Taste the Nation: How one woman found success making relish in Cahersiveen

Eve's Leaves grew roots in Yvonne McKay's back garden and today is a successful business supplying some of Kerry's top hotels

Yvonne McKay of Eve's Leaves relish plans to bring her delicious product range nationwide.  

When Yvonne McKay began growing her own vegetables in her Cahersiveen garden back in the early 2000s, she had no idea what the future would bring.

An “Irish girl brought up in the UK,” McKay and her husband made their home in Kerry after a holiday to the Kingdom that they couldn’t bear to end.

Committed to homegrown produce from an early age, McKay had always grown her own food, but when a local chef came knocking on her door wondering if she might consider supplying his restaurant with salad leaves, she realised that her passion could become a business.

Chemical-free growing 

Eve’s Leaves was born in 2015, originally supplying fresh vegetables and leaves, but the business quickly pivoted to focus on the preserves that Yvonne made from produce grown in her garden.

Today, her business is primarily based around her range of relishes, which are used by many of the five-star hotels on the Ring of Kerry route.

“The relishes came about because of a glut of tomatoes that I had grown,” says McKay. “Initially I made a few different kinds of relish and took them to a farmer’s market in Caherdaniel and I couldn’t make it fast enough.” 

Her first product was a tomato chilli relish, flavoured with ginger and a top-secret blend of spices. Since then, the range has expanded to include Piccalilli, smokey tomato relish, roast pepper relish and a beetroot and balsamic product which she says is heavenly with goat’s cheese or pulled pork.

The range now includes five products. 

From an initial shelf placement in a shop in Waterville, today Yvonne supplies multiple retail outlets around Ireland including Arnott’s, Ardkeen in Waterford, Cavistons and Nolans in Dublin and McCambridges in Galway, as well as a number of hotels and gastropubs, making the relish fresh to order every week.

She has recently expanded into sweet preserves, coming up with new flavour combinations to enthral her customer base.

“We make things like orange and Tia Maria marmalade, lemon, marmalade, chocolate and orange preserve and strawberry and vanilla.” 

Living on the edge

Since starting Eve’s Leaves, McKay says that her life has changed immeasurably.

“We live on this little edge of the world. Cahersiveen is right there on the Ring of Kerry. We live at the bottom of Cnoc na d’Tobar and it’s not an easy place to make a living, you know? It is a tourist-driven area and it is so seasonal. 

So from starting out as a self-sufficient little life to making a business out of it is a dream come true.” 

From what began as homegrown chemical-free fruit and vegetables with a few hens to provide eggs, McKay has created a thriving business. 

True partnership

It’s not just her though. Yvonne says that without her husband Eamonn, Eve’s Leaves would not be where it is today.

“When we moved here, Eamonn was travelling between here and the UK for work until we decided that we didn’t move here for him to be there and me to be here.” 

Eamonn came into the business with Yvonne and they are now a proud husband and wife team. 

“If it weren’t for Eamonn, I wouldn’t be in business,” she says.

“He is the backbone of this business with me and we love working as a team.”

 They have roped their son in too, for as long as he is willing. He has just finished his degree in Cork and for now, he is delivering their relishes along the ring of Kerry every day.

“It’s a long day,” says Yvonne. “When you start out in Cahersiveen and head all the way to Killarney, Tralee and Dingle, it is quite a distance to cover – especially at this time of year.” Support from local businesses and the community – both tourist and year-round – is the bedrock of the Eve’s Leaves brand.

Turning over a new leaf

Having her name on the menus of some of the country’s most renowned menus is something that never grows old for the producer.

“When the relish first went into the Gleneagle hotel, the chef sent me a photo of the new menu and it actually said ‘Eve’s Leaves relish’ on the menu. I was so wowed by that. Now, we are a recognised name here in Kerry, and we are so thrilled.” 

 So what’s next for the company? The plan is to bring Eve’s Leaves nationwide. “For years we have been verging on it, but of course, lockdown delayed things. Our dream is to be a household name.” 

www.evesleaves.ie