What with zombie banks, zombie hotels, and Brian and Brian doing the work of two men – those men being Laurel and Hardy – at the head of the Government, we are in a state of chassis.
So, it's time to bring you the people the country needs, starting with Siobhan Lawless, who runs the Foods of Athenry bakery with her husband, Paul.
What's been happening, Siobhan?
““We're still making Mom 'n' Pop apple tarts and crumbles. Our orchards got sown with the help of Irish Seedsavers 12 months ago. We chose native varieties of apple after extensive tart making/tasting tests – and a desire to preserve a little bit of Irish heritage... I did my preliminary beekeeping course in Gormanstown as trees need pollination and that was pretty amazing. Beekeepers are so generous of time and knowledge and I met some great people...
“Paper packaging got researched and bought... this paper is 100% compostable as it hasn't got a polyprop but a cellulose window...
We entered the Blas na hEireann awards in Dingle... tied with ourselves for second place in the Healthy Options category with our spelt soda bread and our sugar-free brack... The Christmas pudding won the Gold in the Desserts category, and it was the category with the most entries... sales for the pudding on the back of the win were very high, ergo December was hectic here. So, 2008 went out with a bang. Looking to the future with some new thoughts and ideas”.
Now, doesn't that the country seem a whole lot of a better place? Congratulations to Siobhan and Paul, and more power to our dynamic specialist bakeries.
More inspiring people in this little series each day...
