A bond has long existed between Ireland and France, and the two countries have cooperated on many ventures over the years. The 1982 TV serial, The Year of The French, for example, was a unique co-production between RTÉ, Channel 4 and the French broadcaster FR3. Over six one-hour episodes, the show depicted the historical events of 1798, when a small flotilla of French troops sailed to Ireland to support a rebellion against Crown forces marshalled under command of Lord Cornwallis.
Around the time that the show first aired, a fresh-faced young Irishman John O’Connor (now of Prestige Foods) had just graduated from culinary college and was planning on setting off on an epic journey to France from his home in Listowel, Co Kerry.
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Prestige Foods, which makes delectable desserts for the Simply Better range, was born of a French flight of fancy
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I had written to around 10 top hotels in France, looking for work. One of them wrote back offering me a job and, of course, I was delighted. The brother Tom, thanks be to God, decided to go along with me,” John says.
In anticipation of their big trip, the brothers’ heads were filled with visions of sipping vin rouge in sophisticated French cafés, when disaster struck. John received a telegram with disturbing news.
“There were no phones in those days. The only phone was in the village three miles away. A telegram arrived cancelling my job, three days before I was due to leave.”
Faced with the prospect of abandoning his dream trip, John made a quick executive decision.
“I was home alone at the time. I picked up the telegram and threw it into the fire. I didn’t tell the mother and father but I told Tom. The two of us went over to France anyway, and I went up to the hotel and said ‘I’m John O’Connor and I’m here to start my job.’”
The somewhat bemused French hoteliers replied that they had sent a telegram informing John that the position was sadly no longer available, to which he simply replied that, “there are no telegrams in Ireland”.
From award-winning Simply Better artisanal treats to Neven Maguire’s luxury cookware, there’s something for everyone on your nice list this year
Well rounded
The Baked Madagascan Vanilla Cheesecake is one of its maker’s favourites, best served topped with warm chocolate ganache. Available in store from 16.12.2024.
Exotic delights
Mango & Passion Fruit Mousse
Prestige have expanded their range just in time for Christmas with new twin-packs designed for sharing. This range includes the famous Raspberry Sherry Trifle as well as a new Belgian Chocolate Trifle that was inspired by a recipe by Simply Better brand ambassador Neven Maguire. This indulgent treat is made up of layers of Belgian chocolate mousse, Madagascan vanilla-flavoured custard and Belgian chocolate ganache with sumptuous brownie pieces. The delectable ensemble is then topped off with a smattering of white and dark chocolate shavings for a perfect combination of flavour and texture.
There is also a new twin-pack Mango & Passion Fruit Mousse, Raspberry Panna Cotta and Baked Madagascan Vanilla Cheesecake. Describing the evolution of these flavours, John is quick to give credit where it’s due.
Everything is made in-house, even the curd for the mousse — we use Irish butter to make it
Shaping a passion
Susan Robbins finds the craft in baking
The shape
of things
Tis but a trifle
SALT
OF THE EARTH
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The hotel in question didn’t give him a job, but — either out of guilt about their last-minute cancellation or admiration for the brothers’ get-up-and-go attitude — they gave the pair free room and board for a week. Within three weeks, the enterprising duo had found jobs.
“It was either go home or stay and take our chances. Tom was a qualified baker and I had trained as a chef,” John says.
And so they stayed, honing their respective crafts and picking up tips about how the French do things. By the end of their sojourn, John would “go down into Paris as if I was strolling into Listowel town — you got so used to it. I enjoyed every minute of it,” he says.
Having accumulated experience working in a high-end French kitchen, John eventually returned to his native Listowel and, with a small loan, set up a delicatessen where he could bring that knowledge to bear for his local community. He was known locally as ‘John the deli’ for “18 or 19 years” and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Eventually, however, he decided to take the plunge into food production.
“I went to a local man, Xavier McCall, and asked him for some money to invest in a business. That day, we shook hands on a deal and we have spent 21 years working in partnership since.”
The business in question, Prestige Foods, has built up a reputation for its delicious desserts, made in-house with locally sourced ingredients.
Previously, when running the deli, John would be waiting for suppliers to deliver goods for his customers. Now, as a supplier, he was suddenly the one people were relying on to arrive on time with their food. It was a shift of focus and a steep learning curve.
“My goodness me, it was a different journey, totally. The first year was tough enough. We had about eight employees. Today, we have 65,” John says.
It’s a group effort at Prestige. “The team members are all equally important, each one of them, no matter what they do here, in production or in management. There’s no one above the other or below.”
The success of the business has meant that products by Prestige Foods have been enjoyed far beyond the company’s roots in its native Listowel. “We export to the UK, France and Switzerland and, of course, we serve our own home market in both food service and retail, with people such as the team at Simply Better for Dunnes Stores,” John adds.
A prestige Christmas
Prestige Foods have been working with Dunnes Stores since 2013, when they first launched their Raspberry Sherry Trifle. The word trifle itself derives from the Middle English word ‘trufle’, originally meaning fraud, joke or trick but usually used these days to describe something trivial or insignificant.
The trifle they make at Prestige Foods may indeed be light and fluffy, but it is anything but insignificant. For many, trifle is a very important dish, especially during the holiday season. Christmas pudding is all well and good but for its fans, trifle is the real star of the show. The trifle they make in Listowel is both sweet and tart, but feels light on the palate. The cream adds the right amount of smoothness, cut through with the all-important splash of sherry to make for a perfect post-feast pudding.
What makes up the constituent parts of the trifle is all down to the chefs at Prestige, as John explains. “We have total control of the recipe. First of all, we make our own sponge as well as our own custard, in-house.
We use dairy cream from the local co-operative here at Lee Strand; lovely dairy cream from the green pastures of North Kerry.”
Those pastures have spectacular views across the Atlantic ocean, a stone’s throw from the Prestige Foods base on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Maker's pride
John O'Connor at Prestige Foods HQ in Co Kerry
“I have Tracy working with me here in NPD (New Product Development). She’s a chef, like myself. She does 90 per cent of the work and I take 90 per cent of the credit. That’s how we get on so well.”
It’s a formula that seems to work.
“Everything is made in-house, even the curd for the mousse. We don’t buy it out of a tin — we use Irish butter to make it and that way we control the quality and get the right consistency,” says John.
John describes the brand’s Mango & Passion Fruit Mousse as “a creamy soft dessert topped with a mango and passion fruit glaze, so it’s subtle. It’s not aerated but it’s light.”
On the cheesecake, John says, “I love the baked cheesecake. It’s a very simple dessert but very difficult to make. People have referred to it as a New York-style cheesecake, but whatever you call it, it does the trick.” Free range eggs are used, and the cake has no preservatives or artificial sweeteners. For serving up, meanwhile, John has his own technique.
“I make a bit of chocolate ganache and I spoon that over it. The cheesecake is cold but the ganache is hot and that’s a wonderful combination.”
All of the company’s desserts for the Simply Better range are simple in ingredients, but complex to produce to the high standards that their customers expect.
It’s the perfect combination: fresh Irish produce, perfected with a little French panache picked up along the way, all thanks to a telegram that apparently never reached its intended destination. Enjoy a Joyeux Noel this year with the Simply Better range of desserts from Prestige Foods, available at your local Dunnes Stores.
Where does sticky toffee pudding come from? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Indeed, amongst the dessert community, the origins of this delicious, treacly treat are a hotly contested topic.
Sticky toffee pudding can lay claim to being one of the world’s most recognisable desserts. It is an option that adorns menus everywhere, from Arkansas to Asia, so it is understandable that in many places across the world people are vociferous in their claims to have invented this ubiquitous delicacy.
All is golden
The gold prize-winning Simply Better Handmade Sticky Toffee Pudding Crown makes for an irresistible centrepiece at Christmas
FRENCH
Sweet medley
Above: Mini Cheesecake; Left: Belgian Chocolate Trifle;
Right: Mini Raspberry Sherry Trifle’, all included in the Simply Better range
Exotic delights
Mango & Passion Fruit Mousse
Available in store from 21.12.2024