Hello, We've been keeping it a kind of secret but we can't keep it secret any more......

We've re-launched our entire pie range- Yeahhhhh

When we started out 4 years ago this month, we developed a range of pies using a French cooking method called sous-vide, which translates into 'under vacuum'. We learnt about this cooking method from a fantastic man called Ronan Gormley who works in the National Food Centre in Teagasc, Dublin. He recommended that we learn about it & so off we went to France, where we met an amazing food producer called Fleury Michon based in the Loire Valley.

Fleury Michon are one of the most amazing food companies in the world and they make pies & meals for Joel Robuchon, who would be considered the god of cooking by the French. He has a number of 3-star Michelin restaurants and is a good guy. So we asked Fleury Michon would they help us make great pies and they said yes. We then asked could we build a facility in Ireland to do this and they very frankly said "what is the population of Ireland?" and we said about 3.5 million at the time and they just said that it would be very difficult with so few people. 

However, they could make our pies on a Friday and we could transport them to Ireland and have them here on Saturday (the day after) so after much head-scratching, we decided to go with that. Over the past number of years people have criticised us for producing our pies in France (we make all our soups in Galway and always have) and also we haven't been able to be as innovative as we would like simply because of the distance between Ireland and France and when one goes to make a new recipe you have to try and try and try and then try some more and it takes ages. Then in 2007, a really nice guy called Michael Hoey contacted us. He owns a farm called Country Crest with his brother in Lusk, Co. Dublin that grows potatoes, onions, carrots and other vegetables and he was keen to help us make our pies.

This wasn't an easy decision for Cully and I as we liked the French and had a really good relationship with them but we knew in our hearts that this was the right move so we started to explore the possibilities. We loved what Michael and Gabriel did- they are the nicest people you could meet and have a genuine interest in food and how it is produced. In June of this year, we finally decided to make the move and so this week after a lot of blood and sweat (a lot of which is thanks to Denise and Ivy) we are re-launching our range.

The entire range will be 33% bigger, remain at the same price of €5.49, is now being made in Ireland using Irish chicken, beef, lamb, potatoes, dairy, etc. We have a totally new range out which includes a beef & mushroom pie, lasagne, tasty lamb pie (one of Cul's grannies recipes), chicken pasta spinach bake and a chicken and herb pie. And yes, of course, we still have our fish pie and shepherds pie but now the fish pie has got humongous pieces of fish in it and is just yummy. All the meals except the lasagne and pasta bake are gluten-free- so 5 out of 7 are gluten-free and they are all nut-free.

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact me at 086 6058471 or Cul at 086 6076030. Enjoy!!!