Irish chicken producer Manor Farm, along with chefs and food influencers, has created a digital chicken recipe book, which when downloaded, will raise funds for the Feed the Heroes charity organisation. The recipe book is available as an e-book for a donation on the dedicated Feed the Heroes cookbook fundraising page.

All donations from the recipe book will go to Feed the Heroes which supports medical workers in their nutrition needs during Covid-19. Manor Farm, which sources and processes approximately 50% of all fresh chicken sold in the Irish retail market, aims to raise €20,000 by May 20 for the organisation as the next phase of quarantine is introduced.

Manor Farm, which operates its own feed mill close to its processing plant in Shercock, Co. Cavan, employs over 900 people and works with over 180 local farmers.

The company supplies its Irish customers through the major supermarkets, local stores and butchers as well as selling into export markets. It is a member of the Love Irish Food campaign which encourages Irish consumers to buy more Irish-made products to help the country’s businesses survive, protecting Irish jobs.

Manor Farm collaborated with its brand ambassador, Adrian Martin, in gathering a collective of food enthusiasts to create the recipe book. The tastebuds are tempted with 22 chicken dishes that can be easily created during the quarantine period.

Those who provided Manor Farm with their go-to chicken recipes were: Darina Allen; Rachel Allen; Dean Coppard; Simon Delaney; Edward Hayden; Sharon Hearne-Smith; I Love Cooking; Adrian Martin; Emmet McCourt; JP McMahon; Jess Redden; Ruth Scott and Rob Morgan; Joe Shannon; Eoin Sheehan; The Naked Blondie; The Wonky Spatula; and Yes Chef magazine.

Expanding horizons

Restaurateur Adrian Martin also included his favourite chicken recipe. Adrian is an enthusiastic Irish chef who has worked with Manor Farm to expand consumer horizons on the versatility of chicken. Earlier this year, he opened his first restaurant, Wildflower, in London.

Brendan Nolan, marketing manager for Manor Farm, said that in following Health Service Executive (HSE) and HSPC guidelines, its staff and colleagues had continued to go to work every day in difficult circumstances and could therefore recognise the sacrifices that frontline workers were making on everyone’s behalf.

“This book is a thank you to them from Manor Farm,” he said.

Manor Farm ambassador, Adrian Martin, said he was privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with his chef friends and food contemporaries to develop the online recipe book.

We know more people are cooking at home in this current crisis and we hope we can add some variety to their repertoire with many accessible chicken recipes, while also supporting the invaluable work of Feed the Heroes.

The Manor Farm Feed the Heroes cookbook is available online on the Manor Farm website, with a dedicated donation page. Manor Farm became involved with Feed the Heroes when it noticed a strain in demand for its products in supermarkets while its foodservice business was down.

The company, a certified member of Bord Bia, realised that workers on the frontline of the pandemic were unable to access supermarkets easily and no longer had time to prepare food. Manor Farm saw an opportunity to help frontline workers while also supporting the foodservice industry.

To date, Feed the Heroes has raised over €750,000 and served over 36,000 meals. For further information on the Manor Farm initiative, see: www.chicken.ie/feedtheheroes.