From Castleconnor to cafes nationwide via The Gambia: how Grainne Barrett’s roots shaped FoodSpace’s sustainability ethos

In her role as Director of Catering with FoodSpace, Castleconnor native Grainne Carberry has helped oversee the expansion of the company which has grown to operate across more than 20 client cafes nationwide, building a reputation for seasonal menus, local sourcing, waste reduction and a people-first workplace culture.

The expertise developed since the company’s formation a decade ago has seen Grainne and FoodSafe expand their horizons beyond Ireland with one project they are involved with seeing them bring their sustainable methods to The Gambia where they are helping to deliver a cookery school.

In the 10 years since its foundation, FoodSpace has championed a model for contract catering that is only now gaining wider recognition across the industry. Along the way, the company has at times chosen not to compete on price alone. FoodSpace has never set out to be the cheapest option, but to be the one defined by quality, values and long-term impact.

At the heart of FoodSpace’s ethos is seasonal produce, low-waste and a focus on nutrition with Grainne insisting, “There has always been clarity in what we do.

“If anything, it has been a question of timing. The language the industry is using now around food, sourcing and culture is the language we have been working with since day one.”

“We believed from day one that food service could be better for clients, better for teams and better for communities. It is encouraging to see many of those ideas now becoming mainstream within the industry.”

Hailing from the townland of Tullylinn, Grainne, who is a daughter of Bridie and the late Tommie Barrett developed a keen awareness regarding food sustainability from a young age as home was a place where “Farming and growing food was at the centre of everything.”

Rather than competing solely on lowest cost, the company says its success has come from delivering higher value food services rooted in quality ingredients, sustainability and long-term partnerships.

If a client is looking for the lowest possible cost, other providers can deliver that. But if the priority is food that respects the people who grow it, the land it comes from and the chefs who prepare it, then FoodSpace has quietly been setting that standard for a decade.

FoodSpace has built its reputation not on trends, but rather on its practices. The focus is simple: work with what is in season, source locally wherever possible and build menus around vegetables, legumes, whole grains and quality Irish proteins. Use everything; waste nothing.

This is not theory; it is how their kitchens run every day. “Building a better plate starts with better choices,” says Conor Spacey, Culinary Director.

It is a model that challenges the conventional expectations of contract catering, not by criticising others, but by quietly demonstrating an alternative. That same thinking now reaches beyond Ireland.

In partnership with Waste to Wonder Worldwide and a network of collaborators including Apleona, FoodSpace is helping to deliver a sustainable cookery school in The Gambia.  

The project is already underway: foundations are complete, over 3,000 bricks are laid, and a solar powered borewell now supplies clean water to the school and surrounding community.

The facility is being designed as a practical training centre where young people will learn skills in cooking, agriculture and hospitality. A café will provide hands-on customer service and food preparation experience, while growing spaces will focus on soil health, native crops and sustainable farming methods.

During a recent visit, partners saw firsthand the reality on the ground. One local school, with 1,745 students, operates in two daily shifts due to overcrowding. In response, the team purchased 1,745 pencils and 1,745 exercise books.

At a nearby maternity health centre, donated computers are now being used to digitise patient records for the first time. At the centre of it all, the cookery school is beginning to take shape and will help shape the future direction of the community.

“The ethos travels because it starts with respect,” says Spacey. “Respect for ingredients, for people and for place. Whether that is in Ireland or in The Gambia, the principle is the same.” It is not about imposing a system. It is about working with what is already there and building on it.

The project also highlights a wider truth about the circular economy. When surplus resources are reused with intention, the outcomes go far beyond reducing waste. They create access to clean water, education, skills and long-term opportunity.

As FoodSpace marks ten years in business, the message is clear. The future of food does not need to be invented; it needs to be rediscovered and applied consistently. By reconnecting with produce, respecting the seasons and investing in people, it is possible to build a food system that delivers better outcomes across the board. Better food. Better workplaces. Stronger communities.

FoodSpace has been putting that approach into practice for the past decade, emerging as a forerunner in a movement now influencing the wider industry.