`Organic foods must not only be accessible, they must be affordable," says Tony Chettle. Under the banner of Bunalun 160 - Bunalun is the name of their farm, just outside Skibbereen in west Cork, 160 is their Organic Trust certification number - Tony and Alicia Chettle have created an entire range of organic products, from breakfast cereal, star anise and scented extra virgin olive oil, to baby body shampoos and early morning tea, which are now available through supermarkets and their own shop in Skibbereen.
"Organics is not a niche, it's an industry," says Chettle. "All we are trying to do is to take away the drawbacks traditionally associated with organics, while preserving the virtues. The foods must have integrity, but they must also suit people's lifestyle."
The Bunalun 160 foods are a million miles away from the traditional images we have of organics - worthy, but determinedly anti-fashion - and they are packaged as stylishly as any top brand of fashion or foods, developing the simplicity and elegance of style used by shops such as Muji or The Body Shop, but with the luxuriousness associated with Calvin Klein.
"I started to see the spread of organics in L.A. and Japan when we lived there. In the last six years in the US, organics have increased sales by 20 per cent every year. "We realised the differences in taste which organics offered, but we wanted to take it further. We wanted to have pure drinks, for example, but we also wanted pure things for bathing, and that logically extended to having pure things for breathing, necessary things such as room air fresheners. And from there, to clothing - we want to develop organic clothes for babies. The way we see it is that it's not `Home Sweet Home', but `Home Safe Home'. You introduce nature into the house."
The Bunalun 160 project began five years ago, when the Chettles started work on their farm, which is now one of the largest organic farms in the country. "What we have learnt is that you can use technology to produce affordable organics, so you use the best of technology and the best of the past - we have a pair of shire horses which means that we can get to the soil as early as March. If you used a tractor at that stage, it would compact the soil." The first Bunalun shop, on Market Street in Skibbereen, is a treasure trove of good things: organic olive oil flavoured with star anise; vibrant curly kale; ; breads and focaccia; fresh greengages and apricots; plum tomatoes and chillies; muesli and teas; organic balsamic vinegar; and delicious hummus and beef bolognaise from their kitchen, along with spiced pumpkin soup and apple crumble. The Chettles's plans are founded on the certainty of the quality of true organic products. To this end, they produce as much of their necessary foods themselves and process their foods in small batches. They believe: "Provenance is vital. We know where everything we work with is produced. We know we must be transparent.
"People don't need to be persuaded of the virtues of organics today," says Tony Chettle. "What they need is access to organics and the quality of organics."
Bunalun 160 Organics, Skibbereen, Co Cork. Tel: 028-21356, fax: 028-21116, email: bunalun@indigo.ie Market Street, Skibbereen. Tel: 028-23398. The Bunalun 160 range is available through Tesco supermarkets.
Granola Baked Apples
One of my favourite Bunalun foods is the fabulous breakfast granola and here is a delicious way to showcase it. This comes from Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook.
4 firm apples three quarters cup of granola 2 tablespoons (firmly packed) light brown sugar a quarter cup of apple juice plain yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 350F/160C/gas mark 4. Cut a thin slice off the top of each apple and discard. Core the apples, being careful not to cut all the way through the bottoms. Cut out and reserve the centre of the apples, leaving a half-inch thick shell. Chop enough of the reserved apple to measure half cup and set aside. With a vegetable peeler, remove a half inch wide strip of peel around the top of each apple.
Mix the granola with the reserved half cup chopped apple and the brown sugar. Use the mixture to fill the scooped-out apples.
Place the apples upright in a shallow baking dish and pour the apple juice around them. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake until the apples can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve at once, topped with yoghurt.
Daube of Pork with Dried Apricots
This dish utilises spices, vegetables and apricots all bought from Bunalun. It is from The Richard Corrigan Cookbook, a very personal and intriguing selection of recipes. It takes quite a bit of time, but the techniques are simple and it's definitely worth the effort.
Serves 4 sunflower oil 1kg boned lean pork shoulder, trimmed of all gristle and skin, cut into large pieces about 8cm square 12 whole dried apricots, stoned 100ml white wine 200ml orange juice a little sugar to taste about 350ml meat stock
For the marinade: 375ml full-bodied red wine 250ml olive oil 3-4 plum tomatoes, halved 6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 2 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped 1 leek, trimmed and sliced 1 onion, peeled and sliced tiny pinch of cumin seeds tiny pinch of fennel seeds half bunch of fresh mint, chopped a few sprigs of fresh thyme 1 bay leaf salt and freshly ground black pepper Combine all the marinade ingredients in a big bowl.
Heat a film of sunflower oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry the pork pieces until a rich dark brown on all sides. Drain and add to the marinade. Stir round, then cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Put the dried apricots, white wine, orange juice and a little sugar to sweeten in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to soak and rehydrate overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350F/180C gas mark 4. Using a draining spoon, remove the pieces of pork from the marinade and transfer to a casserole. Pour the marinade into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes, skimming off any foam from the surface. Add the stock, then pour over the meat in the casserole. Add more stock if the meat is not covered with liquid. Cover the casserole and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
Lift out the pieces of pork and reserve. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. If the liquid seems a bit thin, bring to the boil and reduce. Check the seasoning. Drain the apricots and add to the sauce together with the pork. Heat through, then serve.