Laois Business set to compete in National Enterprise Awards Final
Laois County Winner, Aymar Gourdet from Le Skinny Chef will represent Laois in the National Enterprise Awards, next week Photo: Alf Harvey
A Laois food company 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 take 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.
