A PASTRY chef who moved to Donegal for the summer season five years ago to take a break from busy city centre kitchens is at home in Gortahork.
Helen O’Hagan had been married less than six months when she decided to quit Belfast to begin afresh and start up a pop-up cake shop.
What started as a tiny market stall for ‘the craic’ in the Panc has snowballed and today An Panc Patisserie is the proud supplier of seven different coffee stops from Falcarragh to Ards Forest Park.
A sole trader, Helen works from her home in lower Baltony with stunning views of Errigal from the kitchen window and she couldn’t be happier with her decision to trade her hectic city life for this glorious place.
Helen had been working in Hadskis, an award winning restaurant in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, when she decided to turn her back on urban life and move to the country.
“I was working fourteen hour shifts and not really getting to enjoy life. I was engaged at the time. We married and within six months had moved to Donegal. My husband is in IT and works from home.
“He goes up to Belfast two days a week but I’m not sure what will happen with Brexit. We might have to make a decision before too much longer but I think we’re more than happy to stay here in Gortahork,” she said.
“I wanted peace, a sense of community and to make my money work and I think I’ve found all three here in Donegal,” she added.
The locality is familiar to Helen and her family as they have a holiday home in Gortahork.
“Mum has been bringing us up here since we were kids. It was our second home. We spent our summers here and we knew a lot of people in the village. We attended the local music sessions and enjoyed the craic,” she laughed.
Helen’s pop-up cake shop first opened as a tiny market stall in the Panc nearly five years ago.
“When that first summer came to an end people kept asking me to supply cakes so I decided to stay working and I now supply Cafe Arnou in Dunfanaghy, Coffee Go Leor in Falcarragh, the Shack in Marble Hill and Ards Coffee Tree in Ards Forest Park among others.
The decision to make the switch full-time came after discovering the area was lacking in specialist chefs and fresh produce.
“There were no pastry chefs in the area and I spotted a niche in the market as, previously, local coffee shops were buying in frozen, processed cakes.
“There were also a lot of coeliacs in the area and I was able to provide them with gluten free options.
“At the moment I’m working from home where I can control overheads and pay myself a wage but in the next few years I would like to open my own place,” she said.
Helen’s looking forward to another hectic season which runs from Easter to November.
“It’s nice to have a few months off in the winter. It allows you to do other things like going for long walks on the beach, exploring different places and recharging your batteries,” she said.
Helen is the first to admit that rural Donegal is a contrast to buzzy Belfast, and she does miss her old life once in a while.
“However, it’s been worth it to have my new business and a lovely life-style,” she says. “Plus, we’re a stone’s throw away from the beaches and mountains; it’s really lovely to be able to take yourself away from the hustle and bustle.
“I’ve found moving away from the city has been great for my mental health too as I’m less stressed.
“Donegal is different to Northern Ireland in so many respects – the politics, the language – and takes some getting used to but we’re really enjoying life here and we’re now saving to buy a home in Donegal,” she said.
Helen’s mother plans to retire to Gortahork while her sister Lucy O’Hagan, an ethnobotanist and ancestral skills teacher, is leading a foraging group to Falcarragh in April on a Wild Food journey.
“My family are never too far away and my advice to those considering upping sticks and carving out their dream business is just go for it. Make sure it’s something you really want to do and believe in because even though setting up a business is amazing, it’s tough.
“You have to really believe in what you’re doing and also make sure there’s a market for it,” she said.
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