Meet the people who make Food & Drink the Waterford Way – their place, their history, their community, their stories
Eunice Power, Eunice Power Catering
Eunice Power is one of Ireland’s foremost caterers and a massive supporter of Food the Waterford Way. She first started Eunice Power Catering after she identified a niche in the market for handmade, quality food, made by local producers instead of the mass produced alternative.
“Being from County Waterford I have access to the most amazing ingredients, which I consider to be an absolute pleasure to introduce to the rest of the country,” Eunice said. “Waterford has some really great producers who I love working with, which of course makes the job so much easier.”
Eunice’s background is in hotel management and she has a rich history of food production and hospitality and her catering business, which really started to blossom in 2004, was born out of a Guest House and Restaurant that she ran from home. Her love of food is evident in her hands-on approach to all of her cooking, being involved in every stage from ordering from Waterford’s best local suppliers to preparation and front of house. Her reputation is unrivalled in the business and she has rightly earned herself a reputation for quality and service that has ensured a loyal and ever expanding customer base. Eunice of course, puts so much of the fine work that she does, down to the quality of people, and ingredients, that she gets to work with.
“We have access to so many amazing ingredients down here,” she said. “For example, we get our fish fresh from Helvick, our fruit and veg comes in fresh from the Country Store, our meats come in fresh from some thriving farms around the county…we’re just spoilt for choice.”
Eunice does a lot of work with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland in a training capacity and also selling tourism through food, which is something she feels very passionate about. Her catering company covers a lot of weddings, functions and corporate events, including a recent sit down gala dinner that she did in the 3 Arena for 2240 people!
“A lot of the ingredients at the dinner came from County Waterford, which is pretty amazing and was a huge pleasure for me personally,” Eunice said. “It’s a testament to the great team that I’m working with and the amazing food that we have at our disposal.”
What does Food the Waterford Way mean to you?
“Quite simply, it means everything to me,” Eunice said. “If you think of something as simple as Flahavans Porridge, which is one of the best foods we can get. People buy all these expensive cereals for breakfast but a bowl of porridge, made right on our doorstep is the most nourishing thing you can have, with some lovely local honey! We have it all right here in Waterford and we are so lucky in that regard.”
What motivates you?
“I get excited about what we do because we bring joy to people through food,” Eunice said. “Whether we’re catering for a private event or a corporate one, we’re almost like a vessel for all the fantastic local producers that we have here in Waterford. We get to pass on their story to the consumer, which I really believe is a vital part of the job. I love it because every day is different and I love the huge variety that comes with the job.”
What’s next for Eunice Power Catering?
“I’m hoping to open a new business in Dungarvan early next year,” Eunice said. “It’s going to be a Gourmet Takeaway that’s going to highlight food from the local area and give people a quality alternative to Fast Food.”
Want to learn more – check out www.foodthewaterfordway.com or follow us @Waterford_Way
Food the Waterford Way is a new initiative funded by Waterford City & County Council to highlight all the great local food and producers we have in Waterford, and we want to share some of their stories and let people know how they can support local and have some great food and drink experiences. We’ve commissioned a series of profiles of local food and drink producers and we hope that this would be of interest to your readers. Any queries, please contact Eimhin Ni Chonchuir our Food the Waterford Way co-ordinator on experience@foodthewaterfordway.com or 087 9896708
