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Overview
Omar Haqqi, founder of The Proper Dairy Company has brought the popular Cypriot cheese that is halloumi, to our Irish shores. Omar expertly crafts halloumi cheese from his Tipperary based dairy and uses fresh Irish ingredients, including milk from grass-fed Irish animals.Meet the Maker
Founded in 2017, The Proper Dairy Company is the brainchild of Jordanian and Greek Nationals who relocated to Ireland recently with their families. The business is headed up by Omar Haqqi, who identified the gap in the Irish market for a high-quality Irish produced halloumi cheese.
Omar went deeper into his research and started to match up to his business idea with the sourcing of milk from Irish grass-fed animals. He is proud to declare that the milk used to produce his halloumi cheese is sourced from farmers within his locality.
Omar is working closely with Bord Bia and their Food Works Programme in the continued development of The Proper Dairy Company and the production of this halloumi cheese.
This led to the company producing its cheese at their state of the art facility at the Teagasc National Food Innovation Hub in Moorpark Fermoy. Omar’s amazing ingenuity and this inclusion in the Bord Bia programme accelerated bringing this excellent business idea and product to the Irish market.
The mission of The Proper Dairy Company is to produce a high-quality Irish product using fresh local ingredients. Co-Owner and Founder, Omar Haqqi and his team have carefully crafted a delicious Irish made halloumi cheese made in the taste and style found in Cypriot Villages with the added benefit of using milk from Irish grass-fed animals.
The Proper Dairy Company halloumi cheese is produced from 80% cow’s milk, 10% goat’s milk and 10% sheep’s milk. Milk is sourced from farms in Tipperary and Cork located within 100km of their production facility.
The production is fascinating, to say the least. Altogether the process takes 2 days from the delivery of the milk to the packaged finished product. The milk is blended, pasteurised in the vat and then strained from the whey.
This is then shaped in a tray of 18 moulds and passed through a boiling vat and then left to cool. The cheese is then carefully hand folded in keeping with the traditional way of making halloumi in Cypriot villages.
Following this, the halloumi is then re-shaped and stored in brine, vacuum packed and stored in refrigeration. The packaged halloumi has a remarkable shelf life, lasting four months in a chilled facility before it’s opened.
The Proper Dairy Company range comes in a variety of forms, their flagship product is a 200g pack of Halloumi Cheese. The range also includes Gluten-Free Breaded Halloumi Sticks and a Gluten-Free Breaded Halloumi Burger patty.
We had the pleasure of sampling the Proper Dairy Company range and it was such a delight. We found that the rich quality of the milk adds to the taste and creamy colour of the cheese. When the cheese is pan-fried no added oil or butter is needed. The slices will quickly caramelise to give an irresistible golden finish. We cooked it for approximately 2 minutes on each side to get this result.
The Proper Dairy Company range of halloumi also makes a great addition to fresh salads. It’ll add that bit of extra flavour to your salad bowl. This halloumi is also very popular as a vegetarian alternative to a beef burger. Instead of the beef patty, add a slice of cooked halloumi for something different yet just as flavourful.
You’ll delight in discovering The Proper Dairy Company range of quality cheeses, make sure to keep an eye out for them on your next food shop!
Sustainability
The team at The Proper Dairy Company are committed to responsible governance with a focus on reducing and operating a single-use free environment, are in full compliance with environmental legislation, regulations, standards and codes of practice applicable to the hospitality industry.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS:
The Proper Dairy Company are committed to improving their environmental performance through:
- Energy Efficiency
- Water conservation
- Waste Minimization
- Recycling
- Pollution Prevention
- Local sourcing
- Sustainably Sourced Materials
Currently, the business is working on a reuse plan for the milk whey that is currently a waste by-product of the production process.
Employee Actions:
Through communications and training, all the team at The Proper Dairy Company are made aware of the impact that each team member has on achieving the business environmental objectives by monitoring business practices and working to identify opportunities to make a positive change.
Local community and social responsibility.
The Proper Dairy Company work with the local community for their recruitment needs.
Nearby Experiences
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- Meet the Makers
