What a year it has been for Daisy Cottage Farm, and it’s not just for the obvious reason that everyone will remember 2020 😉
The biggest thing about 2020 came in September – our Traditional Irish Brown Bread won a 2 Gold Star Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food in the UK! It got a great report from the judges saying that the finished loaf has “a soft, golden crust that rose well and cut evenly to reveal a moist, buttery crumb which was close set and toasted beautifully but was equally as good fresh, topped with butter and jam as well as enjoyed on its own with cheese.”
The great thing about our mixes is that they are a canvas for your own baking creations! If you want to have coconut scones you can – the mixes are that versatile! You get 30 years of Lorraine’s baking experience in a bottle!
Our mixes were listed in Lidl Ireland and Lidl Northern Ireland as part of their Kickstarter campaign in August 2020 which was great to get a profile around the whole island and to generate awareness, and most importantly orders after stock left the Lidl stores. Our range of baking hampers built on the success of our baking mixes– The “In Good Company” Hamper which unites 2 of our award-winning baking mixes – the Great Taste Award winning Irish Brown Bread Mix and the Blas na hÉireann award-winning Irish Fruit Scone mix along with a wooden spoon – a perfect Christmas stocking filler or a gift for a teacher at the end of term!
The Baking Starter Kit is a perfect gift too – 3 of our baking mixes, a scone-cutter, a wooden spoon and a tea towel – another great gift idea – especially at Christmas time. Now, who wouldn’t like to wake up on St. Stephen’s Day morning to the smell of freshly baked soda bread? Our Daisy Deluxe Baking Hamper is our “piece de resistance” with all you need to start baking delicious bread – 3 bottles of our baking mixes, a mixing bowl, a loaf tin, a scone cutter, wooden spoon, a tea towel and most importantly a timer! One of our customers bought 6 of these for her family to host a Christmas morning bake-along – we’re honoured to be a part of their Christmas celebration and the creation of great memories.
Thanks to the changes during 2020, we’ve all come to know our home areas a whole lot better! With the cancellation of so many food festivals and agricultural shows around the country, we kept it local and set up on the Green in Kiltegan every Friday morning before moving to Saturday mornings – we called it #GreenFriday and #GreenSaturday. We were overjoyed at how the local community came out to support us in a safe way given the restrictions we were all order. It gave the community a chance to meet neighbours and exchange news during the strange times we were living in.
One question was on everyone’s lips each week – who would be the Queen of Scones? It was the perfect way to take people’s minds off of the world news each week! It was simple – we posted 2 flavours of scone each week on Facebook and asked for votes on which would be the guest scone flavour that week on the Green in Kiltegan! It pitted old favourites from the Daisy Cottage Café in Tinahely like Strawberry and White Chocolate up against newer flavours like Rhubarb and Ginger. The lucky winner each week got a box of 6 of the winning flavour to take home – lucky them!
Halloween 2020 was a big highlight and got a mention in the Wicklow People! With trick or treating being cancelled, we asked the kids of the area to come to #GreenFriday dressed up and everyone would receive a treat from our resident witch! We loved the effort which everyone put into their costumes…and got a few frights too!
Thinking about great kids – you know that you’ve arrived when you are known just by your first name! Lorraine joined the illustrious company of Oprah and Beyoncé this year by being known just by her first name! Back in June, she met the postman at the Daisy Cottage Farm one morning who gave her this letter, saying it must be for her as there is only one Lorraine in Kiltegan after all. An Post will never surprise us! Inside was a lovely handmade thank you card from Holly in Ballymore Eustace, Co. Wicklow!
Holly’s Granny and Lorraine are proud members of the Early Risers club who listen to Shay Byrne on Rising Time on RTÉ Radio 1 from 5.30 am each morning. Holly and her Granny made the Daisy Cottage Farm brown bread which she got in Aldi in 2019. The lovely loaf of brown bread was waiting to be enjoyed with some butter and jam over a cup of tea with her Granny – so sweet! But…
The loaf disappeared to Holly’s disappointment and she still doesn’t know what happened to it! Lorraine heard the news and sent Holly one of her complete baking hampers with all Holly needed to get baking again! We’re still loving the good vibes – all through Shay Byrne and Risin’ Time.
It’s great to end with a bit of positivity as we look forward to 2021 – happy baking!