We used to think of sauces as just accompaniments. Ketchup over chips, mayo in a sandwich or tomato sauce stirred into pasta was about the height of sauciness. But today, what’s being dolloped, squirted or spooned into a dish has taken on a very important role.
Paul McGuigan, the managing director of Honed Flavours, is someone who has played a part in the rise of the humble condiment. Honed has been producing high quality sauces for the past 20 years, and Paul says the sauce scene has “changed so much” in this time. “Especially with all these influencers now, it’s a very Instagram attractive thing to see guys drizzling sauces. It’s everywhere.”
Paul is the second generation of the family-run business which operates from a production facility in Strabane, Co Tyrone. They started out with one product: a curry concentrate, and over the years, they have expanded to offer a suite of sauces, including gravy, tomato-based sauces and sweet and sour. Their range with Simply Better stays true to their curried origins.
“We produce a range of Indian cooking sauces for Simply Better,” explains Paul. “There were four in the range and we’ve added an extra two over the last year.” The full selection is wide-reaching, including: Aromatic Korma Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Tikka Masala Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Jalfrezi Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Madras Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Balti Cooking Sauce and Aromatic Bhuna Cooking Sauce. It is one of those ranges that caters for everyone.
Collaboration
Honed started working with Simply Better about four years ago, explains Paul. “I knew of the chef Brian McDermott who works with the Simply Better team, and we were just having conversations. Brian realised how seriously we were taking things and the ambition that we had. He spotted an opportunity, as did I, and we put our heads together,” he says.
When it comes to identifying Irish producers to work with, Brian McDermott describes the process as simple. “It’s about the people and understanding what capabilities they have and thinking: ‘can we match those with what we’re looking at in Simply Better?’
“It literally is that cup of tea and that very open, transparent conversation to understand what they can do, but also for them to understand that there’s a very supportive Simply Better model that we have in place now for all Irish producers.
“In Paul’s case, he had a history of producing sauces for curries and in quite a big way. We knew he could sweat those onions and was prepared to slow down to develop those flavours. That’s where the heads got together, and we’ve built the range up now, but ultimately, it went back to the need to be true to these authentic sauces and how they are produced in India.”
Unlike most larger manufacturers producing sauces in a one pot batch and cooked for a short length of time, Paul explains that it takes Honed two days to produce their sauces. “We take the traditional approach,” he continues. “We start with making a curry paste, then we incorporate all the vegetables, herbs, spices, oils. Then, depending on the type of sauce, we add cream, yoghurt, butter.” The dairy products are from local producers, he adds.
Paul recommends pairing the sauces with proteins, including seafood, chicken, lamb and beef. He adds that each sauce also comes with its own spice level; his favourite is the Bhuna. This is a medium-spiced sauce which Paul serves with lamb. “It is one of the more adventurous ones, but I think that’s just the way the market’s going. Irish people are becoming more adventurous in their flavours.”
“It has definitely changed,” Brian agrees. “Everyone is coming home with notions,” he jokes. “Our diet has moved in terms of heat and excitement on the palate and that’s a good thing, because it’s challenging us all to remain sharp and innovative.”
Honed make a selection of stir-in Indian style sauces for Simply Better. \ Clive Wasson
International flavour
You’d be hard pressed to find an Irish restaurant that knows more about how to keep apace in a changing food scene than Boxty House in Temple Bar.
The Dublin restaurant first opened its doors in 1988 and the food, menu and flavours has evolved with the clientele. Chief of operations and former head chef, Dave Power who has been with Boxty House for 23 years, says he is always asking the questions: “how can we adapt this in our setup? How can we make it Irish?”
“Ninety percent of our customers are international,” he explains. “We pitch the flavour profile a little bit beyond Irish restaurants. That really helped in terms of being able to put together the flavours that Simply Better are looking for.”
Boxty House make five stir fry sauces for Simply Better, Mild Curry, Teriyaki, Sweet & Sour, Chow Mein and Black Bean, and plans to bring two Korean cooking sauces [a Szechuan and a Korean hot sauce] to the market are well underway.
Simply Better first approached Boxty House in 2023 with the idea of a stir fry sauce – more specifically, a suite of stir fry sauces made in Ireland and by an Irish company.
The product launched on the shelves in May 2024, one year after preliminary discussions. “Simply Better were great to work with in terms of helping us to go from the idea of doing sauces in a big scale to seeing them on the shelf. We’re producing something for the Simply Better range that isn’t what you’d associate with an Irish restaurant because they’re Chinese stir fry sauces.”
The sauces are a reflection of the approach that Boxty adopts in the restaurant – infusing an internationally inspired dish with Irish elements to make it unique. Two of the five sauces are used in the restaurant. “The Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry Sauce became the basis of our Boxty dumplings. The Mild Curry Stir-Fry Sauce became the basis for our take on the Spice Bag,” explains Dave.
Dave Power of Boxty House with his Simply Better range. \ Claire Nash
The revolving door between the restaurant and production unit has been advantageous to Boxty, adds Brian. “What I love about the model of Boxty is that because they have that front facing restaurant, they’re able to get some of their own internal feedback by quickly putting things onto a menu and hearing it firsthand,” he explains. “They’re getting that interaction from a wealth of international visitors. It’s a nice model and a window for them as they go through new product development.”
Brian explains that these stir-in sauces pair well “with all the veggies, all the protein and the seafood”, he goes on. “There’s a fresh flavour profile going on in these sauces that mean they can be used as a marinade, a glaze, and can be used before or during cooking.”
Talking through some of the range, Dave says: “The Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry Sauce is a classic that can even work as a dipping sauce. The Mild Curry Stir-Fry Sauce has a very nice fruity vibe to it. I think Irish people can even just heat it up and pour it over chips.”
“Teriyaki Stir-Fry Sauce is a really good glaze,” Dave goes on. “All you have to do is marinade fish in the glaze, leave it for a couple of hours, and then put it into the oven and roast.”
When it comes to the Chow Mein Stir-Fry Sauce, Dave says that you cannot go wrong with noodles.
“You heat up your vegetables, you can add your sauce, and then noodles in there as well.”
Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Biryani.
Scan the QR code to make Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Biryani.
We used to think of sauces as just accompaniments. Ketchup over chips, mayo in a sandwich or tomato sauce stirred into pasta was about the height of sauciness. But today, what’s being dolloped, squirted or spooned into a dish has taken on a very important role.
Paul McGuigan, the managing director of Honed Flavours, is someone who has played a part in the rise of the humble condiment. Honed has been producing high quality sauces for the past 20 years, and Paul says the sauce scene has “changed so much” in this time. “Especially with all these influencers now, it’s a very Instagram attractive thing to see guys drizzling sauces. It’s everywhere.”
Paul is the second generation of the family-run business which operates from a production facility in Strabane, Co Tyrone. They started out with one product: a curry concentrate, and over the years, they have expanded to offer a suite of sauces, including gravy, tomato-based sauces and sweet and sour. Their range with Simply Better stays true to their curried origins.
“We produce a range of Indian cooking sauces for Simply Better,” explains Paul. “There were four in the range and we’ve added an extra two over the last year.” The full selection is wide-reaching, including: Aromatic Korma Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Tikka Masala Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Jalfrezi Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Madras Cooking Sauce, Aromatic Balti Cooking Sauce and Aromatic Bhuna Cooking Sauce. It is one of those ranges that caters for everyone.
Collaboration
Honed started working with Simply Better about four years ago, explains Paul. “I knew of the chef Brian McDermott who works with the Simply Better team, and we were just having conversations. Brian realised how seriously we were taking things and the ambition that we had. He spotted an opportunity, as did I, and we put our heads together,” he says.
When it comes to identifying Irish producers to work with, Brian McDermott describes the process as simple. “It’s about the people and understanding what capabilities they have and thinking: ‘can we match those with what we’re looking at in Simply Better?’
“It literally is that cup of tea and that very open, transparent conversation to understand what they can do, but also for them to understand that there’s a very supportive Simply Better model that we have in place now for all Irish producers.
“In Paul’s case, he had a history of producing sauces for curries and in quite a big way. We knew he could sweat those onions and was prepared to slow down to develop those flavours. That’s where the heads got together, and we’ve built the range up now, but ultimately, it went back to the need to be true to these authentic sauces and how they are produced in India.”
Unlike most larger manufacturers producing sauces in a one pot batch and cooked for a short length of time, Paul explains that it takes Honed two days to produce their sauces. “We take the traditional approach,” he continues. “We start with making a curry paste, then we incorporate all the vegetables, herbs, spices, oils. Then, depending on the type of sauce, we add cream, yoghurt, butter.” The dairy products are from local producers, he adds.
Paul recommends pairing the sauces with proteins, including seafood, chicken, lamb and beef. He adds that each sauce also comes with its own spice level; his favourite is the Bhuna. This is a medium-spiced sauce which Paul serves with lamb. “It is one of the more adventurous ones, but I think that’s just the way the market’s going. Irish people are becoming more adventurous in their flavours.”
“It has definitely changed,” Brian agrees. “Everyone is coming home with notions,” he jokes. “Our diet has moved in terms of heat and excitement on the palate and that’s a good thing, because it’s challenging us all to remain sharp and innovative.”
Honed make a selection of stir-in Indian style sauces for Simply Better. \ Clive Wasson
International flavour
You’d be hard pressed to find an Irish restaurant that knows more about how to keep apace in a changing food scene than Boxty House in Temple Bar.
The Dublin restaurant first opened its doors in 1988 and the food, menu and flavours has evolved with the clientele. Chief of operations and former head chef, Dave Power who has been with Boxty House for 23 years, says he is always asking the questions: “how can we adapt this in our setup? How can we make it Irish?”
“Ninety percent of our customers are international,” he explains. “We pitch the flavour profile a little bit beyond Irish restaurants. That really helped in terms of being able to put together the flavours that Simply Better are looking for.”
Boxty House make five stir fry sauces for Simply Better, Mild Curry, Teriyaki, Sweet & Sour, Chow Mein and Black Bean, and plans to bring two Korean cooking sauces [a Szechuan and a Korean hot sauce] to the market are well underway.
Simply Better first approached Boxty House in 2023 with the idea of a stir fry sauce – more specifically, a suite of stir fry sauces made in Ireland and by an Irish company.
The product launched on the shelves in May 2024, one year after preliminary discussions. “Simply Better were great to work with in terms of helping us to go from the idea of doing sauces in a big scale to seeing them on the shelf. We’re producing something for the Simply Better range that isn’t what you’d associate with an Irish restaurant because they’re Chinese stir fry sauces.”
The sauces are a reflection of the approach that Boxty adopts in the restaurant – infusing an internationally inspired dish with Irish elements to make it unique. Two of the five sauces are used in the restaurant. “The Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry Sauce became the basis of our Boxty dumplings. The Mild Curry Stir-Fry Sauce became the basis for our take on the Spice Bag,” explains Dave.
Dave Power of Boxty House with his Simply Better range. \ Claire Nash
The revolving door between the restaurant and production unit has been advantageous to Boxty, adds Brian. “What I love about the model of Boxty is that because they have that front facing restaurant, they’re able to get some of their own internal feedback by quickly putting things onto a menu and hearing it firsthand,” he explains. “They’re getting that interaction from a wealth of international visitors. It’s a nice model and a window for them as they go through new product development.”
Brian explains that these stir-in sauces pair well “with all the veggies, all the protein and the seafood”, he goes on. “There’s a fresh flavour profile going on in these sauces that mean they can be used as a marinade, a glaze, and can be used before or during cooking.”
Talking through some of the range, Dave says: “The Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry Sauce is a classic that can even work as a dipping sauce. The Mild Curry Stir-Fry Sauce has a very nice fruity vibe to it. I think Irish people can even just heat it up and pour it over chips.”
“Teriyaki Stir-Fry Sauce is a really good glaze,” Dave goes on. “All you have to do is marinade fish in the glaze, leave it for a couple of hours, and then put it into the oven and roast.”
When it comes to the Chow Mein Stir-Fry Sauce, Dave says that you cannot go wrong with noodles.
“You heat up your vegetables, you can add your sauce, and then noodles in there as well.”
Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Biryani.
Scan the QR code to make Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Biryani.
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