WHEN YOU’RE IN an industry as changeable as the health food one, there is no such thing as a rigid recipe for success. A product’s shelf life is often as short-lived as it is fashionable.
So the success of a business can often be measured by its capability to keep ahead of the trend and offer the latest health food ‘craze’ to its customers before anyone else.
From juicing, organic produce and fibre to gluten free, paleo and clean eating, there have been vast changes over a short period of time as we search for ways to lead a healthier lifestyle.
It’s certainly not for everyone but the health food industry is booming and the market is widening – as Oliver McCabe of Select Stores knows better than anyone.
Sitting at the apex of Dalkey’s main street, the family-owned shop has been the heartbeat of the quaint coastal village for over 60 years.
The ‘shop on the corner’ has become much more than the greengrocer Mr and Mrs McCabe first opened in 1959. It has naturally evolved with time but also been reinvented to establish itself as one of the ‘go to’ health stores in the capital.
With Bono, The Edge, Neil Jordan, Eva Greene, Woody Harrelson, Pierce Brosnan and Ryan Tubridy among the shop’s customers, Select Stores must be doing something right.
The shop is exactly how you would imagine it: quirky, cult-like, atmospheric, individual and a one-stop-venue for every different health food product you could imagine.
“We were the first independent juice bar in Ireland and the stop has naturally evolved over the years,” McCabe explains to The42. “Our last refurbishment was in 2004 so we needed to keep up and bring something new to the shop.
“When the Nutribullet or similar products arrived, the market wasn’t really there for juicing so we needed something else. The kitchen and whole food deli which opened last year gave us that.
“You have to do a Madonna every so often and reinvent yourself.”
McCabe, who is the general manager of the store with a number of his siblings working in other areas of the business, has become a prominent figure in the promotion of healthy living.
His own personal experience has shaped the way he thinks and his primary focus is to make healthy food mainstream and educate children about the importance of a clean diet.
“When you think of health food people, you think of fit and healthy individuals,” McCabe continues. “But I wasn’t like that and it’s perhaps why the public and my customers have been able to relate to me.
“I lost my mother at Christmas three years ago and I put a lot of weight on. There was a lot of emotional eating and customers saw this. I could relate to the struggle of squeezing in exercise and having the time and money to prepare and eat healthy food.
“People want to know they’re buying products off someone who knows what they’re talking about. Knowledge is key and having experienced it myself, I know what people want.
“I’ve lost nearly three stone and have lots of energy now. You always hear of inspirational stories but I’ve channeled all that into enhancing the product we offer.”
As a nutritionist, McCabe is aware of the fitful nature of the business. It was something he took into consideration when a publisher approached him to bring out a health food book.
Select Stores has built up a large customer base but McCabe was wary of affecting the numbers coming through his doors by publishing his recipes for all to access.
“It was one of the big concerns,” he said. “But this is another way of pushing the cause. People are so stressed nowadays with bills to pay and other life circumstances. They need an outlet to eat and access wholesome, affordable food.
“Yet the book offers them a chance to make the food at home. There are so many crappy diets out there and a lack of knowledge.
“Recently I have noticed that a lot of our customers are trying to make healthy food for their families on a budget and stressing out over complex recipe books and ingredients.
“So with this book I’m bringing healthy, wholesome food back to basics.”
The recipes tick all the boxes: some are vegan, vegetarian, sugar free, all are high in nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Seven of the 256 pages are dedicated to setting out the cornerstones of good nutrition. Above all, it’s incredibly enlightening.
“These are all the recipes which have been the foundation of Select Stores’ success,” he adds.
A cursory glance through the pages of the colourful publication is enough to appreciate McCabe’s passion for what he does.
Not everyone has the money to buy their food in Select Stores nor the time to sit in the cafe and eat banana and coconut spelt bread and butternut squash soup – but McCabe is determined to bring his food to a new audience.
As much it is a cookbook, it is also the story of his family’s journey through the decades to make Select Stores the institution what is is today.
Keep an eye out for some of Oliver’s recipes which will be published on The42 over the coming days.
