A Sligo café owned by a hospitality veteran and champion of Irish producers has been crowned as Ireland’s Favourite Local Business.
Ósta Café and Wine Bar picked up the accolade in a national competition run by Miconex, operators of local Town & City Gift Card programmes across Ireland.
Winner Brid Torrades, who opened Ósta Café and Wine Bar in 2006, has plenty of catering experience as she ran the acclaimed Glebe House in Collooney with husband Marc in the 90s.
Brid said:“I’m originally from Malahide, County Dublin and always had an interest in food.
“My brother Kevin and I spent hours thumbing through my mother’s Good Housekeeping cookery book, long before we could read, and we both became chefs!
“My parents had a coffee shop in Malahide from the time I was 14, which was just at the start of coffee shop culture in Dublin, and it was all hands on deck as it quickly became a favourite local business, attracting people of all ages and backgrounds from all over Dublin.
“After school, I lived in Germany for two years years working as an au-pair, using the host family as guinea pigs for my cooking trials and in a Japanese bank which also exposed me to Asian food.
“I then returned to Malahide to take over the family café for a little while and trained as a professional chef before meeting my husband Marc and moving to France for a couple of years.
“In 1988, we moved back to Ireland after buying an old rectory in Collooney, County Sligo with no water, roof or electricity. It was an idyllic place with 7 acres, a walled garden and a salmon river and we opened a small restaurant with 4 bedrooms.
“In our first year Glebe House Restaurant and Accommodation made The Bridgestone Guides 100 Best Restaurants and 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland, remaining on these lists until we closed 15 years later.
“This was all before the internet of course so we depended very much on repeat business, guide books and word of mouth to keep us going.
“Thanks to Marc’s background in horticulture we were almost self-sufficient in fruit, herbs, flowers and vegetables. We also foraged for mushrooms, shellfish, seaweed and anything else we could as well as buying freshly caught fish from local anglers and game from local hunters.
“Unfortunately, the rectory was held together with paint and restaurants just weren’t getting investment at the time. We had to decide if we would continue putting every penny into the building or take some time for ourselves.
“After selling, I took over the café at The Model in Sligo until it closed for renovations in 2006, opening Ósta Cafe and Wine Bar in the centre of Sligo.
“In 2022 we also opened Ósta at The Model returning to this beautiful location for arts and culture in Sligo.”
For many years, Brid was on the food council of Euro-Toques Ireland and Euro-Toques International, a pan European organisation of chefs which aims to preserve culinary heritage and promote producers of local and seasonal artisan products.
Developing a strong interest in culinary nutrition, Brid completed a Masters in the subject.
Brid added: “My role with Euro-Toques included visits to producers all over Europe and I saw first-hand how much dedication they put into their food.
“It’s very important that producers are supported. Sourcing local produce is something we’ve always done at Ósta, from eggs to cheese, vegetables and quality pork meats. Marc and I now raise Dexter cattle at our farm in Cavan.
“In the last few years I’ve been able to pursue my big interest which is the link between food and human health and more recently the link between soil and human health.
“Today, I mostly develop recipes and cook for special occasions. I’m in and out of the kitchen but my shifts today are much shorter than they were as a young chef!
“I enjoy training young chefs too, especially when they have a real interest in food. My advice for aspiring chefs is to keep it small and simple, and that can be difficult when you’re a creative person, but if you work with quality ingredients, you should be confident in serving your food simply.”
As the winner of Ireland’s Favourite Local Business, Ósta wins a €500 gift card for their local Town & City Gift Card programme, the Love Sligo Gift Card.
Brid says the gift card will be used to treat their team.
“Winning Ireland’s Favourite Local Business is a huge honour and it comes down to our team past and present, our customers, our suppliers as well as the musicians and artists who contribute to the soul of Ósta.
“We’re very much part of the community and our community is part of Ósta. To celebrate winning, we will take the team out for a meal.
“There are lots of amazing restaurants in Sligo where we can spend our gift card prize. What I like about the gift card is that it has a very similar ethos to Ósta and is all about supporting local businesses.”
Gail McGibbon, CEO at Sligo BID said: “We’re so proud to see Ósta win this prize. Brid is a passionate supporter of local in all its guises, and has done so much to advance the local first philosophy not only in Sligo but in Ireland. Congratulations to Brid and the team at Ósta.”
Fintech Miconex, founders of the Town & City Gift Card concept active across Ireland, is sponsoring Ireland’s Favourite Local Business 2024.
Over 20,000 local businesses are part of Miconex’s local gift card programmes around the world with over €35m spent locally through the cards.
Managing director of Miconex Colin Munro said: “What makes Town & City Gift Cards, like the Love Sligo Gift Card, so unique are the range of businesses they represent and support, including a wide range of food and drink based businesses.
“Seeing Ósta, a well-loved hospitality business take the crown as Ireland’s favourite local business is fantastic and it shines a light on the hugely positive impact hospitality businesses have on Irish towns and cities.”
Top photo: Finbarr Filan, Chairperson Sligo BID, Martin Kieran (winner), Brid Torrades (Ósta Cafe and Wine Bar), Gail McGibbon, CEO, Sligo BID.