Gold for Wild About at Irish Food Awards
ARTISAN food producer Wild About from Monamolin recently struck gold at the Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards in Dingle with their Raspberry Chilli Chutney.
‘We are just thrilled,’ said Fiona Falconer of Wild About who established the business in Monamolin with her husband Malcolm. ‘Raspberry Chilli Chutney is a real reflection of a pure artisan product,’ she said. ‘ The taste delivers a real “wow”, an unfurling of flavours and sensations that you simply don’t get with processed foods.’
It has been a great year for Wild About. ‘We won a total of seven gold with six products at the Great Taste Awards (UK/ Éire) in August,’ said Fiona. ‘ That’s really significant for such a small producer like ourselves, winning almost 2 per cent of the 429 awards won by Irish companies.’
‘Awards like these have significant impact on our business,’ she added. ‘We don’t have mar- keting or promotional budgets. Winning national awards like Blas and Great Taste creates an awareness of Wild About.’
A selection of Wild About products are available in SuperValu stores in Wicklow, Wexford and Dublin, as part of the Food Academy programme, and its syrups are served as the signature Aer Lingus cocktail on all transatlantic flights in and out of Ireland.
The Wild About ingredients are grown on their permaculture farm in Monamolin. No chemicals or sprays are used on the land or in the kitchen. What they don’t grow, they source locally, and nothing is imported.
‘We work seasonally, so our range changes with the Irish harvests, and we specialise in native wild ingredients, and are credited as Ireland’s first commercial nettle farm,’ said Fiona. ‘Everything we produce is made in small batches, by hand in open-top 25 litre pots, stirred by hand.’