Food & Wine Magazine’s Valentine Special, Feb 2021
Chuffed to be invited to partake in Food & Wine Magazine's Valentine Special..
How did you both meet? and how long have you been together?
In 2008, we opened a hotel together in Wicklow, namely Tulfarris, and the rest you could say is history. Vanessa was on the development, design side; Anna was Food & Beverage. It was a tough year to open, but it set us up for opening our own place, in mid-crisis in 2013, and sadly prepared us, somewhat, for what was to come with COVID in 2020 (and now 2021).
What led you to set up a business together? Whose idea was it or was it a joint idea? What was the inspiration behind it?
The financial crisis hit and we were both made redundant. But on the positive side, redundancy gave us time to travel & see parts of Spain we hadn’t visited before. We weighed up our options, asked ourselves what is it we most love to do? Entertain, eat great
food & drink fab wine and most of all, share that with our friends & family.. the dawn of Lola.
The first thing we did was write our menu; design the potential unit; then looked for someone to take a punt on us. It was the most joint crazy idea we’ve ever had! How long have you been working together? We opened the hotel in Wicklow together, then were made redundant during the crisis, so worked separately for a while until we opened Lola in 2013. Knowing we had worked together already, we thought “No problem”.
What are the biggest challenges you face as couple who work together?
Our waistlines, we love our food and wine too much so a bad influence on each other.
What advice would you give to your past selves / another couple out there thinking of going into business together?
Don’t do it! Joking! Most important is to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses (and your own especially). When starting your own business you think you can do it all. You can’t. Anna takes care of operations; Vanessa marketing & finances. The one area we share and adore is our menu and product. It can cause tensions, but in a good way. For example, Anna’s always striving to find the best of the best Spanish product, Vanessa is usually with the calculator wondering would people really pay that for the quality - importing is a costly business.
Is there a special meal you make to enjoy together? If so, what is it and who does the cooking? Or is this also a joint venture?
We love pica pica (sharing boards with cheese, cured meats and the rest) with a nice glass of sherry or wine. But there’s nothing better than a delish rice for lunch and a crisp white wine. We share the cooking, but not together.. it’s either one or other cooking!! We call it kitchen therapy.
What is it about that dish that is so special to you both?
We’ve chosen arroz con almejas (rice with clams) as our sharing dish at home for its pure simplicity. But also rice dishes for lunch remind us of our family and those amazing lazy lunches we’ve had by some of the most amazing beaches around the coast of Spain.
How long have you been cooking it?
Forever. But our rice dishes vary.. could simply be with clams, or lobster, or maybe a paella or fideuà (Catalan dish made with fideos). It’s a lunch treat usually prefaced with vermouth beforehand. A great tradition.