This week on Dyed Green, we speak to Shane Neary, the co-owner of NearyNógs Stoneground Chocolate in the Mourne Mountains outside Newry, County Down. NearyNógs was the first bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the north of Ireland when the Neary family opened in 2011. Originally a passion project created to help pay the medical bills of Shane and Dorothy’s daughter, the high demand for the Nearys’ incredible chocolate caused a career pivot and changed their lives forever.

Today, the Nearys run their solar-powered chocolate factory with about ten employees, and ship around the world. On this episode, we talk to Shane about his commitment to sourcing ethically and paying farmers a living wage; tasting notes & terroir in chocolate; and the difference between craft chocolate makers & “melters.”

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com

After a bit of a break, Dyed Green is back with a conversation with Paula McIntyre, a chef, writer, and broadcaster and the director of Slow Food Northern Ireland, based in Portstewart in County Derry. Paula’s passion for cooking began at the age of 8, when she visited an Italian deli in Edinburgh, where she had a formative experience with parmesan cheese and Parma ham. As luck would have it, Kate met Paula at a market in Rome while crying and eating pizza.

Chef Paula McIntyre thinks chefs waste too much time trying to make something fancy that would taste better if it were more simply prepared: “You're not going to end up with anything in three hours that you wouldn't have ended up with in two minutes.” On today’s episode, we discuss Paula’s enduring love affair with turnip tops and Red Cow parmesan, attending culinary school in the United States, and following the food journey of Ulster Scots immigrants along the Appalachian trail.

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com

Rose Greene began her culinary career on a rapidly ascending yet predictable trajectory—a four year culinary arts course followed by many years working in Michelin starred kitchens around the world—before realizing that the nightly slog just wasn’t for her. The never-ending long hours, shady sourcing of produce, and restaurants whose models rely on unpaid labor made her rethink her approach to food and a life in the industry. Then she met her partner Margaux, discovered the wonders of fermentation, and decided to slow down and move forward on her own terms. Together they started 4 Hands Food Studio and haven't looked back.

We spoke with Rose about the importance of a work/life balance; food as nourishment; building her own home; and growing a business that fits your life instead of the other way around.

Dyed Green is a project of Bog & Thunder, whose mission is to highlight the best of Irish food and culture, through food tours, events, and media. Find out more at www.bogandthunder.com.

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