Yasmin Hyde was only nine when her mother decided to turn their family dining room into a restaurant and she was fitted out in her first waitress uniform. Growing up in Ballymaloe House in rural east Cork in the ultimate foodie family, Hyde, who is one of the less-well known members of the Allen dynasty, was actually the founder of Ballymaloe Country Relish.
“Food was a big part of growing up for us. We had family tea at 6pm and we were then sent to our various posts for the rest of the evening whether that was serving tables in the restaurant, working behind the bar or helping out in the kitchen.”
Ivan Allen ran a fruit-growing business on Ballymaloe Farm and Myrtle opened the restaurant there in 1964.
“My mother was pretty resourceful and when she found that, at a certain time of year, my father produced more tomatoes than she could use, she started making her country relish.
“Everybody loved it. When I decided to start a business, I thought of my mother’s relish because I could see it was a product that had a lot going for it. It was very versatile and had a long shelf life.”
She is married to equine vet John Hyde and the couple have four children. It was while her children were quite young that Yasmin decided to set up a business from home and Ballymaloe Country Relish was born in 1991.
For the first five years, she worked from a Portakabin she had fitted out as a kitchen before the South Cork Enterprise Board supported her move into a purpose-built unit in Little Island which has since been expanded.
“I built the business on hard work and borrowed money, and I think it’s so important that the banks should be lending money today.
“I had no formal business education but, growing up in a family business, and seeing how my parents managed their customers and staff, that experience has to rub off on you.”
Today, the company has a turnover of €3.5 million a year, which Yasmin describes as modest, and they are just beginning to really target the export market.