This enterprise by Peter and Marita Collier is on a 100 acre farm that’s been farmed by Peter’s family for over 150 years - and is now 'The Home of Irish Garlic'.
A ‘love of real fresh home grown food and an amazing trip to India’ inspired the couple to focus on garlic.
Having started with four varieties in 2013, they later extended the range to produce ten varieties - Spanish Morado Garlic; Red Czech Garlic; Mikulov Garlic; Messidor Garlic; Bohemian Rose Garlic; Red Duke Garlic; Solent Wight Garlic; Vallelado Garlic; Carcassonne Wight Garlic - all of which sound impossibly exotic for a County Louth farm.
Full details of each variety grown - and also Elephant Garlic (which is actually a garlic-like member of the leek family, and not a true garlic), Green Garlic (the young plant of any of the garlic varieties), and Garlic Scapes (see below) - are given on their website.
Garlic ‘scapes’ (the flower stalk of hard neck garlic varieties, a by-product which is usually wasted) have proved an unexpectedly successful seasonal extra. They're available fresh for only a few weeks in late May/June but they freeze well; delicious as a vegetable / ingredient and popular for garlic pesto, the Colliers include cooking instructions on the packs.
2014 saw another exciting new development, with the planting of four acres of asparagus. The sandy coastal soil provides ideal growing conditions for asparagus, which will be an annual treat for food lovers in late spring and early summer, and a real education for many. Anyone who has only tasted imported garlic will be amazed by the difference in the texture and flavour of the locally grown produce - and the many variations available - although it is a labour-intensive crop and sells out immediately, so catch it it quickly if you spot it for sale.
Tara Walker, of East Coast Cookery School (see entry) at Termonfeckin, was an early champion of the Colliers' enterprising business and never misses an opportunity to introduce these premium local products to students attending her courses. She has a great recipe for Garlic Scape Tempura on her website, and it's made with Dan Kelly's Cider (see entry) which is also produced nearby. Some top chefs, including Ed Cooney of The Merrion Hotel (see entry), have also been quick to see the potential in these great new products and national distribution is planned through Redmond Fine Foods.
Locally, Drummond House produce is sold in a number of shops, including Tuites Butchers, Drogheda; Irish Farm Cheese Shop, Drogheda; The Forge Field Farm Shop and Madden's Centra, Termonfeckin; Gareth's Family Butchers, Termonfeckin and Clogherhead; Fisherman's Catch, Clogherhead (harbour). Also available at the farm.
