FDBusiness.com

County Meath producers, mother and son team, Catriona and Rory Flaherty, have won a coveted ‘Great Taste Golden Fork’ Award in London. They were chosen from 10,000 entries across the UK and Ireland. The Flaherty family won for their ‘Dunnes Stores Simply Better’ Irish Handmade Sticky Toffee Pudding, an exclusive recipe created by the Flahertys with the Dunnes Stores ‘Simply Better’ team.

Catriona and Rory travelled to the Golden Fork Awards with last year’s Supreme Champion 2015, craft butcher Pat Whelan and Chef Neven Maguire, who both work with the ‘Simply Better’ team.

The Great Taste Golden Fork Awards are hosted by the Guild of Fine Food and judged by more than 400 food critics, writers and chefs. Dunnes Stores were awarded 30 Great Taste Awards in July, 17 of these from the ‘Simply Better’ food collection. Two of its products were awarded the highest three star rating, Simply Better’s Handmade Irish Blackcurrant Preserve, made by Tom and Laura Sinnott from Wexford, and Flaherty’s Irish Handmade Sticky Toffee Pudding. The pudding was one of just 16 selected to go forward for the prestigious ‘Golden Fork’ Awards.

“We are so proud of Catriona and Rory and the huge success they have achieved with this award. We met the family at Sheridan’s Food Festival in Meath in June 2015 and have loved working them since to create our exclusive sticky toffee pudding. It has always been a firm favourite for customers and we were delighted that the Guild of Fine Food chose it to serve as dessert for last night’s awards dinner,” says Diarmuid Murphy, ‘Simply Better’ Brand Manager.

The Flaherty family’s ‘Golden Fork’ winning Irish Handmade Sticky Toffee Pudding features traditional handmade date sponge using Irish butter and free range eggs. A layer of luscious salted caramel sauce, made with Irish Atlantic sea salt, sits on the base and slowly absorbs up through the sponge as it bakes to create a truly indulgent pudding of exceptional flavour.

Catriona Flaherty set up her business in Meath with her son, Rory, a building surveyor by profession. Based just outside Kilmessan in County Meath, the puddings are handmade by Catriona, Rory and Rory’s fiancé Anna. The ‘Simply Better’ puddings are made in small batches of just 54 at a time.

The ‘Simply Better’ Award Winning food collection features over 300 products developed with artisan food producers from Ireland and select producers in Europe. ‘Simply Better’ are continuously developing their range working in collaboration with passionate producers and family businesses. Many of their products are handmade using traditional methods.

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Pictuered (left to right): Rory Flaherty, Catriona Flaherty, Chef Neven Maguire and Diarmuid Murphy, Simply Better Brand Manager.