“We’ve Always Done It That Way” Every time I hear it, I know I’m looking at a business in trouble. It’s said with pride sometimes, with gritted teeth sometimes, nostalgia other times, but the effect is always the same: it stops progress dead in its tracks. That phrase closes doors to possibility. It kills innovation. It blocks agility. And most dangerously, it convinces you that comfort equals stability—when it flipping doesn’t. Business in Ireland hasn’t just “gotten a bit t

Lying about suppliers on a menu is not clever marketing. It is theft. It steals from the farmer whose name is on the menu but not on the invoice. It steals from the genuine operator down the road who actually buys the real thing. And it steals from the customer who walks out the door believing they have just supported Irish producers and independent businesses when, in truth, they have been sold a story and fed a lie. The quiet rot behind a pretty menu Across Ireland, prove

In‑N‑Out Burger is coming to Dublin for a one‑day pop‑up and, if the hype is anything to go by, there will be queues around the block. People will take time off work, post it to their stories, and proudly tick it off the “must‑try” list. But I want to ask you something: what story does that burger tell about Irish food? What does provenance mean to you? When you sit down to eat, how often do you think about where your food actually comes from? Do you know which farm your beef

Independent business owners in Ireland are carrying the weight of the economy on their shoulders – and most of them are doing it alone. You are juggling cash flow, staff, customer expectations, compliance, marketing, and a digital landscape that never sleeps. You are not just “running a business”; you are holding up jobs, local communities, and families. And yet, when it comes to real support, too many independents are still trying to figure everything out in isolation. The n

I created this especialy for ACBI Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland to put in their Magazine but it is too important for me not to share it here too. A few weeks ago, I had the great honour of sharing the stage with Siobhán Hubbard of Newbard Farm at the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland Gala Dinner. As she spoke about her work, the room felt lifted by her energy — that rare blend of fierce determination and grounded practicality that marks all true changemakers. I firs

Every few weeks, another comment or photo of a receipt hits social media and the outrage begins: “€3.50 for a cup of tea? Daylight robbery!” Comment sections fill with people piling on, slating and slandering a business they’ve never stepped foot in, condemning a price they’ve never tried to understand. The loudest voices are often the ones who have never opened their own cafe, never signed a personal guarantee on a lease, never stared down a payroll run with the bank balance

Taking part in Food Hero two years in a row has reminded me of something I now teach every food business owner I work with: if winning matters more than the work, you risk losing yourself. If the title matters more than your customers, your craft and your community, you’ll forever be chasing validation instead of building a business and a life that actually feels good to live in. So proud to be from Kilkenny. Photo taken by Ruth Calder-Potts in Woodstock Gardens. I’m writing

…I just watched a video by Keith Grant Butchers and it forced me to respond with a video with the below content which highlights the DRAMATIC & POSITIVE impact Keith and all independently owned butchers in Ireland have on our local communities. Is this something we have forgotten and something we are now taking for granted? Because if we are, then we lose our culture and identity as a country that prides itself on: knowing our butcher by name, not by number shaking the same h

“You Can Choose to Pretend, But I Sure as Hell Won’t!” Irish food and hospitality has a serious problem — one that won’t be fixed by glossy PR campaigns or perfectly curated Instagram feeds. The luck of the Irish- not in Irish Hospitality! I recently sat with a chef who’d been working a brutal 90 hours a week . During their “time off,” they were still called up to 18 times a day by their boss — including midnight phone calls, constant messages, and relentless pressure disgui

Big picture: Irish chef market Ireland is in a prolonged chef shortage, with non‑EU chefs now officially described as a “critical workforce” for Irish kitchens. In a tight labour market, chefs know they are in demand and can often line up several prospects at once, so the perceived “cost” of ghosting one employer to them is very low and this attitude is creating a bigger problem. Chefs aren’t ghosting because they’re terrible people; they’re ghosting because the whole system

I was so excited and genuinely thrilled to be invited back to The Home Show for Valentine’s 2026 – it feels like such a treat to return to Sinead Ryan’s kitchen‑loving corner of Newstalk. Sinead isn’t just a brilliant broadcaster; she’s an incredible cook, someone who really understands the joy of delicious food made from scratch, from proper home‑cooked meals & desserts that actually work in real kitchens. Her ability to cut out the fluff and make it delicious means that we

Set your boundaries, make them clear, train your team and stand tall. So many Irish café owners are accused of being “greedy” or “unwelcoming” for doing one simple thing: asking people not to use their business as a free picnic area. While customers unpack supermarket rolls, homemade sandwiches, packets of biscuits, deli coffees and soda cans at the table or under the shelter of privately paid‑for booths or privately owned picnic tables, the owner is busy trying to cover wage