Latest news with #DarinaAllen
RTÉ News
03-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Profits up 5% at Cully & Sully soup owner to €3.07m
Pre-tax profits at the Cork-based food firm that operates the Cully & Sully brand increased by 5% to €3.07m last year. New accounts filed by the Irish arm of global health and wellness company Hain Celestial show that the business recorded the increase in profits as revenues rose by 7% from €26.39m to €28.32m in the 12 months to the end of June 2024. "Cully & Sully" co-founders, Colum O'Sullivan and nephew of Ballymaloe's Darina Allen, Cullen Allen - shared a multi-million euro windfall from selling their business to the New York-based organic products group, Hain Celestial in April 2012. At the time, Hain Celestial confirmed that it paid €10.46m in cash for Cully & Sully and a further €4.5m was to be paid based upon the achievement of specified operating results during the period up to June 30, 2014. Mr O'Sullivan and Mr Allen are directors of Hain Celestial Ireland Ltd and Cully & Sully soup is just one of a number of brands the company sells in the Irish, EU and UK markets. Other brands include Linda McCartney frozen meals, Cadbury spreads, jam and jelly under the Hartley brand, Dream non-dairy rice plant based drinks as well as other household brands such as Sun Pat peanut butter. The directors state that one of the key brands, Cully & Sully soup, is manufactured exclusively in Ireland. The company's operating profits declined by 15% from €2.37m to €2m and the company increased its pre-tax profits as interest income almost doubled from €546,576 to €1.07m. The company recorded a post tax profit of €2.58m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €492,392. Addressing the company's going concern status, the directors state that the company has considerable financial resources and a good business model including strong relationships with its customer and supplier base. They state that "as a consequence, the directors believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully". The firm's balance sheet continued to strengthen last year with accumulated profits rising from €24.27m to €26.85m. The company's cash funds increased from €16.24m to €19.89m. Numbers directly employed by the firm last year increased from 14 to 15 as staff costs increased from €1.11m to €1.4m. Six directors served during the year and directors' pay increased from €405,464 to €422,607. Globally, Hain Celestial recorded revenues of $1.73 billion in fiscal 2024 and recorded pre-tax loss of $80.28m.
Irish Examiner
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Pre-tax profits increase at owner of Cully & Sully to €3.07m as revenues climb
Pre-tax profits at the Cork-based food firm that operates the Cully & Sully brand declined by 5% to €3.07m last year. New accounts filed by the Irish arm of global health and wellness company, Hain Celestial show that the business recorded the increase in profits as revenues rose by 7% from €26.39m to €28.32m in the 12 months to the end of June 2024. 'Cully & Sully' co-founders, Colum O'Sullivan and nephew of Ballymaloe's Darina Allen, Cullen Allen - shared a multi-million euro windfall from selling their business to the New York-based organic products group, Hain Celestial in April 2012. At the time, Hain Celestial confirmed that it paid €10.46m in cash for Cully & Sully and a further €4.5m was to be paid based upon the achievement of specified operating results during the period through to June 30th, 2014. Mr O'Sullivan and Mr Allen are directors of Hain Celestial Ireland Ltd and Cully & Sully soup is just one of a number of brands the company sells in the Irish, EU and UK markets. Other brands include Linda McCartney frozen meals, Cadbury spreads, jam and jelly under the Hartley brand, Dream non-dairy rice plant based drinks as well as other household brands such as Sun Pat peanut butter. The directors state that one of the key brands, Cully & Sully soup is manufactured exclusively in Ireland. The company's operating profits declined by 15% from €2.37m to €2m and the company increased its pre-tax profits as interest income almost doubled from €546,576 to €1.07m. The company recorded a post tax profit of €2.58m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €492,392. Addressing the company's going concern status, the directors state that the company has considerable financial resources and a good business model including strong relationships with its customer and supplier base. They state that "as a consequence, the directors believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully'. The firm's balance sheet continued to strengthen last year with accumulated profits rising from €24.27m to €26.85m. The company's cash funds increased from €16.24m to €19.89m. Numbers directly employed by the firm last year increased from 14 to 15 as staff costs increased from €1.11m to €1.4m. Six directors served during the year and directors' pay increased from €405,464 to €422,607. Globally, Hain Celestial recorded revenues of $1.73bn in fiscal 2024 and recorded pre-tax loss of $80.28m.
Boston Globe
10-02-2025
- Lifestyle
- Boston Globe
Winter leek and potato soup: simple, streamlined, and deeply delicious
Soup is the ultimate comfort food, and this year it feels we could all use a little extra comfort, a little gentleness and ease. So we slide into this edition of Winter Soup Club with a recipe for winter leek and potato soup courtesy of Darina Allen, founder of the Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up So much of cooking is bombast and brute force: high heat, hard sear, crust and caramelization for flavor. This recipe is the opposite. The process is tender and quiet. Flavor is coaxed out of, not forced onto, the handful of ingredients. You're not so much cooking this soup as you are gentling it into existence. Advertisement You'll coat chopped vegetables in melted butter, then tuck them in under a lid cut from parchment paper to fit your pot. (It doesn't have to be perfect. If you trace around the lid of the pot, then cut a little smaller than your outline, it should work. Then cut or poke a small hole in the center.) This helps keep everything evenly distributed and submerged, limiting evaporation and condensing flavor. Scan this code to sign up for Winter Soup Club. Globe staff Keep the heat on low. Your soup pot is now a sauna for your vegetables. They're in for a gentle shvitz. You don't want them to brown. You want them to relax, forget all their troubles, forget that you're going to eat them… Shhh… When they've softened, add stock you have boiling at the ready. (Homemade is best. From a box is great too.) It won't take long for the whole pot to come to a boil; you're pretty much already there. Simmer the vegetables just until they're tender, preserving their freshness. Advertisement Now sleepy time is over. Blitz the heck out of everything in your blender and start tasting: Add as much salt and pepper as you find pleasing. You can stop now and call the soup done. It's great as is. Or, as the recipe suggests, add cream and/or milk to taste. Go slow and stop when you're happy. I have made this recipe many times — for weeknight suppers with bread and butter, as a starter for elegant holiday meals — and never the same way twice. But I generally find I prefer to use 4 cups (a.k.a. one box) of stock, substitute half-and-half for heavy cream because that's what we have on hand, and skip the milk altogether. This recipe, as the name indicates, puts the leeks first. Sometimes I add more potatoes. See what tastes best to you. It's your soup, after all. You really can't go wrong. WINTER LEEK AND POTATO SOUP Serves 6-8 INGREDIENTS 3 1/2 tablespoons salted butter 1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups) 1 small onion (4 ounces), peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces 1 pound white parts of leeks, thinly sliced (about 4 1/2 to 5 cups) Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 3 1/2 to 5 cups chicken stock, boiling 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, or to taste, plus more for drizzling 2/3 cup whole milk, or to taste Chives, chopped fine, for garnish INSTRUCTIONS 1. Cut a circle out of parchment paper to fit inside the pot you want to use. The pot should be large, with a heavy bottom and a lid. (If you don't have parchment paper, make the soup without it. It will still be delicious.) Advertisement 2. In the pot, over low to medium-low heat, melt the butter. When it foams, add the potatoes, onion, and leeks. Turn them in the butter until they are well coated. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, then toss again. Place the parchment paper directly on the vegetables, then put the lid on the pot. 3. Keeping the heat gentle, let the vegetables sweat until they are soft but not colored, about 10 minutes. 4. Discard the parchment. Add 3 1/2 cups of the boiling stock, return pot to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are just cooked. Don't overcook or the soup will lose its fresh flavor. 5. Using a blender or food processor, blend the soup until smooth and silky. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Add cream and milk to taste. You may want to add extra stock if you prefer a thinner soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish each with a sprinkle of chives and a drizzle of cream, if you like. Adapted from Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School RECIPE VARIATIONS Serve the soup chunky rather than pureed. Use the green parts of the leek as well as the white. The soup will have a stronger leek flavor. (Otherwise, reserve the green tops for another soup or vegetable stock.) In the summer, serve chilled: vichyssoise! For a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock instead of chicken. To make it vegan, use olive oil instead of butter and skip the cream and milk. Advertisement Did you make this soup? Send us an e-mail at to let us know how it turned out. In this week's newsletter: Sheryl Julian extols the virtues of red lentils and shares a nourishing, delicious recipe from her own kitchen. Devra First can be reached at
