Andy said: “We believe this is the first service of its kind in Northern Ireland where a gourmet meal is delivered right to your door rather than having to collect it in restaurant. In order to ensure the meals can withstand delivery, we use a sustainable packaging system called WoolCool which combines sheep’s wool insulation with ice packs to maintain correct food temperatures and shield the precious contents from bumps and bangs.”
Orders are delivered each Friday and can then be prepared that night or kept in the refrigerator for use over the weekend. The meals are designed to be as easy as possible for customers to serve at home.
Roz, who is originally from Holywood, explained: “We produce meals in our professional kitchen at Ards Business Hub that we enjoy ourselves and change the menu each month. We are lucky because this area has some of the best local produce suppliers and we take inspiration from our growers. Peter Hannan’s Salt aged Irish Beef, North Coast lamb and Sugar pit bacon are firm favourites with the customers.”
Roz and Andy met while working as chefs at Chapter One, a Two Michelin Star restaurant in Dublin. They’ve recently bought at home in Newtownards and love the new work-life balance, which allows them to enjoy much more time with their six-year-old son Roe.
Andy, originally from Weymouth in Dorset, left school at 15 to study catering. He began work in an Italian family style restaurant in his home city. This training led him to work for Marco Pierre White in London and also as head chef at Bennelong, the fine dining restaurant in Sydney Opera House.
Roz started off as a graphic designer and illustrator after going to Art College. Her interest in food grew as she ran the gallery at the Bay Tree Coffee House in Holywood. She began her career as a chef at Shu Restaurant in Belfast, before working at the Tannery in Dungarvan under Paul Flynn and then at the Michelin-starred Texture and The Clove Club in London.
The couple then took jobs in Barbados where they lived for two years, running a new restaurant on the island’s luxurious west coast. In 2016, with the addition of baby Roe, they came home to open Hara in Hillsborough.
When the first pandemic lockdown hit, they pivoted to serving luxury meals for customers to takeaway and the business went from strength to strength.
Andy added: “The feedback was brilliant, but we were limited to the areas we could supply because it was confined to a physical pick-up in Hillsborough.”
Now they are focusing on the new fast-growing venture with plans to take on adjacent premises and additional staff in the coming months.
Andy said: “We wanted to locate the business near our home and when we saw Ards Business Hub, we knew it would be perfect. It’s ideal for a start-up as there was no real outlay and they offer a short-term lease. At the moment we have one member of staff but plan to grow so we have the space for that.”
Ards Business Hub Chief Executive, Nichola Lockhart said: “Hara at Home is a new business that is really meeting a demand for gourmet dishes prepared by top chefs and delivered to homes throughout Ireland. It is very exciting for us at Ards Business Hub to see a company reacting to market trends and delivering an innovative product.”
Andy & Roz Turner
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