In our last episode of this series of Cork Food Stories Clara is finishing on a sweet spot. She talks to Shannen Keane owner of Diva Boutique Bakery and Leafing Mercantile both based in Ballinspittle Cork.

Shannen originally from Seattle, moved to Ireland in 1999 with her then-Irish fisherman husband. She missed the coffee scene in Seattle and decided to open her own coffee house with delicious coffee and cakes in Kinsale in 2002 and 6 years later moved to Ballinspittle only 10 minutes from Kinsale. 21 years later and Shannen has gone through lots of change and has dealt with many challenges. Through it all she has kept moving forward and has 2 very successful businesses serving the people of Cork from her stores in Ballinspittle

Listen now and be sure to follow and share!

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On this week's episode of Cork Food Stories Clara talks to Fiona Kelleher, Co-founder of MyGug with her husband Kieran Coffey.

While we all try our best to manage food waste most of it unfortunately ends up in the brown bin, which is fine , however, there is now another option. MyGug and it’s an anaerobic digester aimed at small food businesses, restaurants, and schools, that turns food waste into renewable energy and fertiliser. They are also planning to get into the domestic market in the coming year.

A fantastic story and a new Cork company to keep an eye on!

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On this weeks episode of Cork Food Stories Clara talks to Dervilla O'Flynn Head Chef of the famous Ballymaloe House Hotel.

She talks about her life as a Chef from managing start-ups to her current role as Head Chef. How she ensures the ethos of Myrtle Allens ideas are kept in the day-to-day running of the kitchen by using seasonal produce from local producers and the grounds of Ballymaloe. Dervilla talks about the current staffing challenges and how they overcome this and what she does to unwind after a busy day in the kitchen.

Listen now to Dervillas story on redfm.ie under the podcast section or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Links to social media below

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https://www.facebook.com/dervilla.oflynn/

https://www.facebook.com/ballymaloe/

https://www.facebook.com/Thegourmetgrocerirl/

https://www.facebook.com/people/Claracooks/100058108006111/

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https://www.instagram.com/claracooks_/?hl=en

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On the third episode of Cork Food Stories Clara talks to Conor Sheehan owner of Finnow Farm, a third-generation farm that has gone from dairy farming to now producing premium Wagyu beef and his own organic barley. His plans for the future creating a forest walk for the public and planting a thousand truffle trees. Listen now to hear Conors story.

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On the second episode of Cork Food Stories Clara talks to Chris Fahey owner of Wildflour Cork based in Innishannon. From an early age, Chris had a passion for food and opening his own business. Originally from Tipperary, Chris moved to Cork at the age of 17 and after a number of years working in different food establishments in Cork he began his baking journey and started the well-known bakery in Inishannon Wildflour, providing amazing sourdough and pastries to the people of Cork using flour from wildfarmed owned by Andy Cato originally Groove Armada Dj. Listen now to hear his story.

To kick off this series of Cork Food Stories Clara talks to Jason Bryan of ValleyView Farm in Riverstick.Jason was brought up on a dairy farm in Fountainstown and at the age of 16 he turned his hand to growing potatoes on the farm. He knew from then there was a business in this and after meeting his wife Helga they acquired land in Riverstick and started their own farm. The potato business flourished and soon enough hens were brought into the picture by his eldest son Dylan where they now also have a very successful free-range egg business selling to many stores around Cork and beyond.They also do seasonal veg and have their very own honesty shop on the farm where anyone can go and purchase directly from them. 5 kids later and Jason and Helga are creating a wonderful sustainable business for their family. Listen now to hear Jasons story.

In this weeks episode Clara is talking to Loretta Kennedy from MamaBear Foods about her life around food, her career to date and taking a leap of faith creating her very own tomato ketchup for her kids to now where her products are available across many stores in Ireland. A great story of a mum wanting a better product for her kids and turning it into a business.

In this weeks episode, Clara is talking to Jason Linton owner of The Cottage Garden in Kinsale. Jason arrived on our shores in 2010 to study permaculture. He is a lover of all things health, yoga and living a life of sustainability. Jason turned his passion into a career where he wanted others to be able to get the best fresh plant products directly to their door wherein 2017 he set up The Cottage Garden. A fresh food delivery service using the best of Irish produce currently covering Cork with an aim to go national over the coming years.

In this weeks episode, Clara talks to Jenny Twomey and Jill O'Brien from Green Towers Ireland, which are Aeroponic towers to grow your own greens in your kitchen, a fabulous story of Jenny bringing the first grow tower into Ireland for home use and how she and Jill saw a gap in the market and have a growing business from residential towers for your kitchen to more restaurants taking up the opportunity and to building tower farms around Ireland.

Clara is talking to people who have started their food business in the past few years. First up is Siobhán Quirke Ó hAilpín, married to GAA legend Seán Óg, after a very successful career in finance and food, Siobhan started the Quirkey Kitchen last year based in Innishannon selling beautiful coffee and treats out of a french converted Citreon HY where she also is available for hire for private events.