BITS & QUICHES

WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

Initially, Zanna Cookhouse developed just two products for the Simply Better Range: Goats Cheese Quiche and Quiche Lorraine. “The whole emphasis with the Simply Better team was around Irish produce and small producers. Irish ham, Irish eggs – everything was local.” With small batch production using locally sourced ingredients, the output had a built-in sustainability that Owen has tried to improve upon ever since. “We are doing little things, like using little paper trays and so on. Gradually, we’re moving away from plastic and foil and so forth. It’s something I personally feel strongly about in relation to food in general. “We are what we eat. When you pick up a product in a shop and you look at the back of it, you often see a shopping list a mile long of chemical names and other additives. Our whole concept at the time was to make a nice, clean, labelled product, something that you could make at home in your own kitchen with local ingredients.”

While the business has expanded year-on-year, mass production was never the goal. “From day one with Simply Better, it was a marriage made in heaven. We complemented each other. They wanted what I was doing and I wanted to be involved with the Simply Better team, as well. It was a huge step forward for us.” From those original two products, they have expanded to produce around 15 different lines. Quiches include Barrel Aged Feta & Roasted Vegetable, Salmon & Broccoli, Gubbeen Chorizo & Potato, Irish Brie & Cranberry and Handmade Salmon & Broccoli.