Donegal Town-based New Frontiers participant provides ‘stress-free’ cooking solutions.
A Donegal company, on a mission to make it easier for one million families to enjoy healthy home-cooked meals, has been recognised as one of the world’s leading food-tech companies after winning a prestigious international award in France.
Siansplan.com which was founded by mother and son team Sian and Vincent Breslin from Donegal was crowned as the “Most Innovative Digital Solution for Home Cooks”, and overall winner, at the 5th International Computer Cooking competition held recently at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon France.
The competition was open to food technology companies from around the world.
And the plaudits keep coming because the company has just won one of the Irish Internet Association’s annual Dot ie Net Visionary Awards, a highlight of the internet business calendar. Siansplan.com, a beneficiary of the Enterprise Ireland-funded New Frontiers programme, was presented with the award for “Most Insightful, Intriguing Internet Innovation” at a ceremony in the National Gallery on September 28th.
New Frontiers, part of the government’s “Action plan for Jobs” Provides, financial support, office space and training for entrepreneurs with a good business idea and is operated by Institutes of Technology around the country.
Dr Michelle Connolly, Enterprise Development Programme Manager at IT Sligo & LYIT congratulated Siansplan saying its achievements were richly deserved. “New Frontiers provides a comprehensive set of business supports for participants but it is the combination of these supports with the ambition, vision and commitment of the promoter that really sets businesses apart”.
Siansplan .com, an easy to access solution for those busy juggling work with the demands of shopping, cooking and providing a healthy balanced diet for loved ones, was lauded by a jury of distinguished chefs, computer and food scientists and leading industry experts at the International Computer Cooking competition.
Vincent who has a first class MSc in Sustainable Engineering and Sian with 25 years’ experience in Home Economics, have the perfect combination of culinary experience and technological know-how for this internet solution for busy home cooks.
“Mum was a Home Economics teacher long before she opened the Manor guesthouse in Donegal and started a cookery school,” explained Vincent. Sian’s expertise extends far beyond cooking to planning menus and shopping.
As a result she and Vincent have devised a colour coded plan for busy families which incorporates advice on shopping for food as well as cooking, and addresses health, austerity and food waste issues which are relevant for families around the globe.
“What we are saying is that it’s okay to have pizza every now and again but if you want a simple guide on how to eliminate waste by shopping wisely and how to provide tasty meals which are healthy as well, we think Siansplan.com has the answers you need,” said Vincent.
The judges in the International Computer Cooking Competition certainly agreed and praised Siansplan.com for providing “a modern solution for modern families”.
“This is an inter-active web application which will provide a realistic lifestyle solution for busy home-cooks,” said Vincent who was just three when he started cooking with his mother. “It’s all about shopping wisely, looking after the family’s health, reducing waste and serving delicious stress–free meals”.
In her work Sian has seen first-hand how the recession has sparked a demand for healthy home-cooked meals for families on a tight budget. As the company plans to launch its mobile app in Britain and Ireland, Sian said the plan is to help one million families over the next two years.
Siansplan.com has been supported by Letterkenny IT, IT Sligo, Donegal Enterprise Board, Enterprise Ireland and AIB.
To find out more about the New Frontiers Programme, contact Dr Michelle Connolly at Michelle.Connolly@nulllyit.ie
Vincent Breslin, Siansplan, receives this Irish Internet Association’s annual Dot ie Net Visionary Awards from Louise Phelan of PayPal.