Irish fuel protests, blockades and a deepening cost‑of‑living crisis are colliding to create a perfect storm for Irish food businesses. This is not just about traffic jams and queues at petrol stations or blockades, it is about every link in our food chain being stretched close to breaking point. A spider web under strain To understand what is happening, picture the Irish food economy as a spider web. At the centre sits **Irish food business viability** – the ability of cafés

Last week I had a conversation with Darina Allen that really shook me. She told me the practical cookery is being downgraded dramatically from Leaving Certificate Home Economics. Not changed. Not updated. Slowly removed. If you think teenagers should leave school able to cook real food, this matters. When schools don't teach kids to cook We already see the effects of weak cookery education. When people can’t cook, they turn to: ready meals takeaways cheap, ultra‑processed fo

In the final part of this series, we’re going down the rabbit hole of foods and drinks that don’t look “fancy” at first glance – but carry just as much place and pride as any Blaa or hill lamb. Think: black pudding, brown pudding, sea salt, and a spirit that used to be illegal in Ireland and now has official geographical protection. Breakfast with a postcode: Sneem & Timoleague Ireland loves its puddings – but Sneem Black Pudding and Timoleague Brown Pudding are in a differ

If Part 1 was about flour on the counter and bakers at 4am, Part 2 is about wind that never quite stops blowing and animals that graze their way into EU law. This time, the PGI spotlight swings to Connemara Hill Lamb and Irish Grass-Fed Beef – proof that you can taste not just the animal, but the landscape it came from. Connemara: where the hills season the meat Picture Connemara: stone walls, scrubby grass, heather, bog, Atlantic weather rolling in sideways. This is not ge

You walk into a café in Waterford, order a bacon roll, and discover that your breakfast has a legal team in Brussels. Yes, really. The woman behind the counter smiles, slides a floury white roll onto the plate, and your brain does that tiny double take it only saves for very specific moments: This is… different. The outside is soft and pale, dusted in flour like it’s been hugged by a miller. The inside is pillowy and chewy, built to soak up butter, bacon fat and whatever kin

“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