Maria Betts of Maria Lucia Bakes, gourmet cereals

The very tasty Maria Lucia Bakes Granola is now available on the breakfast menu at the majority of Clayton Hotels across Ireland.

The Dalata Hotel group is Ireland’s largest hotel operator. They operate the Maldron Hotel brand and Clayton Hotel brand throughout Ireland & the UK, as well as managing a portfolio of Partner Hotels.

Maria Betts says, “The trade service is an important growth market for us. We believe that our products would work really well in hotels, as more and more people are opting for a gluten-free diet and therefore hotels should be offering this to their guests – a healthy and delicious gluten-free breakfast. We are delighted that the Dalata Group have noticed this gap in the market and will be stocking our range across their selected hotels, and we hope that others will follow.”

Tony McGuigan, Head of Purchasing, Dalata Hotel Group PLC, said, “ At Dalata Hotels we are striving to deliver food of the highest standards to our guests. Finding excellent Irish producers and bringing their product to our menus is something which gives us great satisfaction. Since we have begun including Maria Lucia Bakes range of granolas on our breakfast menus at Clayton Hotels we have had very positive feedback from guests who really enjoy the fact that it’s gluten-free and made from the best ingredients.”

Maria Lucia Bakes has won many awards including the Great Taste Award in 2014 for her Cashew Almond & Cinnamon Granola in addition to Best Cereal for her Cranberry, Coconut and Chia Seed granola  at the Irish Food Quality Awards held in Dublin.

Maria Lucia Bakes is an award-winning, specialist producer of gluten-free and wheat-free luxury granolas and mueslis. A No Added Sugar Granola was recently added to the range, and a new Toasted Muesli product range was launched at the end of May 2016 just in time for Bloom 2016 where it will be available to try and buy in the food market. (We popped in to see Maria at Bloom and also discovered a great new “Date and Banana” flavour!)

Owner Maria Betts started the business in her home kitchen in Rathfarnham, Dublin, in November 2013. Maria grew up in Glendalough, Co Wicklow, where her family ran a tea-rooms, guesthouse and antiques shop. Prior to setting up Maria Lucia Bakes, she ran her own executive coaching company and before that she worked in retail. She was inspired to set up Maria Lucia Bakes after she made a special granola for a friend she had staying who was gluten intolerant.

The whole range of granolas and mueslis is hand-baked, gluten-free, wheat-free and dairy-free. The granolas are made with jumbo gluten-free oats, packed full of seeds and nuts, infused with a little honey or treacle, natural vanilla and spices. They are gently baked in small batches to toast the nuts and seeds and give a delicate crunch.

The Maria Lucia Bakes product range consists of:

• Cashew, Almond & Cinnamon Granola
• Cranberry, Coconut & Chia Seed Granola
• Apricot & Walnut with a Hint of Treacle
• No Added Sugar Granola

The granola range is available in 400g boxes and 1kg bags.

The business began exporting its product range to Norway in early 2016. The Maria Lucia Bakes granola range is stocked in 200 SuperValu stores nationwide in Ireland, health-food stores, independent retailers (Donnybrook Fair stores, Avoca stores, Cavistons in Glasthule, Mortons in Ranelagh) and is available to buy online at www.marialuciabakes.com.