Back in 2004, Malcolm & Fiona Falconer sat with their three small children at the kitchen table of their terraced home in South London and decided to change their lives forever. Sticking a pin in a map of Ireland, they jumped ship and bought a small holding of four acres in Monamolin, Co Wexford. They built an eco-friendly house and planted a large traditional vegetable garden and forage forest on the land. As a huge array of plants matured within a few years, Wild About Food Ltd was born with the ethos of “providing quality, seasonal, local products, ecologically grown at an affordable price”.
Their garden has a vast array of fruit bushes, berries, nuts, herbs and fruit trees as well as a native Irish hedgerow which has an abundance of elderberries, rose hips, slows and haws. These are rich in vitamins, antioxidants and riboflavins and used in many of the products. No pesticides or chemicals are used as they are successfully operating on the permaculture principles of planting plants in close proximity to each other which attract insects that in turn attack the pests that can cause the damage in the first place. The promoters use all of their own core ingredients, or source locally from the wild or from a host of Wexford food producers.
The hard-working couple have literally started from scratch to deliver a wide range of unique products from wild and farm grown fruit and vegetables. Their vast and growing product range includes artisan chutneys, preserves, syrups, cocktail bases and wild pesto.
During the past year, they won 1st prize in the All Ireland Farmers Market competition held at Enniscorthy as well as the Good Food Ireland Food Producer of the Year 2013. The business is going from strength to strength and both Malcolm & Fiona have good reason to be proud of their achievements and confident of the long-term viability of their business.
Wexford Local Development are delighted to have been able to support them through the LEADER programme with grant aid towards capital and marketing costs which has helped to develop Wild About Food as a premium artisan brand of which Wexford can be proud.
Last weekend, Wild About Food showcased their product range at both the Golden Shears World Sheep-Shearing Championships in Gorey and the Food Festival in Wexford town, while later this week, they will fly the Wexford flag for five days at the Bloom Festival in Dublin.
For more information visit www.wildabout.ie