Mayo butter and salmon fit for a queen

GOOD FOOD Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, pictured at a special State Dinner in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle in her honour on day two of her  State Visit to Ireland. She sat between Enda Kenny, (left) Taoiseach of Ireland and Mary McAleese President of Ireland. ?Pic: Maxwells

Mayo butter and salmon fit for a Queen


Deirdre Gavin

The Butler family of Shraheens, Balla can stand back and take a bow after both their prizewinning products were featured on the menu at the State banquet for Queen Elizabeth at Dublin Castle last Wednesday. Cuinneog Butter and Buttermilk were included by Chef Ross Lewis of Chapter One who supervised the creation and cooking of the feast. Salmon from the Clare Island Organic Salmon company was also used as part of the starter.
Cuinneog is a family business run by Tom and Sheila Butler and family which was established in 1990 to produce a country-style butter. The company which is a member of Good Food Ireland also produces Cuinneog natural buttermilk, which is a by-product of the fermented cream.
“All of us at Cuinneog are very honoured”, said Tom Butler. “It’s an affirmation of the quality of our products and we’re really proud that they were served to Queen Elizabeth in Dublin Castle”.
Cuinneog Farmhouse Irish Country Butter was served to the 172 guests at the tables. Cuinneog Buttermilk was used to bake traditional soda bread. The entire banquet was a showcase of the best in contemporary Irish food from all over the 32 counties. It was hosted in Dublin Castle by the President and Dr Martin McAleese in honour of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
“We were delighted to receive a call from one of the chefs who was familiar with our products and wanted to include it on the menu for the state dinner. There was a lot of security involved, we were sworn to secrecy and there was a lot of security for delivery which is understandable when it comes to food,” Tom explained.
Both Cuinneog products are award-winning in their own right including the prestigious Great Taste Gold Award and Euro-Toques Food Awards. Speaking on all the celebrity fans Cuinneog will have as a result of the dinner Tom joked: “If only Enda Kenny knew the butter was from his own county and out the road from him.”
The county was also well represented at the meal with the salmon starter also coming from Mayo. The salmon which was cured and served  along with smoked salmon cream and lemon balm jelly, horseradish and wild watercress was provided by Clare Island Organic Salmon.
The brand has been one of the country’s biggest open salmon farms which was established in the mid 1980s off Clare Island. Their salmon has been exported world wide and has won many accolades over the years.