Mayo food producer honoured at 2023 IFWG Food Awards

FROM eel, ale and sheep’s milk yogurt to eco-friendly pig farming, the winners of the 30th Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards are a diverse group that represent a commitment to provenance, sustainability, quality and flavour above all else.

With just eight prestigious awards presented to artisan food producers each year, Mayo's Velvet Cloud Sheep's Milk Yogurt was one of a select few honoured at the 2023 IFWG Food Awards.

There’s something ethereal about Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Milk Yogurt. Crack open a fresh pot of their velvet-by-name, velvet-by-nature yogurt, and its purity hits you immediately.

Pristine white; there is goodness in there - you can see it. You can taste it too. “Nothing added, nothing strained away,” the label says, just the pure, natural goodness of sheep’s milk from an almost 400-strong flock on the Flanagan family farm near Claremorris.

The texture and flavour of Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Milk Yogurt is outstanding; thick, rich and creamy with a refreshingly light tang. Nutritionally, it punches above its weight with a higher-than-average protein yield, alongside probiotics and live cultures.

This is a supremely versatile product. Eaten on its own, the yogurt is a pleasure in itself, but it performs magical things in sauces, marinades, drinks, bakes and desserts.

Aisling and Michael Flanagan refer to it as their hero product. For all its uses, adaptions and marriages with so many other kitchen staples, it’s a hero of home cooks everywhere.

Speaking about this year’s awards, Caroline Hennessy, chair of the IFWG, said: “Since the Food Awards' inception, each winner has been chosen independently and anonymously by IFWG members, recognising the best in Irish food by shining a light on smaller producers who might otherwise slip under the radar. From traditional products of the highest quality to new innovations, this year’s winners exemplify what is so exciting about Ireland’s food and drink industry right now.”