Evening all,
Last week I had a quick review of my blogs & recognised some key trends...Mr Delicious..stress..the van....fear...sleepless nights...The Delicious Food Co brand........cash flow.....my house... I pondered how much, if anything I had managed to change....
I know I promised to give up making deliveries & we are working on that at the moment...Web site & social media are being addressed. Already up to end of October we have exceeded last years total sales by 10%. We have stopped to draw breath & are working with the fabulous Johan van de Merwe (www.foodstyle.ie) on tweaking our salad range to introduce bigger, bolder flavours....
With sales up cash flow has improved & I have slept well for two full weeks....now ain't that something....
In my blog," Harry this one's for you"....I said my life is dominated by the highs & lows of my business...that I need to reduce it's dominance in my life....I think I may be achieving that too.
On Wednesday I was due to showcase my gorgeous salads & sandwiches at a food fair for Irish producers in Fresh in Grand Canal Dock...I love the Fresh team:; from day one they have been so supportive of our business, not just in terms of sales but with advice & encouragement. Mr Delicious & Johan had produced a fab new range of salads to launch at the food fair. At 3.30pm, as I headed to Smithfield to pick the food from the kitchen I got a text from my brother to say a beloved aunt who was in hospital had taken a turn for the worst & had little time left.My first thought was that I couldn't let the Fresh client down...I'd go to the fair, display my wares, leave early, leg it to Drogheda, hopefully before it was too late.
But as I drove down the quays it slowly dawned on me that the nearer I got to Smithfield the nearer I was Drogheda....and so I did something I don't think I would have done a year ago. I called the client in Fresh & explained what was happening....he told me to forget the food fair & go to what was important ...my aunt in hospital... and so I bypassed my kitchen & headed in my little van straight to the MI to be with Rose....
When I got there Rose was in an agitated coma, I stayed with her alone after the family had left until after 2.30am...I sang to her, I prayed with her & I reminisced about my childhood that she was so much part of with her.....all the while she held my hand tightly. At 2am the nurses came in to change her medication & they had to prize her fingers from my hand. When I returned to the room she was finally in a deep peaceful sleep'
Rose died peacefully this morning and I have no regrets. On Wednesday with the blessing of the client I did the right thing....and those hours I had with Rose will stay with me always....
I will do a food tasting in Fresh next week....and I have little doubt that my aunt Rose & my dad (the ultimate in plain country grubbers...) will be looking down at me from heaven as I entice my customers to taste my "Roasted Beetroot & Puy Lentil Salad" or "Lemon Chicken & Couscous Salad with Pistachios" and they will howl with laughter....saying "God bless our Shirley...she always did have notions of grandeur..., sure that's not food she's serving down there...at all, at all "
RIP
Shirley x
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