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Reviews
Wicklow Times,
July 4 2007 -
Judges go nuts for Wicklow
product
Wicklow County Enterprise Board - Issue
3 Spring/Summer 2007
The
Bridgestone Irish Food Guide 2004 -
Chutneys
and Relishes
Janet
Drew of Janet's Country Fayre has been making chutneys and relishes
on a small commercial scale since 1994, which makes her one of the
trailblazers of this cottage industry in Ireland, and also one of
the most copied.
Before the booming
market for handmade food products began to be exploited here, Drew
gave up a career in the bloodstock world to pursue her business
plan. John Magnier of Coolmore Stud "looked at me as if I had two
heads when I told him what I was going to do", she remembers.
But the gamble has
paid off, and later this month she moves into a 185sq m (2,000sq ft)
commercial unit in Co Wicklow that will allow her to up her
production capacity to 5,000 jars a week. "It will still be a
handmade product, though. People can't believe we still do all the
bottling by hand." The "we" Drew refers to covers just three people
- "me, a labeller and one other guy".
The Country Fayre
range, packed in distinctive square glass jars bearing labels
written in Drew's handwriting, is now stocked by supermarkets as
well as specialist food shops. But despite the commercial success of
her products, Drew had never entered the Great Taste Awards, run by
the Guild of Fine Food Retailers, until last year, when a part of
the judging process was done in Dublin for the first time. In an
almost complete sweep of the classes entered, Janet's Country Fayre
took five gold awards, for Chutney for Cheese and Wine; Scrummy Plum
Chutney; Beetroot Blush; Cranberry Chutney; and Cranberry Sauce.
JANET'S
COUNTRY FAYRE SWEET PEPPER
RELISH
(€4.95, 220G, available
nationwide in delicatessens and specialist food stores) This
is the original Country Fayre product, and the most imitated. Drew
suggests mixing the chunks, rich red relish with cream cheese to
make a dip of a topping for crostini. We've used it thinned with
single cream as an emergency pasta sauce, and it's great with
grilled cheese sandwiches.
BEETROOT
BLUSH
(€4.95, 220g) This came
about as a means of utilising a friend's bumper beet crop, and is
now so popular that a local farmer grows a field of beet specially
for Janet's Country Fayre. "The beets are boiled for three hours,
then frozen. This makes the colour much richer and there's more
juice. It makes them easier to peel, too" Drew says. Sweetish rather
than vinegary, this is an unusual condiment, and Drew suggests
serving it warm, with a little horseradish stirred through, as a
side dish. Great with roast pork, too.
Marie-Claire
Digby
bestbuys@irish-times.ie
**********************************************
Co.
Wicklow based company 'Janet's Country Fayre' has scooped the award
for Best in Category for its Macadamia and Parsley Pesto, in the
Australian Macadamia Society's first annual competition to find the
Best New Commercial Recipe using Macadamia Nuts.
The Panel of judges,
which included Chef-Directory of Caprice Holding, award-winning food
writer, Mark Hix and Daily Telegraph food writer Xanthe Clay,
decided that the Macadamia and Parsley Pesto exemplified exceptional
quality and taste and illustrated a creative use of Australian
Macadamia Nuts.
The competition,
launched to showcase the creative and recipe development skills of
the best artisan food producers in the UK and Ireland, was open to
all companies with a turnover of less than £10 million. Judging took
place at Australia House, London.
Janet Drew founded
the company ten years ago with the idea of hand making artisan
products by using only the finest ingredients. The company produces
chutneys, relishes, salad dressings and pesto.
At the 2006 British
Great Taste Awards, Janet was awarded five gold medals and one
silver, which led to products being listed in Harvey Nichols.
Janet Drew said, "We
are delighted to have won Best in Category. We found Macadamia nuts
to be a versatile ingredient and will be exploring how best to
include them in our new product development.
**********************************************
Chutneys
and Relishes
You can't
stop Janet Drew. A new kitchen in Kilcoole is now the centre for her
state-of-the-art creations in chutney-land. She has teamed up with
Odaios foods to assist distribution. With James McGough of
Oughterard she has created a new Fig and Apricot Chutney to pair
with the legendary Connemara air-dried lamb, a perfect example of
the sweet music artisan producers can make with working together.
She is developing a range to be sold via the Craft Butchers shops
throughout the country "and I've a few more ideas up my sleeve yet
to come to fruition". Phew! Endlessly inventive and creative,
Janet's Country Fayre is one of the most radical of Ireland's
artisan companies, and any time a jar of those relishes, ketchups,
pestoes and sauces graces your table, thing just go to taste a whole
lot better. (Copsewood Farm, Kilmacanogue. Tel: 01-204 1957 email
: janet@janetscountryfayre.com www.janetscountryfayre.com)
**********************************************
Janet's
Country Fayre Cranberry Sauce
€3.70 for 180 grams
€20.55 per kilo
Highs:
This looks and tastes like it was made on a farm in Co Wicklow
which, by an amazing coincidence, it was. It is filled with whole
berries untouched or undamaged by machines, has a lovely taste of
whole natural fruit and smells wonderfully fresh and fruity. It
looks pretty great, too. In fact, were you of a duplicitous bent,
you could very easily decant this into a bowl and pass it off as
your own.
Lows:
While it is the nicest of the sauces tried, it is also the most
expensive by a fairly substantial margin. It is the hardest of the
sauces to source and PriceWatch wasn't convinced about the ye olde
English spelling of Fayre
Verdict:
Deliciously home-made
Star
rating: ****
**********************************************
THE
BRIDGESTONE IRISH FOOD GUIDE 2004
Chutneys
and Relishes
Janet
Drew's sweet pepper relish is probably the most-copied artisan food
product ever produced in Ireland. Where Ms Drew pioneered, many
others have come and copied, but the original remains the best, and
Ms Drew's sharp culinary aptitude is seen right throughout her range
of chutneys and relishes. These are cherishable foods, and you will
find them in good delis, and you will recognise them by their
joyfully exuberant scripted labels. (Copsewood Farm, Kilmacanogue
Tel: 01-204 1957)
**********************************************
Issue
3 Spring/Summer 2007
Case
Study
With thirteen years
experience in chutney production, Janet Drew is widely accepted as
top of her industry in Ireland. The "Janet's Country Fayre" range is
a collection of 16 products, includ8ing: relishes, chutneys, pesto
and pickles. Their products are all handmade, and packaged in glass
jars, with distinctive labelling and branding, Her Sweet Pepper
Relish is a classic product which, according to the Bridgestone
Irish Food Guide it is 'probably the most copied artisan food
product ever produced in Ireland'. Food critics, the Irish Times,
the Irish Examiner, and John and Sally Mc Kenna (Bridgestone Guide)
applaud her product, describing it as 'possibly the best in the
country'.
Janet is a member of the
Wicklow CEB Owner Manager Network as well as participating on other
business skills training courses. In October 2006 Wicklow County
Enterprise Board assisted Janet by means of a Capital Grant.
This funding helped Janet
to move production to Bullford Business Campus, in Kilcoole, where a
new 2,000 sq ft state of the art commercial kitchen has been built.
This move will allow the business to tripe production in the near
future. The demand for
Janet's delicious products is certainly there! Having won no less
than five gold medals at the British Great Taste Awards in May last
year, word is spreading. The product is currently stocked at
Cavistons, Mortons, Terroirs, Fallon & Byrne, Supervalu and Fresh in
Smithfield, amongst others. Plans to export to the UK and Europe are
well under way.
Contact
details:
Janet Drew, Janet's Country
Fayre
Unit 13 Bullford Business
Campus, Kilcoole
Ph:
01-201-8008
/ 087 6205712
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