What’s on offer?
Husband and wife team Gavin McCarthy and Sara Mitchell launched Poulet Bonne Femme in Dún Laoghaire’s farmers’ market in 2009. Laid off in the 2008 recession, with a newborn son and no interest in emigrating, they gambled Gavin’s redundancy on a rotisserie trailer. At first, they sold roast dinners; the sandwiches came later.
With a commitment to high-quality Irish food, Poulet Bonne Femme sources free-range chickens from local farms and makes everything in-store daily. The focus is on family meals – rotisserie chicken, honey roast ham, pork with crackling, and roast Irish beef. Sides are all home-made, from roast potatoes to coleslaw, designed for easy midweek meals and the ultimate Sunday roast.
Worth noting is the fact that they are also doing pre-prepared dinners for Christmas, which come with the full works: boned and rolled turkey, honey ham, and every side you’d expect. There are six concessions in Avoca stores around Ireland and there are two stand-alone stores – Blackrock and most recently, Dún Laoghaire, where there is also an area for sit-in.
What did we order?
Rotisserie roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast root vegetables, stuffing and gravy.
How was the service?
Very pleasant. I rang the Dún Laoghaire shop to check on availability and placed my order on the phone. I picked it up that evening.
Was the food nice?
The rotisserie chicken was absolutely delicious. The skin was crisp and golden with a tasty savoury flavour. The wings were crispy and the leg and breast meat was succulent. The roast potatoes are baby potatoes with skins on, so not quite the crunchy delight you get with conventional roast potatoes. The root vegetables – mainly parsnip and carrots – were very good. The bread stuffing was loose, so needed to be moistened with melted butter, but there was a good taste of herbs running through it. The gravy was a bit muted and was improved by punching up the seasoning and adding a splash of wine and squeeze of lemon juice.
What about the packaging?
Everything except the gravy (plastic container) was packed in paper or those round cardboard cartons we now associate with lockdown meal kits. So crushable and recyclable.
What did it cost?
€39.05 for dinner for four people: Rotisserie roast chicken, €15.95; roast potatoes, €6.95; roast root vegetables, €6.95; stuffing, €5.25; and gravy, €3.95.
Where does it deliver?
Open 9am-6pm in Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock. Sundays are a busy day so call ahead to order. Concessions serve from 10am to 5pm or 6pm. Email catering@poueltbonnefemme.com
Would I order it again?
Yes, this is really good chicken and I love the fact that it’s free-range. Ordering the sides means you have a night off cooking.
