Ireland: Violetta potatoes a hit with chefs

Irish housewife and mother Maria Flynn has started her own business growing speciality potatoes, Ballymakenny Farm Heritage Potatoes. She grew the potatoes last year and they have been a big hit. Wife of a potato grower, she came up with the idea after talking to a grower of baby vegetables who said that chefs had to import speciality veggies if they wanted to use it in their kitchens. As her husband was already growing potatoes she decided to go for a speciality potato, a purple one, to maximise the impact. Maria contacted seed growers in Scotland and Andrew Skea from Skea Organics recommended the purple Violetta variety. Maria and her husband attended the Bite Food Festival in the RDS and with the help of a local chef she did tastings for the the public and the response was amazing. Although some people did think they were massage stones! More