Twenty-three year-old Anna O'Leary from Kilmichael, Co. Cork, grew up baking and cooking alongside her mother and grandmother and has gone on to taste sweet success with her honesty box, the Flour Patch.

She told Agriland: "My parents, Gearoid and Catriona O'Leary, have a suckler herd as well as keeping sheep and being more or less self-sufficient, growing our own fruits and vegetables and having our own honey, beef and lamb.

"We were always actively involved in the farm, doing everything from feeding animals to setting potatoes and even going to the local abattoir with our parents.

"I've always dreamed of having my own farm shop cafe but, because that isn’t in reach right now, I decided the next best thing was to open up an honesty box, the Flour Patch, in Castlefreke, built by my brother Barra, and stocked with home baking and produce from our farm."

The Castlefreke honesty box saw huge success, selling out every weekend for 12 weeks in a row.

Anna said: "I decided to do a second location for the honesty box but this time on my family farm in Kilmichael, which will open on Sunday, August 31 at 11:00am. 

The box is operated on an honesty basis and is stocked with cake slices, apple tarts, brown bread, scones, cookies, brownies "and lots more sweet treats, as well our own honey, seasonal fruits, and vegetables".

"All of my baking is done with the highest quality ingredients, pure Irish butter, free range eggs and milk from a local dairy farmer," Anna said.

"Some of my customers stop by on their way to work, others make it part of their weekly routine, and I’ve even had visitors who stumbled across it and loved the charm of the system."

According to Anna, a big part of the appeal is that she uses ingredients from her own and other local farms, like milk, honey, and seasonal produce, "which means people feel a real connection to where their food is coming from."

"Looking ahead my dream is to open a farm shop cafe where I can expand my menu, offer a sit down experience and meet all of my customers," she said.