LAOIS BUSINESS SET FOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE AWARDS FINAL
A food company from Laois is set to compete with the country’s best small businesses as one of the finalists for the National Enterprise Awards taking place next week. Le Skinny Chef Ltd. will represent Local Enterprise Office Laois at the prestigious awards, which takes place on Thursday 18th June in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin.
Le Skinny Chef, led by founder Aymar Gourdet, is a multi-award-winning chef and restaurateur. Le Skinny Chef Ltd. was founded in 2016 in Portlaoise, and the company specialises in artisanal French-Irish fusion sauces, soups, pestos and a wide range of other products. From an early age, Aymar was interested in cooking and opened his first gastronomic restaurant almost 30 years ago. After founding Le Skinny Chef Ltd, the demand for signature products, including Spreadable Wild Garlic Pesto and soups, has grown significantly.
Le Skinny Chef offers a wide range of award-winning artisan products which Aymar creates from locally sourced organic ingredients, many of which are both dairy and gluten free. The product range includes dips, spreadable pestos, concentrated soups, chutneys, jams, oils and cordials. He achieved early success in 2016, receiving a Great Taste Award, and has gone on to win many awards since.
Le Skinny Chef Ltd. is an excellent example of a local business that has availed of a wide range of LEO supports such as LEAN, Green and Digital supports, helping to improve efficiency, processes and digitalisation. Local Enterprise Office Laois has supported the business’s incremental growth through both financial grant assistance and advisory supports.The company has been approved Business Expansion Grants, which have supported its growth, as well as an Energy Efficiency Grant. The company has also availed of a Trading Online Voucher to further develop their online presence and availed of a TAME grant to explore export markets. Aymar also took part in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Get Exporting Programme run by LEO Laois.
Speaking about the Awards, Lisa Molloy, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Laois said"I would like to congratulate Aymar on all his achievements to date and wish him all the best in the next stage of the competition. The National Enterprise Awards provide an opportunity to highlight the contribution small businesses make to the local economy and Laois is proud to be represented by Le Skinny Chef Ltd. at these Awards. The event offers an invaluable opportunity for businesses to gain national recognition".
Le Skinny Chef Ltd will go forward to represent Laois at the National Finals where there will be an announcement of winners from each region as well as the Overall winner. This is the 26th year of the Local Enterprise Office initiative, which was won last year by health tech business, SPRYT, supported by Local Enterprise Office Monaghan. Set up in 2022 by Neill Dunwoody and Daragh Donohue, their AI-powered virtual receptionist is helping to revolutionise patient engagement for healthcare providers across the globe utilising WhatsApp and SMS communication.
This year there is a wide variety of finalists competing for the title of National Enterprise of the Year. Some of those include The Smooth Company, founded by 2025 EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Áine Kennedy, Sugar Plum Sweetery, founded by Denise Buckley and David Quirke who have been at the forefront of recent confectionary trends creating Ireland’s first Dubai Chocolate Bar and Seed Golf, founded by Dean Klatt, who have become the first Irish company to design and sell high performance golf balls.
The Finalists also include a software platform that helps hotels to fix guest problems before they become damaging reviews (I Left You a Note), Ireland’s first liquid seaweed food supplement (Óir Tonics), an AgTech company that can capture damaging animal emissions in sheds and turn it into a by-product for biogas and SAF production for farmers (I/O Agri).
International war crimes lawyer Joanne Frivet is shortlisted for her company, LegalMoov which helps individuals and SMEs in Ireland find the correct lawyer for their legal position, while RYSE Chocolate, founded by Ian O’Rourke and David Stone, have created a caffeinated chocolate energy bar and are also one of the 31 Finalists for the Awards that take place on the 18th June in Dublin.
Peter Burke, T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, said at the announcement; “The National Enterprise Awards provide us with an opportunity to celebrate the very best of Irish entrepreneurship. Looking through the list of finalists for this year, you can see a significant variety of sectors and business ideas, from Health and Beauty to AgTech, from Software to Food and Drink".
“Every one of these finalists have the potential to scale, create jobs in their communities and make a significant impact internationally. These awards shine a light on the amazing businesses that are starting and growing across the country year on year, and we should be extremely proud of the level of founders that Ireland is producing. The previous winners and indeed finalists have shown the calibre of these awards, and it’s exciting to see where these businesses can and will go in the future.”
Lisa Molloy, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Laois said; “The National Enterprise Awards serve to highlight the very best businesses that the Local Enterprise Offices are working with across the country. The diversity of sectors and innovation shown again this year is outstanding and the winners will no doubt produce businesses destined for international success. These businesses have excelled in their areas and have the potential to follow in the footsteps of previous winners to become successful global companies”.
Local Enterprise Office Laois have had recent success. In 2022, Laois company, Salutem Insights won the Mid-East Regional award at the National Enterprise Awards.
The Finalists compete for a total prize fund of €80,000 and along with an overall National Enterprise of the Year winner there are categories for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, an Innovation Award, a Digital Award, a Green Award and a Female Entrepreneur award.
There will also be an Outstanding Achievement Award presented on the night to an Irish business who started with the support of their Local Enterprise Office and has gone on to achieve international success.
The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day, and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, through Enterprise Ireland. Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 80,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice, and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie
