Siobhán a winner when it comes to the crunch

It is very often the case that a forced redundancy can open up new vistas and that has certainly been the case for Siobhán Joyce, a former environmental officer with Roadstone.

Siobhán is the woman behind the city-based Bowl-a-Granola company. A recent ‘foodie’ award has increased the demand for the product and forced her to expand. Granola is a mixture of grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit which is baked and then mixed with honey and a spice such as ginger or cinnamon.

Up to now Siobhán has been creating her granola products in a specially installed commercial kitchen in her home in Rahoon, but she realises that if she is to expand the business in any way, she needs to find a bigger kitchen.

At present, as well as the core granola cereals, she makes granola muffins for her family and friends, and the odd time she sold them at market stalls at various food festival events, she got good feedback. These muffins are just one product that she could add to her repertoire on a regular basis in a bigger kitchen. So too are her oat and spelt biscuits, which are already popular anytime she finds the time to make them.

Siobhán admits that she’s not great on the practical side of the business and much prefers making her granola and developing new flavours and ideas. And as for the paperwork . . .  just don’t ask.

Although she was always a foodie, apart from waitressing in a number of Galway restaurants, she didn’t work in the food industry before embarking on her granola business. From Clarenbridge, she studied mineral engineering in Athlone and went to Australia for a year after graduating, where she also waitressed.

“When I was working, I used to dream about my food escape and I always knew if I ever left my job, I would go into some business to do with food,” she says.

Siobhán worked for a decade with Roadstone as their Environmental Officer for the North West, which found her working in all corners of the region.

Her work involved visiting quarries and to ensure that they were compliant with their emissions licence.

She was based in an office at Twomileditch off the Tuam Road, but she was more often than not on the road anywhere between Galway and Donegal.

“So I know the area quite well by now, especially lesser known roads to quarries!” she laughs.

This was at the height of the Celtic Tiger years for Ireland and companies could afford a team of environmental officers but in 2009, Roadstone cut their staff numbers and Siobhán found herself out of a job.

“It was the biggest shock of my life. We knew the company was downsizing and we all had to be re-interviewed for our jobs but I really didn’t expect to lose my job. . .  I think nobody does.”

But Siobhán wasn’t idle for long and got a part-time job with the VEC, teaching adult courses. However she soon realised teaching wasn’t her vocation.

She much preferred working in the kitchen of the Burren Yoga Centre, where she got to cook and that’s when she started experimenting with granola.

Strangely enough for someone who says she isn’t a natural businesswoman, Siobhán bought an estate car before she even set up Bowl-a-Granola, which at the back of her mind, she envisaged as some sort of commercial vehicle.