan of local markets, Gee sees them as attracting business into an area. "They are a huge asset to a town because they increase business in shops, and they also give us direct contact with consumers."
G's Gourmet Jams, Ballypickas, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, 0502-31058
DERRYVILLA BLUEBERRIES
Nuala O'Donoghue, sales and development manager at Derryvilla Blueberry Farm, is keen to see more farmers' markets in Portlaoise and Tullamore. "Some 50 to 60 per cent of our business this year has come from the markets. It's a pity that I have to go to Leopardstown every Friday, rather than local towns." However, people who live nearby can pick their own berries at the 20-acre plantation, split between Portarlington and Walsh Island. Darina Allen, a Laois native, helped develop Derryvilla's blueberry drink, relish and jam. Clients range from local shops to Dublin supermarkets, and Thornton's restaurant. Last summer's yield was 13 tonnes, and the blueberry's status as a super food ensures there is plenty of demand. "We are up against imports, but people appreciate the value of local and Irish food," says O'Donoghue.
Derryvilla Blueberry Farm, Derryvilla, Portarlington, Co Offaly, 087-2466643, info@derryvillablueberries.com; www.derryvillablueberries.com
LEADING THE WAY
Glenbarrow Co-Op, a venture for Laois beef and sheep farmers, was launched in May 2003 and now has more than 300 members. In its first year, 3,000 cattle and 3,500 lambs were supplied; in the second that rose to 8,000 cattle and 5,500 lambs. The idea behind the co-op was "that Laois farmers could take pride in their produce through having a brand name for their own local food."
Anne Goodwin of the Laois rural development scheme (LEADER) says that although branding is a slow process, she finds that farmers are happy with the prices they are getting for quality beef and lamb. She hopes to see the Glenbarrow label in specialist shops. "But it needs to be done on an independent footing because we're not sure if LEADER will be here after 2006. We want to see the farmers and members taking ownership."
In recent years Goodwin has seen a new confidence among those involved in the food and beverage sector in the midlands. Michael Ward, a Borris-in-Ossory man who formerly worked for Glanbia and is now importing Hungarian wines, is among the latest additions. "Things have changed radically since we started out with just three producers," Goodwin says. "Farmers are seeking ways of adding value, and new people are moving in and bringing a quality food ethos with them."
Glenbarrow Farmers Co-Op, c/o Anne Goodwin, Laois LEADER, Peppers' Court, Portlaoise, 0502-61900;
Michael Ward, Award Wine, Clononeen, Borris-in-Ossory, Co Laois, 0505-41553, awardwine@eircom.net
CUSTOMER POWER
When some of Glenisk's organic yoghurt range was temporarily unavailable in Tesco in Portlaoise and Athlone recently, calls from customers flooded into the Killeigh, Co Offaly plant. "That's the great thing about organics, there is a real loyalty there. Customers demand that our ranges be restocked, or they phone us. It's mind-blowing," says managing director Vincent Cleary, one of six members of the 14-strong Cleary clan involved in running the Glenisk business.
Expanding middle-classes with smaller families are focusing on their diets, and while they might be content to buy their chemicals in Aldi and Lidl, many prefer to purchase their yoghurt and cheese from other sources, he contends. Glenisk, which supplies over 1,000 outlets, had a €7 million turnover last year.
"If we had access to the farmers' markets 10 years ago, we would have taken part in them because the product feedback is instant. People will tell you very quickly whether a new product is good or bad, and you can't buy that sort of research," adds Cleary.
Glenisk Organic Yogurt, Newtown, Killeigh, Co Offaly, 0506-44000, www.glenisk.com
MARKET FRESH
Laois Farmer's Market takes place at Lyster Square, Portlaoise, Co Laois next Friday from 9a.m. to 4p.m.