Irish family farms excel in Great Taste 2018 awards
When judging of this year’s 12,634 Great Taste entries from around the world was completed, there were 392 Irish winners.
It’s a family affair at Greenvalley Farms Ltd, where the Dunnes produce their Killowen Farm yoghurts.
Nicholas Dunne milks 200 cows all year round on his Courtnacuddy, Co Wexford, farm. Wife Judith is involved in distribution of the yoghurt, sister Pauline does sales and marketing, while his children (Charlie aged 16; Martha, 15; and Anna, 12) are called in for weekend duty.
“Charlie helps with the milking and so does Martha. They often help putting orders together,” says Pauline.
Killowen Farm yoghurts won six awards at this year’s Great Taste awards, the Oscars of the food world, for which entries from around the world totalled 12,634 this year.
Their Greek Style Yogurt with Lemon Curd won two stars, while five yoghurts each received one star (listed below). One of the first artisan yoghurts to be made in Ireland, the Killowen Farm product has been perfected over 30 years, having originally been made by Paul and Lorna Kinsella, before production moved to the Dunnes’ dairy farm about 10 years ago.
The move was prompted by a constellation of circumstances.
“We were trying to grow the business, to look outside milking cows, and see what other opportunities there were. Lorna and Paul were retiring, and the opportunity came up to take over the business. There were different incentives – ,Teagasc was looking at helping farmers make cheeses and ice cream,” says Pauline.
Killowen Farm yogurt production revolves around a three-day cycle.
Day one, make it; day two, pack it; day three, distribute it. With no additives, colouring, flavouring or preservatives, the gluten-free product has a 28-day shelf-life.
First-time Great Taste award winners Joe and Sandra Burns garnered a one-star award for their Joe’s Farm Carrot, Parsnip & Beetroot Crisps in London last month.
Sandra recalls tasting vegetable crisps when the couple visited Joe’s sister in Boston 10 years ago.
“We never thought we’d end up producing them ourselves,” she says, adding that the catalyst was the Christmas 2012 supermarket vegetable price wars.
“Vegetables went down to 49c, and then to 5c.
“You can’t produce a bunch of carrots for 5c, let alone sell it and make a profit. We had to change and diversify.”
The couple were already growing carrots, parsnips and beetroot on their 36-acre mixed vegetable and tillage farm in Killeagh.
“We felt we had to do something with what we already had,” says the mum of two.
“It’s going well. It’s building every year. We did the Ploughing Championships and Dingle Food Festival just recently. We’re in 80 independent stores and in 20 SuperValu stores.”
Great Taste 2018 saw 300 one-star awards head to Ireland (we listed the three-star products last week).
Here are 150 of the one-star winners, more to follow next week.
