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This two-person West Cork food start-up has cleaned up at the 'Food Oscars'

Infused salt? We’ll give it a lash…

x prawns (1024x768) O'Neill's Sea Salt O'Neill's Sea Salt

A SMALL COMPANY specialising in sea salt products, based on the Beara Penninsula in West Cork, has won three gold stars at the prestigious Great Taste Awards this year.

O’Neill’s Irish Atlantic Sea Salt was set up in 2010, and landed its first gold star at the same awards in 2012.

While its first win was for a simple sea salt flake product, the company has expanded in recent years into more diverse products like “infused” sea salt.

x flavours (1024x768) O'Neill's Sea Salt O'Neill's Sea Salt

Infused sea salt? “What’s that?”, we hear you cry. And that’s exactly what we cry too, actually.

Apparently, it’s flavoured salt – and two particular variations went down very well indeed with the Great Taste judges.

The dill pollen sea salt landed three gold stars, with the oak smoked sea salt winning one gold star.

Only 153 products out of the 10,000 entered received the three-star accolade.

The awards are organised by the Guild of Fine Food, and are widely regarded as the ‘Food Oscars’. They look to showcase the best of the British and Irish food industries.

gallery-09 The Beara Penninsula O'Neill's Sea Salt O'Neill's Sea Salt

Other Irish winners at the blind-taste test awards included a beef dripping made by James Whelan butchers in Clonmel, and a sea salted caramel from The Cloudberry Bakery in Castlemaine, County Kerry.

Michael and Aileen O’Neill are the team behind the sea salt outfit. After receiving the award, Aileen said:

x close up (1024x768)(2) O'Neill's Sea Salt O'Neill's Sea Salt

“We always knew that we had a great product. It’s wonderful to now have all that hard work recognised by the Guild of Fine Food.”

A food product is only as good as the quality of the environment in which it is made. Our sea salt flakes come from the pristine waters of the North Atlantic. Our customers tell us that they can really taste the superior flavour in every flake.

Read: Female, wealthy and urban: the shoppers driving Ireland’s €100 million organic food sector>

Read: These amazing food photographers will put those Instagrammed photos of your dinner to shame>

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