By Michelle Crean

Winning a major national food award after only two years in business is a sweet success for one Kilcummin honey producing family.

Tim and Kathleen Regan of Regan’s Family Apiary were awarded Silver by the Blás Na hEireann judges this week - which is considered to the Oscars of the Irish food industry.

Normally presented in Dingle, this year’s winners tuned in for a second year running from every corner of the country for a virtual celebration of the very best in Irish food.

Products from every county in Ireland were entered into this year’s competition to win Gold, Silver or Bronze in over 150 food and drink categories, as well as key awards like Supreme Champion and Best Artisan Producer.

According to Tim, who runs the artisan business with his wife Kathleen, with help from his son Liam and daughter Katy, the win is thanks to the bees!

"It's down to the bees and the forage rather than the beekeeper," Tim told the Killarney Advertiser. "Good honey depends on three things, good weather, forage and the bees."

The former St Brendan's College Science and Maths teach explained that they started out with two hives seven years ago but that has now grown to 20 plus hives. The bees feed on briars, clover and other flowers which gives their wild flower honey its distinctive taste.

"On average you can get 40 to 50 pounds of honey per hive, on a good year it could go up to 100 pounds per hive," Tim, who is currently Chair of the Kerry Beekeepers Association, added. "Last year we had 20 to 30 pounds as the weather was too cold and the clover didn't release the nectar as it needs to reach 20 plus degrees."

At present the business runs from the family home in Inchicullane with an honesty table outside where customers can put the money in the box. They plan to sell online in time with the addition of candles, face creams and lip balms made from the honey. They're also planning a walking experience around the meadows to show how the honey is produced.

The 12 other Blás winners announced were: Camos Artisan Foods (Gold and Silver), Cistin na hEireann (Gold), Dingle Distillery (Silver), Dingle Farm (Silver), Dingle Goats Cheese (Bronze), Kells Bay Cheese (Silver), Kennedy’s Butchers (Gold and Silver), Prestige Foods Ltd (Gold and Silver), Quinlan's Kerry Fish (Gold and Bronze), Valentia Island Vermouth Ltd. (Bronze), West of Dingle (Gold), Rogha na Gaeltachta (Best in County), supported by LEO Kerry, and Knockatee Natural Dairy (Gold).