Preserves of strength as jam sideline thrives
FOR over 25 years Veronica Molloy has been perfecting her Crossogue Preserves, which are now among the most popular jams with artisan food lovers all over Ireland.
What began as a small enterprise to supplement the farm income has since grown into a thriving business, which has earned her 60 awards.
“It all started out in the kitchen at Crossogue House and to this day it is still very much a family business, with everything produced on the farm,” says Veronica’s son Mark.
“Although we have a vast range of products, and these are always expanding, we prefer to keep it in such a way that it can be managed by us as a small team.”
A fire in the basement of the house some years ago forced the operation to move to another premises on the farm, where more than 100 products are now made from fruit that is either home-grown or sourced from reliable suppliers both in Ireland and abroad.
Veronica’s husband Tony is actively involved, as are her son Mark and sisters Pippa and Kate, along with a dedicated team of local women.
Up to 500 jars of jams, marmalades and other unique preserves are produced, packed and made ready for distribution each day for delivery to a number of artisan food shops and high-class restaurants and hotels countrywide.
“In addition to our regular clients we are privileged now to be working with some well-known names in the food business,” says Mark.
“We are also delighted to be able to work in partnership with some distillers to use Irish whiskey in some of the products.”
Recently Veronica travelled to the UK to attend the World’s Original Marmalade Awards, where she picked up seven accolades for her latest preserves. One in particular, the Lemon and Limoncello Marmalade, is already proving hugely popular with customers. “For this we sourced the best lemons in Italy,” Mark says. Following their success, the Molloys have been approached by some of the major supermarkets to expand, but presently this is not on the agenda. “We are a small company and going forward we would much prefer to concentrate on quality over quantity to keep our niche products,” Mark says. “We have just started an online gift service and we are hoping now that this will prove popular for both Irish customers and those overseas.”
SIOBHAN ENGLISH