JANET'S COUNTRY FAYRE: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 chunky, rich red relish with cream cheese to make a dip or a topping for crostini. We've use 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.