THE RESOLUTION of a legal row over the spice burger has cleared the way for the company that makes it to be sold.
Walsh Family Foods Ltd and Paddy Walsh, son of the creator of the spice burger, said yesterday they had settled their dispute over the secret recipe used to produce one of Irelands few culinary inventions.
In the latest twist to the saga of the spice burger, Mr Walsh agreed to leave its production to the company for three years. The dispute had been due to come back before the High Court shortly but will now be struck out.
The settlement means the way is now clear for the receiver of Walsh Family Foods to sell the company as a going concern. A spokeswoman for receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG said talks on the sale of the company were making good progress and involved a number of interested parties.
Mr Walsh said he hoped the receiver succeeded in finding a buyer for the company in order to preserve the family business.
Last month, Walsh Family Foods secured a number of High Court injunctions against Mr Walsh, who, it claimed, was passing off burgers made by him as its product. The injunctions were set aside after Mr Walsh agreed to give certain undertakings.
Fears over the future of the spice burger were first raised last June when The Irish Times revealed that the product would no longer be manufactured due to the closure of Walsh Family Foods in Finglas, which went into receivership.
However, supplier interest was piqued by campaigns to “save the spice burger”, which were mounted on Facebook and by newspapers. Just two weeks after ending production the company had sufficient orders, to justify a part-time resumption in production.
Spice burgers were invented by butcher Maurice Walsh at his shop in Glasnevin in the early 1950s. His firm, Walsh Family Foods, patented the recipe, which it describes as “a delicious blend of Irish beef, onions, cereals, herbs and spices coated with traditional outer crumb”.
Paddy Walsh and his sister Helen helped develop their fathers business and in 2000 they sold part of it to a consortium for €1.27 million.