Gubbeen Farmhouse Produce
Gubbeen Farm in Schull, Co. Cork has been the home to the Ferguson Family, a family of intrepid food producers, for five generations. Their production cycle is reassuringly simple; the land provides the grass for the herd at Gubbeen, the milk is made into the cheeses and the whey is fed to the pigs who are used to produce charcuterie. The gardens add vital flavour to the cured meats and the whole family contribute to the cycle. Giana is the matriarch, who together with her husband Tom has been making the now famous award winning Gubbeen Cheese since 1980. The majority of the milk used in the production of Gubbeen comes from their mixed herd of Jersey, Friesian, Simmenthal and Kerry cows, although it is occasionally necessary to buy additional supplies from a neighbouring farm. Giana & Tom’s son, Fingal, hand makes Gubbeen Smokehouse charcuterie, again using only quality ingredients, time and care. The products are a marriage of traditional methods and modern flavours. His pigs are born at the farm, the sows having grazed the pasture all summer long and the young being born down at the farm. They are fattened-on in large, airy, straw filled pens overlooking the Atlantic with one wall open to the fresh air and the fields which no doubt adds certain something to the flavoursome meat.
