by Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

One of the tastes of summer is most definitely that of a fresh strawberry, eaten in the (hopefully!) West Cork sunshine. In West Cork, we are so lucky to have Union Hall and Bushby’s strawberries on our doorstep. What makes our local strawberries special is not just our rich West Cork soil, but the way they are grown. Instead of using harmful pesticides to manage pests that might damage the crop, Bushby’s uses other beneficial insects in a preventative role. This means what ends up on your plate is as clean and natural as it gets. Hotels, restaurants and food lovers across West Cork all make local strawberries their preferred choice, for that exact reason. And if you’ve ever tried them, you’ll know what we mean. 

Strawberries are packed with Vitamin C, so one small bowl gives you more than your daily dose. They are also full of fibre, which is great for your gut, and they have natural sugars that give you energy.

This summer, keep an eye out for the Alpine strawberry, a tiny wild strawberry, which you might know as sú talún fiáin in Irish. It grows in hedgerows, along woodland edges and on grassy banks .These are much smaller than the ones you buy, but the flavour is intense and sweet in a way that is hard to describe until you have tried one. Top tip: you might find some near the playground in Dunmanway! Wild strawberries are perennial, meaning they come back every year in the same spot once established.  

Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow at home: in a garden bed, a pot on a windowsill, or even a hanging basket. They like sunshine and well-drained soil. Plant them in spring and you could be picking your own by June or July. Once the plant finishes fruiting, it sends out runners, which are long thin stems with a baby plant at the end. You can pot those up and they will grow. So one plant can become many.

Strawberry frozen yoghurt pops

We have a tasty – and healthy – recipe for you! These frozen strawberry pops are brilliant on a warm day and they could not be simpler to make. You will need ice lolly moulds, which you can find in most supermarkets or hardware shops.

You will need:

•  250g strawberries

• 120g natural yoghurt

• 1 tablespoon of honey

There are two ways to make these: You can either just blitz the strawberries in a blender and freeze in moulds – these are delicious on their own, and great for teething babies, too.

Or, combine with the ingredients above. If you don’t have fresh strawberries, frozen is fine! Mix in the yoghurt and honey and stir until combined. Pour into your lolly moulds, insert the sticks, and freeze for at least four hours, or overnight. To release, run the outside of the mould briefly under warm water.

Tips: Strawberries freeze beautifully on their own too. Take out the stems, and freeze in a bag. Frozen strawberries are perfect for smoothies, porridge toppings, or blitzing into a quick sauce for pancakes.

Fruit skewers with chocolate dip

Thread chunks of strawberry, banana, apple, and whatever fruit you have, onto wooden skewers. For a dip, melt a bar of good dark or milk chocolate in a bowl set over hot water, stirring gently until smooth. Dip and eat immediately.  

Chocolate-covered strawberries

Wash and dry a punnet of strawberries and set aside. Line a baking tray. Melt good quality dark chocolate (we like 70pc cocoa). Dip strawberries into it and lay out on a baking tray to harden. Pop in the fridge or freezer and enjoy once chocolate has set.

Did you know?

Unlike most fruits, the seeds of the strawberry are on the outside. If you’ve ever bought a packet of strawberry seeds, you’ll know that they are tiny: those tiny yellow specks you see on the skin. A strawberry is not actually a berry at all, in the botanical sense. Bananas and avocados are true berries. The strawberry, meanwhile, belongs to the rose family, which perhaps explains why it smells so good.

We love the surprises Irish holds: ‘sú’ is from Old Irish, meaning juice or berry, and ‘talún’, comes from ‘talamh’, meaning earth or ground. So strawberry means ‘berry of the ground’ or ‘ground berry’.

Fun Facts

• The average strawberry has around 200 seeds.

• Strawberries were used in medieval times to treat everything from fevers to sore throats.

• The world’s heaviest strawberry on record weighed 289g, roughly the same as a small tin of beans.

• In Japan, strawberries are so precious that a single perfect fruit can sell for several euros.

Follow us for more news about our cooking and gardening workshops in West Cork schools: Instagram: @kidsfoodrevolution. Newsletter: kidsfoodrevolution.substack.com. Website: www.kidsfoodrevolution.com.

For me, like many of us, food and wine is an essential element of travel. In my case, wine plays a leading role. Apparently the ancient Romans had a similar outlook, some theorising that their empire extended only to the limits of where wine could be produced. This is not a historical fact, I might need to clarify it with the more qualified historians in this very paper!

Wine provides a perfect route for exploring, though. Our European neighbours have great diversity in their wine styles and regions, a path which leads to discovering more about a country’s food, history, language and culture. 

Travelling by car is the easiest way to explore wine country, as vineyards are usually outside of the main centres. That said, there are always tours into the heart of the wine regions which can be booked for a day trip, or a bike tour, though be careful on that bike after a few samples.

I love to see a hand-painted sign pointing down a farm track. This usually promises a more interesting experience than a swish, glass-fronted building in the centre of town. Here, you’ll meet the winemaker with her husband, sister and grandad, see where the vines grow, smell the fermenting juice in the cellar, and hear the story of the business, often going back generations. Many also offer agri-tourism, or ‘agriturismo’ in Italy – farm stays where you are immersed in the local food and wine, seeing the production all around you, whether vines, olive groves, vegetable gardens or farm animals.

When we’re eating in restaurants on holiday, I always ask for the most local wine, which is generally the best wine to pair with the local food. It also regularly leads us on a journey. Last year, in Bayonne, the wine we were recommended was from Irouleguy, a tiny Basque wine region I had never heard of. I looked up the vineyard and called them, arranging a visit the next day. We travelled up into the foothills of the Pyrenees, to St. Jean Pied de Pont, a town milling with pilgrims starting the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. We tasted their wines surrounded by vines, were given chunks of a sister’s sheep’s cheese, and the spicy local Espellette pepper. We heard of the survival of their own language in the area, the winemaker’s children going to the Basque equivalent of the Gaelscoil in the town. 

In north-east Italy, look out for a ‘Frasca’ sign on the side of the road. This will lead you to a farm which produces wine and serves simple snacks of cheese and salami. You’ll eat and drink outside at a wooden table, and meet the people who are producing your meal. It’s a delicious way to learn about the area, always discovering a new grape variety or method of production. 

In Sardnia, we learned a valuable lesson. We hired bikes to cycle to a famous vineyard a few kilometres outside Alghero. The road was narrow and busy, the vineyard glossy and soulless. When we returned the bikes and told of our experience, the owner told us of a gorgeous small winery he would have recommended, reachable by an off-road cycle track. Now I know – ask the bike shop guy where to go, not Google.  

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best food is found in the heart of the wine-producing regions. Vallidolid in northern Spain is close to many wine regions, producing a range of styles to please every wine lover. The food in the town is among the best in Spain, whether you graze on tapas or sit down for the works. You’ll drink wines by the glass from the region, and you are always rewarded by asking for a recommendation, rather than playing safe with the name you recognise.

Every region has its own distinct grape varieties, making a style of wine which reflects where it comes from. It is the best wine to drink with the food of the area, as they have grown up together over centuries. Markets are another great way of discovering local wines, as there are often a few local producers showing their wares. They are always keen to talk about the history of their farm, explain the different wine styles they produce, and the ideal food to go with their wine is found close by on the other market stalls.  

Heading off in search of these small vineyards in remote places has led us to discover parts of the country we would otherwise have never found, and met people who gave us an insight into the heart and soul of the region. 

We got ourselves a completely new commission this month, babysitting our grandson in Budapest, all expenses paid. It was an offer impossible to refuse, especially as we’d never been to Hungary before

It’s been a new experience, exploring an unknown city with a four-year-old who does find the city remarkable, but is far more excited by the trams, chasing pigeons and playgrounds. Fortunately our apartment sits on a square with a playground in front, a great bakery just up the road and a corner shop, which makes it the perfect location. 

We’re staying in district VIII, which is  a little run down. Behind the grand boulevards there are beautiful old buildings – ‘huge’ as the four old year notes – with crumbling facades, amazing architecture and trees bursting into leaf and flower. At first it brought to mind Berlin with a touch of Havana, but it’s a city of plenty, so it’s only the crumbling facades that have anything in common with Cuba, and I think that’s particular to the area where we are staying.  According to the playground gossip Victor Orban wasn’t very interested in this district. It’s a lively neighbourhood where the people live and there are many independent and funky shops. Downtown is a lot smarter.

On the food front it’s very meaty, hardly surprising, as Hungary is landlocked – surrounded by seven other countries. The local menus aren’t very appealing or suitable for vegetarians but there are plenty of other choices – Italian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lebanese….  And there are also ‘langos’. 

I’d read about langos, which are a local speciality and, as they are vegetarian, I was keen to try some. I thought they would be available everywhere but they took a little tracking down. The langos shop we found was a one person operation with a fridge full of dough balls, an extra-wide deep fat fryer and a selection of optional toppings. We went for the classic langos; brushed with garlic paste followed by a generous smear of sour cream and lashings of grated cheese. They are ‘huge’ and quite the vampire deterrent – the garlic is full on. 

I had hoped it would be the recipe I would share. I quizzed the young woman who prepared ours and she said they were very simple and could even be prepared at home. All that is needed is the dough, garlic paste, sour cream and grated cheese plus oil to fry them in. The ‘at home’ version requires a deep frying pan with a decent depth of oil. You heat the oil, flatten a portion of dough in your hands, then dip it in the hot oil before stretching it like a pizza. When it’s about 30cm in diameter you need to ‘frisbee it into the oil, jumping back at the same time’ to avoid any splashes. Cook it until it puffs up and is golden on each side before dressing as aforementioned. They really are mighty. We shared one – for breakfast – and couldn’t quite finish it. To tell the truth, it didn’t leave a feel good feeling, landing in a doughy greasy lump in our stomachs. Definitely not a healthy food. They are probably great for drinking and soakage purposes but not so good for breakfast.  

This blew my recipe idea for this month although you have enough information above to give it a go. Instead we have emergency corner shop soup made with a can of lentils and the few veg the shop sold. I added some paprika – which is sold everywhere,  to give it a goulash air, which is of course the Hungarian national dish. 

It’s simple and delicious and, as we’re all waiting for the new season produce to grow, it will fill the ‘hungry gap’.

Emergency
Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 can lentils

• 1 onion

• 100mls olive oil

• 1-2 carrots

• 1 potato

• 2-3  cloves garlic

• 1 bay leaf (found in the cupboard)

• Half can tomatoes or left over pasta sauce

• 1 heaped tsp paprika

• 700mls water

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• Salt and pepper

Method: Peel and chop the onion. Heat a pan, add the olive oil and onion. 

Peel and dice the carrot and add to the pan.

Peel and dice the potato and add to the pan.

Season the vegetables with a little salt and add the bay leaf. Cook everything together for about ten minutes, string regularly so that they don’t stick. This gentle cooking ensures the onions and carrots sweeten and opens up their flavour.

Add the lentils, tomatoes or sauce, paprika and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for fifteen minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Check the seasoning, add more salt if needed and a little cracked black pepper. If it’s too thick, thin with a little water or vegetable stock and you are ready to go. Of course if you have any fresh parsley at hand you could serve it chopped and sprinkled on top. Very tasty! 

Looking forwards to a sunny May!

Ten years ago, Simon Kershaw landed in West Cork fresh from a decade of cooking across America – first in Boston, then San Francisco and New Orleans. Time flies when you’re doing something you love and it wasn’t long before the Dublin native branched out on his own with ’Ceapairí’.

After working for a time at Gubbeen, where he dipped his toes into cheesemaking before moving to the smokehouse, the spark to start up his own food business originated from a classic: the Reuben. “It’s still my favourite sandwich,” says Simon. He started curing his own salt beef, baking his own bread, and chasing that perfect toasted sandwich.

With the purchase of a food truck and Simon baking bread, with Liz on the sweet treats, anyone smart enough to seek them out discovered what ‘proper’ toasted sandwiches tasted like. The Reuben was the star: The key ingredient – rye and wholemeal sourdough – was perfected while Simon was working with Ryan at Pike Deli in Clonakilty. That recipe hasn’t changed and Pike Deli still supplies the sourdough bread.

What really sets this small business apart is the sheer amount of work done in-house. Almost everything is made from scratch, and for the few things that aren’t, Simon buys the best he can afford.

The latest chapter has seen ‘Ceapairí’ settle into its first proper home: the Kitchen Stories space on Staball Hill in Ballydehob. It’s a step up from the food truck days, offering room to experiment and grow. Alongside the move came a new online ordering platform at ceapairi.tenvito.com, built with the help of Suz at Tenvito. The system has been a game-changer with less food waste, better organisation, and the peace of mind for customers travelling from afar that their sandwich is waiting for them – no sold-out disappointments.

With a restaurant now under his belt, Simon is looking ahead. The sandwich menu remains the anchor of the business, but nighttime cooking and expanded offerings are on the horizon. “The sky’s the limit,” he says.

Through it all, the local community has been of great support. Joanne, the owner of Kitchen Stories, has been generous with her time and knowledge and the well-wishers and regulars are part of this success story.

For a cook who loves to feed people, there’s no greater gift than doing it in the town you call home.

Keep an eye on Instagram for more updates.

When Méabh and Ronan, the creators of OTOFU, the West Cork tofu company, first met, they spent their weekends going for long, blustery walks on the beaches of West Cork, followed by hours cooking up delicious meals together.  

Although they are neither vegan nor vegetarian, the pair particularly enjoy Asian cuisine and a plant-rich diet. And they ‘love’ tofu. In fact, it was this love that inspired them to start OTOFU in the first place. They wanted to show people how deliciously versatile tofu can be, how easy it is to cook, and the many, many health benefits that go with it.

Based in Ballylickey, just outside Bantry, OTOFU is now in its fourth year. During this time, Méabh and Ronan have moved house (twice!), and renovated their home with their two young boys in tow. It has been a wild ride so far.

You really don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy tofu. It is a highly versatile food and cooking it is as simple as frying it in a pan with a little oil. You can roast it in the oven, pop it in the air-fryer, or even just chop it up straight from the pack and throw it into a curry. You can breadcrumb it, tear it, ‘fillet’ it, mince it, scramble it, cook it in a meat based dish or just marinade it to get the flavours you want. You can even freeze it (be sure to defrost for 24 hours in the fridge before cooking), which changes the texture to be crispier and chewier, as well as allowing it to absorb way more marinade, like a sponge. There are so many different things to be done with tofu it is definitely worth experimenting to find your favourite way to enjoy this super food (see some of Méabh and Ronan’s top recipes below).

In the past, people have called tofu tasteless and boring – it is anything but! It is a blank canvas for the flavours ‘you’ want to add to it. And OTOFU’s handmade tofu makes the perfect canvas. Many vegan and vegetarian protein alternatives are often highly processed with long lists of ingredients. But tofu just had two key ingredients, and making it is similar to making cheese. OTOFU employs the same traditional, basic process that has been used for hundreds of years. 

Ronan makes the tofu himself fresh every week. He has a background in food production and artisanal cheesemaking and is a true craftsman in everything he turns his hand to. Meanwhile, Méabh looks after all of the marketing, administration, orders, and even delivers the tofu herself. You might have seen her zipping around West Cork and Cork City in the company van. This is a family-run, family-owned, local business in the truest sense. And unlike many products which decline in quality over time, OTOFU’s tofu has only gotten better. With some help from modern machinery and a grant from the Cork North and West Local Enterprise Office, the company have been able to triple their output per day, since they began trading, while ensuring the quality stays at the very top.

And it is not only a delicious, versatile food – tofu is really good for you. It is what’s called a ‘complete protein’. To get a bit technical for a second, basically our bodies need different combinations of amino acids to make the proteins that we need to live a healthy life. However, we can only get nine of these amino acids through food, as the body can’t make them itself. Tofu contains all nine of these essential amino acids, making it a ‘complete protein’, which is similar to eating meat, fish, dairy products and eggs. Many other sources of plant-based proteins are ‘incomplete’ and need to be combined with other foods. The goodness from these foods is then harder to absorb into the body, which means you have to eat more of them – and also absorb more calories and fat – to get the same effect. This isn’t the case with tofu. It really is a super food.

Also OTOFU only uses organic, European grown, non-GMO soybeans, so there are no links to deforestation and they are certified in Ireland with the Organic Trust. The company is also the only Irish tofu you’ll find in your health shops or on the supermarket shelves, with all the other brands being imported.

Have you heard enough? Curious to try it for yourself? Well, fulfill that curious craving by cooking OTOFU, and in doing so support a lighter way to live, locally.

Some of Méabh and Ronan’s favourite ways to eat tofu include:  

Oven roasted Korean chilli tofu, served with Asian slaw and home cooked oven chips, with a side of kimchi and spicy pink sauce (mix mayo, ketchup and hot sauce).

Air-fried Miso sesame tofu, tossed in corn-starch and drizzled with a little veg oil before air-frying for 20 mins at 200 degrees Celsius, shaking a few times while cooking, served with tamari noodles, sesame seeds and broccolini (a favourite for the kids).

Miso and Mushroom Stew, using homemade chicken broth or veg stock, with a miso paste, chunks of plain tofu, mushrooms, courgettes onions and red chillies, served with spring onions, toasted sesame oil and bowls of steaming rice.

Breadcrumbed fillets of tofu – to create the fillets, slice a block of plain OTOFU lengthways in two and then in half again crossways, marinade in soy sauce or tamari for 10-15 mins. Dip lightly in flour or corn starch, roll in seasoned breadcrumbs (or even better home-made herby stuffing) and shallow fry in a generous amount of veg oil on all sides until golden and crispy. Serve with mashed potato, roasted veg and herby, red wine onion gravy if desired.

For full information on all recipes please follow OTOFU.ie on Instagram.

Annmarie Menzies and Ryan Hoy, originally from East Cork and Fermanagh, share a passion for food. After years of working in a variety of food businesses both in Ireland and abroad,  the couple, along with their young daughter, relocated to West Cork seven years ago seeking a life in nature. Running their own food business remained “an itch they couldn’t ignore” and, in 2023, Annmarie and Ryan opened Pike Deli in Clonakilty together.

Annmarie, who initially trained in fine art, is a painter inspired by the surrounding countryside and coastline. Alongside her creative pursuits, she has spent many years working in the food industry. Ryan, meanwhile, has dedicated over two decades to working in kitchens, where he developed a particular fascination with bread-making, which would later become central to their shared venture.

Fully aware of the challenges facing small independent businesses, they approached their business venture with both realism and determination. Their aim was not only to sustain a business but to create an inspiring work environment, built around a close-knit team and a shared love of good food.

From the outset, ingredients have been centre-stage at Pike Deli. Living in West Cork provides access to an abundance of small-scale, local suppliers: Vegetables from John in Timoleague, Mark in Bealad, Lea in Ballydehob and Jason in Ardfield; milk from Paddy in Kilbrittain; chocolates from Niamh in Clonakilty; fresh eggs from Declan; flowers from Renée in Ballydehob; oils, cheeses and meats from Gik; butchery from the Allshires; and pantry items from Jenny and Toby.

Flour is the cornerstone of their business. Recognising its importance, both in quality and cost, they chose to work with Wildfarmed in the UK, a company leading the way in regenerative wheat production. Their methods – growing wheat in diverse, polycropped systems and focusing on soil health – aligned with Annmarie and Ryan’s values. While they hope to eventually source grain locally, they acknowledge that Ireland’s grain culture is still developing, though promising progress is being made with heritage and alternative grains. “This is an exciting time for Irish flour. Keep your eyes peeled for feature loaves on the shelves in 2026,” says Ryan.

Since opening, they have witnessed a significant rise in demand for authentic sourdough bread. “Real sourdough, not to be confused with the surreptitiously marketed supermarket ‘sourdough’ or ‘sourfaux’ as it’s known in baking circles, is made using flour, water and salt,” explains Ryan. “Nothing else. No magic chemicals to suspend its decay, no water from the fountain of youth, just simple grains and healthy bacteria doing the work so your gut doesn’t have to.”

Looking ahead, the couple will continue to focus on baking and selling high-quality bread, source the most nutritious and flavourful grains available, and educate customers about the value of real sourdough. They believe that once people embrace it as a staple, there is little need to return to conventional sliced bread.

Reflecting on their journey so far, the highlights extend beyond the products themselves. The sense of community – both within their team and among their customers – has been a highlight. “Our chefs creating a magical sweet pastry in high summer, using in season fruit from a few kilometres away, seeing the pride in their faces as it lands on the counter. The sheer, childlike joy on a customer’s face, as they try to navigate its journey down their gullet. It’s the exact reason we all keep going!”

Partners in life and business, The Fish Basket’s owners, Peter and Elaine Shanahan, are celebrating eight successful years at this popular coastal location. What started out as a humble food truck serving fish and chips at the side of the road in Rosscarbery is now a thriving all-year-round business with summer opening hours – 9am-6pm seven days a week – kicking off at the end of June.

While Peter and Elaine are hands-on in the business, they credit their team with the smooth running of this operation. “We’ve a great team who have been with us a long time,” says Peter. The couple run a tight ship and when Peter’s not prepping fish or chipping potatoes, he is managing front-of-house, while chef and baker Elaine keeps the kitchen running smoothly and is responsible for all the delicious home-baked goods on display. Their three children also help out.

Serving breakfast, lunch and West Cork Coffee, The Fish Basket offers a small but consistent great value menu using quality, seasonal and local ingredients wherever possible: The fish comes from Glenmar in UnionHall and the organic salad leaves are grown in Bantry by Radical Roots.

While fish and chips is a firm favourite, the scampi and fish tacos also rank very favourably with customers.

Inside you’ll find a warm inviting space with a quirky collection of memorabilia and vintage furniture, all with a story to tell. Signs like ‘Swimsuits are optional beyond this point’ induce the occasional double take on the way to the toilet and you might just find yourself eating fish and chips on a tailor’s table salvaged from Savile Row. The large mirror on the wall has travelled all the way from a train station in Russia while the old phone once belonged to Limerick Prison. “There’s a story to the story in this place,” says Peter laughing.

Out front the covered seating area offers the best view of the ocean and dogs (and their owners) are welcome to enjoy the space.

While Peter and Elaine aren’t afraid to dream big, with the current economic climate bringing a myriad of challenges, they don’t want to rock the boat for now. “We’re happy just to keep our standard high and customers happy,” says Peter. Looking to the future, he says their hope would be to open seven days a week all year round.

The Fish Basket is currently open Thursday-Monday, 9am-5pm. Summer hours kick in at the end of June. Keep an eye on their Socials – updated regularly by Liz of Coffee House Creative – for more details.

Check out the menu at www.thefishbasket.ie.

What does organic beef farming and homeopathy have in common: Claire Hurley, the force of nature who returned to her West Cork roots in 2009 to take over the 55-acre family farm, despite its uphill challenges. Claire farms an upland hilly farm in the townland of Gortnaclohy (field of the stones) near Skibbereen. “That should tell you everything,” she tells Mary O’Brien, laughing. Determined to bypass the Industrial Revolution altogether, by pairing the hardy, ancient genetics of Belted Galloway cattle with holistic animal health principles and organic standards, Claire has built a ‘birth-to-burger’ enterprise that prioritises animal welfare and soil health above all else.

Before becoming a farmer, Claire studied and worked in horticulture before going on to study and qualify as a homeopath.

She has fond memories of a childhood with her grandfather, when they “tilled small fields of fodder beet, potato’s and mangles with a single draft horse”. Mainstream methods of farming felt unsuited to her, as she had “neither the capital or motivation to intensively reclaim or fertilise such a rough landscape or to erect a large slatted shed that would never seen a return of my investment”.

Initially Claire bought four heifers from County Clare, “raising more than a few eyebrows as the breed was a rare and peculiar sight at the time.” In 2011 she acquired a bull, and in 2013 she slaughtered her first animal and sold weanlings. The frozen meat proved a difficult sell at the time. In 2015 she completed a diploma in Speciality Food production at UCC to better familiarise herself with food legislation, labelling, safety and training. Through this course she many gained friends but also confidence in what she was producing – a quality and ethical product.

In 2017 her friend Andy was selling his small food trailer and, as she puts it, “the rest as they say is history”.

Her hot food stall is now a regular sight at the Skibbereen Farmers’ Market every Saturday, and from Easter Sunday and every Sunday until the end of September at Schull Country Market. The main attraction is the Belted Galloway organic Beef Burger on a choice of bread roll – sourdough, ancient grain or brioche – with cheddar or Gubbeen cheese, and homegrown organic onions, tomatoes, gerkins and salad. They also serve a breakfast with the same choice of bread, an organic egg, Baltimore Pig (nitrite free) bacon and homegrown organic onions, salad and tomatoes.  Claire says it’s “a great sense of satisfaction when you serve the beef burger, salad, tomatoes, onions and lettuce that you have grown and cooked yourself!” A selection of frozen meat is always available at the stall.

Claire began her conversion to organic farming in 2010, “sure of the fact that I would continue to farm the land in the way it had always been done”. Having sold the remaining animals, she researched what sort of animal would best fit the habitat, and “landed on the Belted Galloway”, a breed that thrives on a grass-based diet and natural grazing. “They have a longer gastro-intestinal tract, which gives them the pot-bellied appearance, better to extract nutrients from rough grazing and convert into a nutrient dense meat. The breed has the rare ability to marble first and then put on backfat, they do not develop much fat under their hides; instead have a double coat of hair which provides excellent protection in cold, wet and windy weather, perfect for out wintering. They are naturally polled so no requirement for dehorning.” Excess grass in summertime is baled as haylage and supplementary fed so the herd can maintain a natural life as possible. “They are easy calving and excellent mothers so need minimal intervention.”

Claire believes that it has never been more important than now to move away from large-scale, long chain food production to more local agriculture. “Where food production systems rely upon a network of small, usually sustainably-run, family farms, which takes into consideration; the soil type and climate lending to the type of crop or animal to be grown there,” she explains. In her opinion, “Organic farming has not got the dependency on artificial fertilisers, vaccines, antibiotics, vaccines or petrochemicals.”

Homeopathy –  a system of medicine that uses highly diluted substances to trigger the body’s natural healing – plays a significant role in her farming practice. “A key principle would be the observation of signs and symptoms indicating the nature of the imbalance, be that plant or animal or human,” shares Claire, who has used homeopathy in a variety of cases such as calf scour, retained cleaning and a horse with an eye injury. In 2019 she did some training with Homeopathy at Wellie Level to teach the responsible use of homeopathy on the farm, though “Covid brought this to a halt”.

Farming has not been without its challenges. Beginning in September 2024, her herd succumbed to TB. “I ended up losing just under half my herd which included my in-calf cows and heifers, along with the genetics built up over the years.” In 2025, with much reduced stock, she wasn’t sure she would continue, but in November she purchased six organic Belted Galloways from Brennus on Cape Clear. “As the seasons have rolled around new calves have arrived from the remaining herd and life on the farm has returned to normal.”

Looking back, Claire reflects that “things have progressed so far, I never set out to be producing and cooking all my own produce at the Farmers’ markets but I suppose each step borrowed another and as you try to hone and perfect each stage you realise you’re halfway through something else!”

Her philosophy on animal welfare is clear: “An animal that is reared on a natural diet, with its mother, in its family grouping – free of pain and unnecessary intervention – gives it the best chance to be as healthy as possible and without vaccines and antibiotics; and when the time comes – to be transported and handled and slaughtered humanely. I think the consumer appreciates the fact that the animal, which is consumed, is well-looked-after from birth to death, lives a relatively free and good life. As humans, if we are choosing to eat meat, that is the least we can do for the animal who gives his or her life. That every step in that journey is carried out in the best interest of that animal.”

Each stage of the process has been a huge learning curve, from the animal rearing to handling and cooking the end product. The slaughtering process, meat hanging and cutting is carried out by MJ O’Neills in Clonakilty, “whose expertise is vital and without whose help none of it would be possible”.

Farmers’ markets provide more than just income. “Farmers markets are a huge social hub and have a huge sense of community so I do look forward to starting back after a long winter just feeding and talking to cows!” She still keeps horses and enjoys regular lessons, having purchased a young Irish Draught mare which she’s breaking in at the moment. “Of course the horses give the benefit of a mixed grazing system which is very important in organic farming as it interrupts the parasite life cycle. As if I need an excuse!”

Recently Claire has joined the pop up shop at Levis’ in Ballydehob to sell a selection of frozen organic meat. It is a one stop shop for tasty local ingredients in an iconic setting from 9:30am to 12:30pm each Wednesday.

If you’ve walked the Old Head of Kinsale loop this past year, you will have passed by the McCarthy family farm and Old Head Milk shop. If you’re a daily milk drinker then undoubtedly you will also by now be a regular customer. The Atlantic ocean offers a spectacular backdrop to the cows contentedly chewing the cud on the green pastures a stone’s throw from the shop – you won’t get much closer to the ‘from farm to fork’ (or in this case ‘from farm to bottle’) experience than this. Happy cows lead to happy customers and the rich creaminess of the pasteurised, non-homogenised milk from the McCarthy herd and the consistent footfall since the coastal farm shop opened last July is testament to this writes Mary O’Brien.

The 39-acre dairy farm on the Old Head has been in the family for generations – inherited from the Dempsey’s – and today is run by Gerard McCarthy and his son Stephen. Originally operating as a dry stock and tillage farm, Gerard and his wife Anne transitioned into dairy in the mid-1990s when new entrant schemes made it viable, starting modestly with just 14 cows. “Times were very different back then,” notes Gerard, reflecting on a time before milk quotas were abolished in 2015. That regulatory change allowed the herd to expand significantly and today the McCarthy’s milk around eighty cows.

For years, the natural rhythm of a busy dairy farm meant early mornings and long days, with both Gerard and Stephen also working off farm – Gerard as a general builder and Stephen as a carpenter.

“We were burning the candle at both ends,” says Stephen, who was eager to spend more time with his young family.  The solution came in the form of a farm shop, an idea sparked by similar successful ventures in the UK and Northern Ireland.

After researching equipment and visiting other farm milk shops, the family took the plunge in 2021 once approval was granted from the Department of Agriculture. Stephen and Gerard designed the layout of the shop and started building, making a sizeable investment into vending machines and a top-of-the-range pasteurisation system. The result is a sleek, user-friendly operation that bridges traditional farming and modern convenience.

With Stephen’s wife, Louise, the creative force behind the initiative, the farm shop, which opened at the end of July last year, has transformed their operation.

Behind the scenes, raw milk travels via pipeline from the milking parlour’s bulk tank across the yard to a dedicated pasteurisation room – an immaculate space with resin floors and stainless steel fixtures. There, the milk is heated to 76-78 degrees Celsius, cooled through regeneration, and chilled to 4-5 degrees before storage. Every batch undergoes rigorous testing: antibiotic checks pre-pasteurisation and phosphatase tests post-pasteurisation to ensure harmful bacteria are eliminated. “It’s spotless,” says Stephen of the room, where data loggers track temperatures for Department of Agriculture compliance.

Front of house, customers find a self-service experience designed with sustainability at its core. Glass bottles – €3.50 for a litre, €2.50 for a half-litre – are purchased once and returned for refills, eliminating single-use plastic. The milk itself, pasteurised but non-homogenised – €2 for a litre and €1 for a half-litre – retains its natural cream line. “If you leave it settling for a couple of hours, you’ll see a layer of cream sitting on top,” explains Stephen. “Give it a shake and you’ve got that fuller consistency.” The difference from standard shop-bought milk is immediately apparent – parents frequently report that children who refuse milk at home will happily drink the McCarthys’ creamy offering, often enhanced with flavourings available via an honesty box.

The shop also serves freshly ground coffee and hot chocolate – milky and delicious due to the creamy milk – and has outdoor seating, which is particularly popular with beach-goers and walkers exploring the Old Head loop. “We get a lot of walkers,” says Stephen, noting that even on quiet winter mornings, half a dozen cars might fill the car park on a nice day. The family atmosphere extends to the business itself: daughters Amelia (6) and Shóna (4) have their own jobs, emptying bins and stacking bottles, while Louise manages the decor and daily cleaning.

The operation remains deliberately local. Unlike supplying the co-operative, which they still do with the bulk of their milk, the shop requires customers to come to the source. “We kind of want to stay around here,” says Stephen, explaining that delivery would add unsustainable complexity.

Instead, they focus on the experience: fresh milk drawn from cows grazing with ocean views, served in a spotless facility where the connection between land, animal, and product is tangible.

As the McCarthys look ahead, possibilities include school tours and expanded community engagement, though for now, the business remains focused on quality and sustainability. With the cows just metres from the vending machines, Old Head Milk offers a genuine taste of place, bottled fresh by the family who raised it.

Kids Food Revolution by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

Did you know you can make real butter just by shaking a jam jar? You don’t need any fancy equipment, and you don’t need special ingredients. Just cream, a clean jam jar, and your best shaking skills. And once you’ve made your butter, you’ll have leftover buttermilk just waiting to go into a loaf of beautiful brown bread. These two recipes are made for each other, and together they make one of the most satisfying things you can eat: warm, fresh bread spread with butter you made yourself.

The Kids’ Food Revolution is a West Cork initiative working with schools to run cooking and gardening workshops. The children in Barryroe N.S. and the Gaelscoil Clonakilty had great fun recently, making their own butter, using paddles which were on loan from the butter museum!

Recipe 1:
Make Your Own Butter

Ingredients

• Heavy cream (double cream works best)

Method: Fill a clean jam jar one-third full with cream. Seal the lid tightly.

Take turns shaking the jar. First the cream will turn to whipped cream. Keep going!

Eventually a yellow lump (butter) will separate from the liquid (buttermilk).

Pour off the buttermilk and save it. You’ll need it for the brown bread.

Note: The buttermilk needs to sit for at least three days before it sours and you can use it.

Remove the butter from the jar and place it in a bowl of cold water.

Knead gently to remove as much of the buttermilk as possible. This helps the butter keep fresh for longer.

Add salt for flavour, and to help preserve your butter.

Roll into balls or shape into a rectangle and wrap in parchment paper.

Recipe 2:
Easy Peasy Brown Bread

Ingredients

• 225g / 8oz brown flour

• 225g / 8oz white flour

• 1 level tsp bread soda

• 1 level tsp salt

• 1 egg

• Buttermilk, to bring the wet mix to 500ml / <1 pint

• Seeds

• Oil, for the tin

Method: Preheat the oven to 230°C / 210°C fan. Oil a loaf tin.

Place the brown flour in a bowl. Sieve in the white flour, bread soda and salt. Stir well.

Crack the egg into a jug and whisk with a fork. Pour in enough buttermilk to bring the total to just under 1 pint / 500ml.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Be sure not to overwork it.

Pour into the prepared tin and scatter seeds on top.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce to 200°C for a further 45 minutes.

Remove from the tin and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.

Place on a wire rack and leave to cool fully before cutting.

Enjoy!

Did you know?

Brown bread has been a staple in Irish homes for generations.

At peak of milling, there were 7000 flour mills in operation across Ireland – and they were all water-powered.

There is only one industrial flour mill left in Ireland, in Portarlington. It’s run by Odlums.

Eating brown bread is so good for you, because brown flour is a slow release carbohydrate, which makes your energy last much longer. 

Brown bread uses bread soda / bicarbonate of soda, which reacts with the acidity in the buttermilk. All it needs then is heat to make it rise, resulting in a delicious loaf. 

You can add all sorts of things to your brown bread, such as seeds or dried fruit. Seeds add crunch, healthy fats and extra goodness. Dried fruit like raisins, dates or apricots are packed with iron, fibre and natural energy. Best of all, your kitchen will smell absolutely incredible while the bread bakes in the oven.

Here is something you might not know: At its peak in the 19th century, Cork was the largest exporter of butter in the world, bigger than any city in Europe or America. At the height of butter production in Ireland, 30 million pounds of butter were exported from Cork every year, travelling by ship to the West Indies, America, Brazil and Australia. In 1835 alone, one third of all butter exported from Ireland left through the Port of Cork. The Cork Butter Exchange, established in 1769, became the place where the global price for butter was set, a bit like a stock exchange. You can discover the whole story at the Cork Butter Museum – well worth a visit! www.thebuttermuseum.com

I’ve been checking out chocolate cakes for this month’s easter recipe and it’s led me down an interesting path. Our chocolate and hazelnut cake, which used to be so popular in our shop, first came to mind. However when my brain scanned the ingredients, I realised that the 300 grams of chocolate required to make one cake was a huge investment at today’s chocolate prices. We are all horrified at the rising price of fuel but the rising price of chocolate would be even more shocking if it was an essential, as the price has stealthily risen by 100 per cent a kilo in the past five years. I talked to Niamh from Hungry Crow, the classy fairtrade chocolate shop in Clonakilty, and she said that the world of the cocoa bean is faced with a combination of climate chaos and human rights issues, which has led to crop failure and driven the prices sky high. Even the big suppliers find this problematic but hedge around the issue by reducing chocolate bar size and pumping up the packaging.

I started sifting through my files – there are many ways to make a chocolate cake – and came upon an ancient French recipe, one of the first chocolate cakes that I ever made. It only needs 120g chocolate, so it’s a little more budget-friendly. The recipe has been tweaked many  times over the years as we had so many requests for gluten- and dairy-free cakes and it’s quite a flexible recipe. Olive oil is delicious in this cake – it complements the chocolate and makes a light, moist sponge. The flour can be regular or gluten-free, it doesn’t make any discernible difference to the end cake – both versions are below.

I played around with the chocolate content, swapping out the chocolate for cocoa, which works well, but I have to say that when I made both cakes side by side. even though both were delicious and got scoffed, my testers opted for the chocolate version, when asked to choose their favourite.

The first time I ate chocolate with olive oil was in Spain where we were served a small chocolate cup, which contained a little puddle of olive oil and a few seasalt flakes. I thought I’d gone to heaven, what a combination! I think I have been chasing that taste profile ever since.

Chocolate is far from vital in our lives but recent studies at the University of Pisa have brought to light that a combination of chocolate and olive oil can bring health benefits. Twenty-six volunteers, who were all susceptible to some kind of cardiac risk, took part in a 28-day trail eating a combination of 70 per cent chocolate and extra virgin olive oil.  The results showed a positive effect on blood pressure and cholesterol readings. 

Dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent, and extra virgin olive oil are both high in polyphenols and beneficial antioxidants, which reduce inflammation, improve blood pressure, circulation and help reduce cholesterol. It’s proven that when consumed together they can have a powerful effect,  making us energised, focused and healthy. Check out the internet for more information if you’re interested. It sounds like we’re okay to eat  sensible amounts of 70 per cent chocolate and olive oil – it could even have us skipping down the street.

So here you go, a cake with health benefits! 

Chocolate and
Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients:

• 120 mls extra virgin olive oil

• 120g caster sugar

• 120g chocolate

• 60g white flour, sieved OR 40g rice flour+20g potato flour

• 60g ground almonds

• 3 large eggs, separated

Method: Prepare a 20cm cake tin. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and rub the side with olive oil

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Put a pan with a small amount of water onto heat. Put the chocolate into a bowl and sit the bowl onto the saucepan. The bowl should sit above the water. Gently melt the chocolate. 

In a large bowl whisk the olive oil and sugar together until creamy, then add the egg yolks one by one. Add the melted chocolate and then the ground almonds. Put aside while you whisk the whites.

Put the egg whites into a large clean bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer), be sure the bowl is clean and there are no traces of yolk otherwise the whites won’t whip. Begin whisking, quite slowly if you’re using a machine, then increase the speed, whisk until they begin to hold their form but are still quite loose, add 1tbs sugar, then whisk until the egg whites are stiff. The bowl should hold glossy white peaks. When you get to this point stop as it’s possible to over whisk which will make the whites grainy and more difficult to fold in.

Using a large metal spoon or a spatula gently fold in one-third of the whites into the chocolate mix, then one-third of the flour. Do this twice more.

Pour  the mix into the prepared tin and bake  for about 25 mins. Test with a clean knife. Insert the knife into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is ready. 

Leave to cool and then turn out onto a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before topping.

Chocolate Topping

Ingredients:

• 75g chocolate

• 1.5 tbs olive oil

Method: Melt the chocolate and olive oil  together over a pot of boiling water. Allow to cool a little before spreading over the top and sides of the cake. Do this slowly and if it’s too runny wait a while then try again. Leave to set before eating.

Happy Easter!

I know it can be a divisive vegetable, but I have to say I love beetroot. I love it in salads – cooked or raw – and I love it roasted. And I especially love that the whole plant is not just edible but tasty – the leaves are delicious cooked like spinach – in fact in some cultures the leaves are prized more than the roots. 

Beetroots are so vibrant, and have so many health benefits – too many to cover! I’m only going to manage to summarise the most researched ones here. 

While beetroot has been celebrated in kitchens for centuries, recent nutrition research helps explain exactly ‘why’ this humble vegetable is such a superfood. 

Adding beetroots in your diet, or taking a daily shot of beetroot juice, can have significant health benefits and can in some cases reduce the need for medication. I used a website I like called NutritonFacts.org for the research mentioned below, in case you want to check out the references. 

One of the best-studied health benefits of beetroot comes from its high nitrate content. Unlike the nitrates you find in sausages and other processed foods, the nitrates in beetroot are converted in the body into nitric oxide – a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels, improves blood flow and helps to lower blood pressure. Even if that was the end of their health benefits, beetroots should win a Nobel Health Prize! 

Beetroot’s heart-friendly properties are mirrored in its shape and colour – particularly when cooked, it looks just like a human heart – in case we needed a visual reminder of its benefits. 

In terms of high blood pressure, there are clinical studies that show that drinking beetroot juice or consuming nitrate-rich beetroots can significantly reduce systolic blood pressure, with effects that begin within hours of consumption and last throughout the day. And of course with no side effects, just side benefits! 

The same nitrates that help support healthy blood pressure also help with exercise efficiency and performance.

Research reviewed on NutritionFacts.org highlights that nitrate consumption can improve the efficiency with which the body uses oxygen during exercise. This means muscles can work harder or longer with the same amount of oxygen, which can translate into better endurance and performance, especially in endurance sports such as cycling or running.

Some studies reported that cyclists who consumed beetroot juice required less oxygen to compete at a high intensity compared to those who didn’t – a measure of improved aerobic efficiency.

Beetroot isn’t just a pretty veg – the deep dark red colour comes from betalains, a class of phytonutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds help combat oxidative stress – the imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body, which is linked to many forms of chronic disease.

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are implicated in heart disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders. While dietary antioxidants don’t cure disease, eating antioxidant-rich foods like beetroot contributes to our body’s ability to neutralise free radicals and support healthy cellular function.

Beyond the heart and muscles, improved circulation matters to the brain too. Some emerging research suggests that better blood flow – facilitated by nitric oxide from dietary nitrates – may help maintain cognitive function as we age, and even reduce the progression of dementia. 

One of the more curious phenomena associated with beet consumption is beeturia – when urine (or sometimes stool) takes on a pink or reddish colour. It’s nothing to be worried about though – it’s just the colourful beetroot making its way out of your system.

In addition to nitrates and betalains, beetroot brings a range of important micronutrients to the table. It’s a source of vitamins like folate (important for cell growth and cardiovascular health), minerals such as potassium (which supports nerve and muscle function), and dietary fibre, which is beneficial for digestive health.

If you have an inflammatory bowel condition, adding beetroot to your diet could be very helpful. Maybe start with the juice and if that is tolerated well, see how you do with cooked beetroot. 

Beetroot’s earthy sweetness makes it a wonderful ingredient in salads, smoothies, soups, roasted vegetable dishes, and juices. Many people find beetroot even tastier when combined with orange juice or ginger.

We have some fantastic Irish beetroot products. The West Cork based Cultured Food Company offers a fermented beetroot kvass with ginger and a jar of sliced fermented beetroot, while Feighery’s Farm produces an Irish-grown beetroot juice mixed with apple juice –  both delicious ways to enjoy beetroot. In Organico, we also stock locally made sliced and pickled beetroot, a selection of organic juices, and beetroot and raw broccoli sprout shots from NHNH.

For those who want the health benefits without eating a whole beetroot daily, a small daily juice shot works well. Alternatively, Nature’s Plus Organic Beetroot Powder can be added to smoothies or drinks. Capsules are also an option for convenience. But whatever happens we should all eat the beets! 

This isn’t medical advice – please do your research thoroughly and consult a medical professional if you are on medication or have a serious health concern.