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PROUDLY SPONSORED BY WEEKL.IE GOODNESS - CHRIS CH
APMAN When Chris Chapman helped set up a small experimental music festival called Open Ear, little did he realise that frequent visits to West Cork would ultimately inspire him to start a new business around food. In January he launched Weekl.ie, a new home delivery service putting producers, growers and farmers directly in contact with customers in their homes. “The idea was really about helping people who liked food and cooking in a very hands-on way. West Cork has great food across many different peninsulas, but I realised that in places like Dublin city centre, many people are so time poor that you could really help by offering a service that gives them direct access to great ingredients.” Then COVID-19 happened. “March was like going to a university for this start up,” says Chapman. “We got four years of training in three months. We managed to set up very quickly with key suppliers, producers and growers, whereas under normal circumstances, it might have taken a couple years to come to those relationships.” He goes on to explain that sustainability is central to everything that Weekl.ie does, whether it’s sourcing meat from an organic beef farmer or fish from boats working through Sustainable Seafood Ireland. “Our ethos is that we want to be as sustainable as we can be. We measure everything we do against that value and see where we can make a difference.” New technology and innovations are constantly reviewed to see how they can help support this, while electric bikes are used for local deliveries. Chapman also works with Rory Craig of Station to Station Wine who supplies a small selection of artisanal wines to complement weekly customer choices. On the packaging side too he says, “We have some cool suppliers. Green Beards Juices, Clement & Pekoe Kombucha and Open Hive Honey all take back their bottles and reuse them. It’s a nice thing we can do with the subscription and delivery model for Weekl.ie.” The weekly subscription service also includes free knife sharpening, unusual enough in Dublin these days. “There’s a factory set angle on every knife, so we’re able to measure it and put that angle back onto it, like new. It just makes cooking so much more enjoyable when you have a good knife to work with.” Future plans include hiring out unusual kitchen tools, the kind that people might only ever use once in their lives, and building up a decent bank of information on their website. “For us it’s about giving great produce enough room to breathe and have value for every individual piece,” Chapman concludes, “We’re just at the start of it.” weekl.ie We’re loving… Lobsters Direct: Fresh Carlingford sourced lobsters, crabs and oysters, caught by third generation fishers and delivered to doorsteps nationwide. Perfect for the crustacean season that’s in it. lobstersdirect.ie ROSA MADRE AT HOME When we first spoke to Italian maestro Luca De Marzio four years ago, he told us that his approach to cooking was very straightforward. “Buy only the best because high quality ingredients make everything easier for everyone.” Now the popular Roman chef is forging new pathways as a purveyor of excellent produce himself. Spurred on by the recent lockdown, he set up Rosa Madre at Home, an online ordering system offering a terrific selection of starters, pastas, freshly made sauces and desserts, alongside a nice selection of wine. Instagram photos of Luca’s stunning culinary creations subsequently led to approaches from a number of restaurants and hotels to supply fresh pasta to them, while talks are ongoing with one highend deli also interested in stocking his pasta and sauces. Somewhat uniquely, Luca’s fresh pasta contains just three ingredients; semolino flour sourced from Italy, Irish free range eggs and salt. The pasta is then pasteurised, chill blasted and packaged, without any preservatives. The purity of the process results in a shelf life of just ten days, but Luca believes it is best not to compromise the texture and taste with unnecessary additives. He is confident that; “This is probably the best pasta you can currently buy in Ireland.” As our restaurant critic might say, he’ll get no argument from us. Rosamadreathome.com PICNICS AT AIRFIELD Covid-19 may have robbed us of many of the simple pleasures of life, but it’s still possible to enjoy what’s left of this year’s salad days. A picnic box at Airfield Estate, for instance, feeds two adults at a cost of €22. Choose from a meaty Chicken Box, with delicious smoked free-range chicken and BBQ sauce from Higgins Butchers, or a Quiche Box packed with seasonal organic veggies and Irish artisanal cheese. Both come crammed with smoked garlic and herby potato salad, baked organic garden beets, hummous and seasonal crudites. There’s even a selection of tempting seasonal desserts to finish. Simply pre-book your picnic before 12pm on the day before your visit, relax and let the staff at Overends Kitchen do the rest. (See Gastro pg. 40 for Mr Stevens’ verdict) airfield.ie Pssst – Got some food ’n’ drink nuggets you’d like to share with Totally Dublin readers? Feed them to us for consideration… Email: MM@hkm.ie 45