Gelato firm scoops top award

IT was a case of the cream rising to the top for a local food business from Ballycoolin, as it emerged as this year’s winner of the Fingal Enterprise Award for 2023.

Cream of the Crop Gelatos took the top prize of €5,000 and will now represent Fingal at the 23rd National Enterprise Awards in the Mansion House in Dublin on June 1. Cream of the Crop Ltd is a Fingal-based food-tech enterprise battling food waste by upcycling and using surplus ingredients to produce natural, delicious and healthy artisanal gelatos, sorbets and snacks.

The company operates online and through several retail stockists nationwide including Fallon & Byrne, Fresh and Supervalu.

Congratulating the winner, Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Howard

Apprenticeships fair for Darndale

RESIDENTS of the Darndale, Belcamp and Moatview areas who are interested in an apprenticeship have been urged to attend the Northside Partnership Apprenticeship Fair.

Employers and training providers will highlight a vast array of programmes available in the locality. It takes place at the Northside Civic Centre, Bunratty Road, Coolock, Dublin 17 on Tuesday, March 28, between 10.00am and 2.00 pm. There will be 30-minute slots and numbers are limited to 50 per session. A bus will run from Darndale’s Sphere 17 at 11.00am on the day.

A wide range of employers will attend the fair across all fields of employment, including hairdressing, catering, engineering, healthcare, finance and hospitality. Apprenticeships allow participants to earn while they learn, without student loans or fees - and they are proving an increasingly popular way to continue in education without going to college. Structured training programmes allow apprentices work towards a qualification and gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.

For more information on the Northside Partnership Apprenticeship Fair, please email paul.hayes@ nspartnership.ie or call 01-848-5630.

Mahony said: “Our Local Enterprise Office works hard to help and support businesses in Fingal in many different ways.

“This competition is particularly valuable as it gives us an opportunity to celebrate some of our greatest local entrepreneurs.

“I am particularly delighted to see that this year’s Fingal winner, Cream of the Crop Gelatos, a Dublin 15 business, will represent Fingal on the national stage in June and I wish them every success”.

The runner-up at the awards, which were held in County Hall, Swords, was Parenting Institute Ltd T/A Platform55, a digital company from Malahide who offer programmes to managers empowering them to support their employees through key life events which can impact the workplace.