Crossogue Preserves Wins Tipp County Enterprise Award

Crossogue Preserves

Crossogue Preserves, Ballycahill, Thurles, Co Tipperary has been selected as the overall winner of the 2009 Tipperary County National  Enterprise Award  Competition.

The winner was announced at a prize giving ceremony held at the Peppermill Restaurant, Nenagh on Thursday last and organised by the Tipperary County Enterprise Board.

The competition carries a total prize fund of €3,000 together with a piece of Louise Kennedy crystal. The winner received a cheque for €1,500 and will now advance to represent North Tipperary in the National competition to be held in Dublin Castle on  November 10th next.

At national level the competition carries a prize fund worth in excess of €20,000 together with substancial benificial advertising.

The competition, which is open annually to all small firms that have received financial support from the County Enterprise Board, was first introduced in 1997 to recognise the contribution that small enterprises make to Ireland’s economic development.

This year’s awards were presented by Mr. Matt Shortt, Chairperson of the Tipperary North County Enterprise Board Ltd and Director of Services, North Tipperary County Council.  Rita Guinan, the Enterprise Board CEO acted as MC for this event which was also attended by other Board Directors and members of the Evaluation Committee consisting of Mr Brian Keating, Shannon Development and Mr Tom O’Keeffe, representing Bank of Ireland.

The driving force behind Crossogue Preserves is Mrs.Veronica Molloy, Crossogue House, Ballycahill,Co. Tipperary who was born and raised in Kenya.

Many of the recipes she uses today are family recipes passed down through the generations and initially jam making was simply a hobby, producing preserves for local stores and country markets. However the quality and demand for her product began to grow and was soon recognised by larger commercial stores.

Veronica believes simplicity combined with superiority is the key to her business success. All her preserves are manufactured using traditional cooking methods and only the highest quality ingredients, with no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives being used. This results in achieving a unique and distinctive Tipperary flavour.

Her many products, which include Old Irish Thick Cut Marmalade, Lemon Curd and Cranberry Jelly has won many awards over the past ten years, including a prestigious award by the Guild of Fine Food Fair held in London.  Crossogue Preserve which today make over 85 varieties of jams, marmalade’s, chutneys, curds and jellies can be found stocked in quality retail outlets in Ireland, London and Brussels.  Indeed Veronica was one of a number of Tipperary based businesses who travelled to the Irish Fest in Milwaukee recently, to showcase their Tipperary products for the American market.

In recent times Crossogue Preserves has taken an exotic turn with the launch of a series of new products namely Hot Red Pepper Jelly, Banana Chutney, and Banana and Rum Jam. These new products were inspired by Veronica’s trip to Tanzania last September with the charity “Playing for Life” . Veronica’s mission there was to share her preserve making skills with a class of some fourteen Tanzanian women, using fruits and vegetables locally grown.

Crossogue Preserves are an excellent example of how a small business can grow over time and with thought and planning become a true commercial success story.