UP UNTIL 2000, William and Yvonne Ruiter were producing 90 acres of vegetables for Fyffes, employing about 10 people to “pack and prettify” the produce. “Big fish in a small pond,” as William puts it.
Then comes the familiar story: margins tighten; Fyffes lose the Dunnes Stores contract; a new middleman enters the picture; margins tighten even more.
“Supermarkets were looking for a cheaper product so the option was to double the acreage or get out,” Ruiter says. “But look, fresh produce just can’t come cheap. The only way is through loss leaders where it appears cheap. Supermarkets are very, very, very good at marketing. They have people with a university education just in marketing,” he says almost admiringly.
But as big fish they had done well enough to invest in a few houses in Dublin, which were paid for by 2000. Then they sold a house and shed at auction, which gave them financial wriggle room.
Now they live near a roundabout off the old N2 Dublin road outside Ashbourne, Co Meath, where they grow 23 acres of vegetables in a six-month growing season. “It’s not organic but sympathetically grown,” says Ruiter, a decided sceptic regarding organic imports.
In 2003, given the location, they took the logical step to sell their vegetables at the farm gate, establishing a thriving business from a shed, but crucially, maintaining a broad and continuous array in stock from small outside producers. “You need the 12 months-a-year business. The whole thing is to have money coming in all the time,” says Yvonne.
Then in 2009, sales began to slide, taking a dramatic turn for the worse in the snowy weather. To lure people back, they set up a farm zoo – complete with pot-bellied pigs, chickens, calves, sheep, donkeys and several types of goat – with a live Christmas crib which made the cover of the Irish Catholic.
The next step came to fruition last April, when they opened The Donkey Shed restaurant inside the farm gate, an idea dating from the 1990s.
It’s no coincidence that the sympathetic building, perfectly in keeping with its hinterland, was designed by their daughter, Saskia, an architect who was recently laid off. Or that their older son, Andrew, a horticultural graduate, is a full-time employee. “I want our son and daughter to stay in the country,” says Yvonne. “But for this place, Saskia would be on the plane.”
In all, the restaurant employs 19 people over seven days – no small boast for what, up to a few months ago, was an open-fronted donkey shed. And there’s no doubt that it is working. By lunchtime on a Wednesday, there are 50 cars parked up outside. For the record, diners highly recommend the warm seafood platter and the scones baked to a Delia Smith recipe.
– KAtTHY SHERIDAN
