Game changers for busy lives

Does cooking ever feel (whisper it) a bit of a chore? We all love to eat good things, but sometimes — what with work, children and life admin — it can all be a bit much on a Tuesday evening, or if the sun is shining and the garden or park beckons. We all live busy lives, and making a meal from scratch isn’t always what you want to do after a hectic day at work. And time with family is precious — you want to gather, enjoy each other’s company rather than spending the time shopping, chopping, cooking or on clean-up.

Sometimes what is called for is a touch of instant gratification. That is to say, ideas, shortcuts, smart ingredients, multitaskers — things that will take you from zero to delicious supper with the most minimal effort. Sound intriguing? Donnybrook Fair can make this happen with a simple shop. It makes family Friday nights and weekend meals together easy with its tasty home-cooked dinners already portioned and easy to heat and serve. Fire them into the oven and within 30 minutes you have a bubbling, comforting dish that tastes incredible. A premium ready meal you can feel happy about.

Nik Dillon who runs Alkamee, a boutique brand agency and is also a busy mother of two, hungry teenage boys aged 13 and 16 is a huge fan of Donnybrook Fair. “The quality of their food is fantastic,” she explains. “It’s like the Disneyland of grocery stores, there are always so many delicious types of every kind of food to choose from. They’re huge supporters of Irish artisan food producers and it’s impossible to walk through without finding something great to eat. It’s also incredibly easy to eat healthily when you shop there. They make veggies, fish and other health foods look attractive in a way that other shops can’t manage. But it’s their hand-prepared ready meals that are the ultimate crowd pleasers in our house.”

“I feel each and every morsel is prepared with an emphasis on quality ingredients and the flavour factor is consistently next level,” she adds. “The winning appeal for our family is the range of recipes, which I know have been tried, tested and tasted by professional chefs. Every day is an opportunity for a new culinary adventure. We all have different favourites and the beauty of ‘Donnybrook Fair nights’, is that we get to pick our personal dinners, individually portioned for ease. My husband Adam is a hearty pasta lover and invariably goes for the lasagne. My older son prefers spicier food and hops between the Thai green curry, chicken korma and the chicken tikka masala. My youngest son is obsessed with their spaghetti bolognese and I adore their marinated seabass. Actually, it’s hard to pick just one favourite dish here, they’re all crackers.”

It’s chocs away, with a magical escape from the ordinary on the westernmost side of Dingle’s Slea Head

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Executive head chef John Dunne personally certifies ingredients for use, to ensure the highest quality for their meals.

“Our chefs carry out daily tastings across all our food to ensure standards are always at their highest. We are aware that we are only as good as our last meal, and that meal needs to be good enough for your table — this ethos drives us to keep quality high and consistent. We encourage our chefs to take pride in their work, and it’s my job to ensure this pride translates into exceptional quality in every meal, throughout the kitchen.

Each batch of new dishes are hand-cooked in their kitchens in small batches to ensure freshness, quality and consistency. “Each and every recipe is first developed in individual batches to ensure the flavour and texture meets our demands, and is then passed to our team of chefs to create. The scale may change but the methods never stray from a small-batch ethos,” he says.

As well as Donnybrook Fair’s award-winning gourmet dishes like beef bourguignon, classic comfort recipes like shepherd’s pie and cottage pie have become legendary sensations. Maybe because both feature lashings of Irish butter, low-fat-content prime beef mince and seasonal spud varieties for the mashed potato toppings. Some fans have been known to bring their own pie dish into their local store and ask the staff to fill it up with Donnybrook Fair classics so that they can then pass off the tasty spread as homemade to their book club or sports night or whoever dropped in mid-week.

“Of course, it’s also remarkably handy,” says Dillon, “I know that at the end of a long working day, I can simply pop into Donnybrook Fair at Dundrum or my nearby SuperValu in Knocklyon and pick up a tasty supper in minutes — one that’s guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face. And you can rely on the same delicious experience each time you choose their dishes. I know I’m getting value for money as the portions are substantial and the meal deals work beautifully for our family of four. Even more compelling for me, is knowing that each dish is protein-packed and has no artificial flavourings or colourings — finding nutritious food my lads look forward to eating is like finding the Holy Grail … They’re even fans of their salads — we all love the potato salad, creamy coleslaw and carrot and roasted pumpkin seed salad.

It’s their hand-prepared meals that are the ultimate crowd pleasers in our house

“I really feel Donnybrook Fair pride themselves on giving its customers that little bit extra in everything they do. As a seasoned home baker myself, I don’t know how they make their baked goods and treats so moreish but our kids can’t get enough of their chunky rocky roads and cookies. If it’s a weekend, I’ll also pick up artisan soft drinks (lemon and lime and pink lemonade) for the boys and some premium craft beer or a bottle of Prosecco for me and Adam.”

“As a family, we love a good meal out and we also love cooking. But in today’s fast-paced world, finding time to cook a delicious comforting meal can be a challenge. So when we can, we love to kick back and treat ourselves to restaurant quality food in the comfort of our own home. It saves us hours in the kitchen and the value of time spent hanging out together and being properly present as a family is priceless,” she concludes.

Donnybrook Fair’s hand-prepared meals and baked treats are available at its Dublin stores as well as select SuperValu and Centra stores nationwide