Here Catherine Good shares her remarkable story including learning the ice cream industry from scratch to opening her own shop in Kinsale and welcoming none other than Ghostbusters star Bill Murray, all thanks, she believes, not only to her hard work and vision but also to her mother looking out for her from above.
She laughed when asked if her journey felt like a classic rags-to-riches story. “It’s like your classic rags to riches story, but I am far from rich,” she smiles. What she does have, though, is something money can’t buy, the pride of building something of her own and sharing it with her family and community.
Together with her husband Tom and their four children, who range in age from ten to seventeen, she helps run the family farm.He milks the cows, and Catherine turns their milk into award-winning farmhouse ice cream. Their partnership, she explained, is at the heart of what makes her ice cream so unique.
When she first moved to Nohoval, 19 years ago, after she married Tom Catherine was working in the business sector. After her second child was born she took redundancy and stayed at home for what she calls a “ chapter of a decade.” During those years she became deeply aware of the beauty of where she lived. Out her window she could see the pedigree Friesian herd grazing, with the beautiful Cork Harbour in the background. “It was such an inspirational picture,” she explained, “I began to wonder what I could do with our milk and what kind of product I could create.”
Summers were spent taking the children to the five local beaches, Oysterhaven, Nohoval Cove, Rocky Bay, Fountainstown, and Robert’s Cove. Surrounded by beauty and resources, she began to imagine the possibilities. After completing courses, market research, and creating a business plan, she came to realise that nobody in Cork was producing farmhouse ice cream directly at source with their own milk and cream. That discovery set her on her path.
Catherine said she always noticed that local food was strong in areas like cheese and yoghurt but not as much in ice cream. To learn, she shadowed ice cream makers in England and Northern Ireland, and the highlight was training under a master chef in Sicily. “I’m going back again to Italy in October for more training,” she added proudly.
Over the years she created her own flavours with playful cow-themed names. Her vanilla became Udderly Vanilla, her mint chocolate became Mint Moo Condition, and Rocky Cow Path was inspired by the route her cows take every day. Kinder Moo and Toffee Caramoo, one of her most popular flavours, has landed on the shelves in Aldi stores this month.
Catherine said she entered the Grow with Aldi competition and was one of 29 chosen from 180 hopefuls. Her Toffee Caramoo flavour is now stocked in 164 Aldi stores. “This is my third time going nationwide,” she explained, “and while it’s a huge challenge for a small producer like me, I knew what I was going into because I was also an Aldi finalist two years ago. Upscaling wasn’t as daunting this time.” Her ice cream is now available in Aldi stores for a limited time only. If you’re visiting, be sure to grab a tub. Not only will you enjoy a delicious treat, but you’ll also be supporting a local business.
The latest step in her journey was opening her ice cream shop in Kinsale in April. Finding a location had taken years, but Kinsale made perfect sense. Two of her children attend secondary school there, and she was already well-known in the area thanks to her catering van, which she set up at many agricultural, sporting and community events. “The shop was my priority this year,” she explained. “It was a big challenge balancing production for the shop with supplying other outlets and Aldi, but I managed it.”
Her four children, aged between 10 and 17, all help in the business. Jack, the eldest, loves farming, Eimear and Clara have worked in the shop and van, and Robert, the youngest lends a hand on the farm. Catherine said she loves that they are learning skills in retail, production, and marketing, but she doesn’t expect them to follow her path unless they want to. “This is a chapter in my life where I took an idea and created it from scratch. It worked for me, but they’ll live their own lives and write their own chapters,if they want any of this it will be here for them. But if not they will find their own way” she said.
One of the most surreal moments of her journey so far came when Hollywood star Bill Murray walked into her Kinsale shop last weekend. Bill, who has ancestral roots in Cork, was filming in Kinsale. She had been taking her son for a haircut and had some time before her daughter’s ballet class, so she stopped at the shop. The streets were crowded with film crew, and she half-joked to one of them to come over for ice cream. A few minutes later she learned that it was Bill Murray.
“When they were walking towards me I asked if they would like an ice cream, and Bill caught me by the hand and said ‘let’s go’,” she said. Inside, he was charming and curious, admiring the farm memorabilia and family photos. He posed for pictures with the children and chose two flavours: Sicilian strawberry with caramelised almond crunch and Madagascan vanilla, which had recently been voted one of the best vanilla ice creams in the country. “He was so kind and friendly,” she said. “He’ll be going up on the wall here too soon .”
Despite her success, winning awards and celebrity drop ins, Catherine remains grounded. “I have to be realistic, I’m a mum with four kids and I have to know my limits,” she explained. She spoke about the years of planning, the training, and her curiosity that pushed her to keep learning. Cooking at home during her ten year chapter as a stay at home mum had sparked her love of food, and now that passion is the basis of her livelihood.
Catherine said the shop will likely close for the winter after its first season, which suits her family life. She is focused not just on growing the business but on enjoying the journey. She added that she knows there is huge potential for her ice cream, but she doesn’t stress about the future. “If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, what of it? Whatever will be will be.”
Part of what drives her is the memory of her late mother, who passed away last year. “I lost both my parents, and when I opened the shop in April, I felt my mum was looking out for me and helping make it happen,” she said. Catherine’s mother’s loss was profound, but the ice cream journey has been a healer. Around the same time, she was training for the Rotterdam marathon with friends in Tracton. Those friends and that focus helped me get through. She ran it in memory of her mum, raising money for Alzheimer’s. “I’m a firm believer in giving back,” she said, “and moving forward. The shop helps me do that too.”
Today, her husband Tom continues to run the farm while she balances ice cream production, retail, sales and marketing plus family life. Looking back at the view that inspired it all, she said she is still amazed by how far she has come in just four years. From a kitchen window in Nohoval to a shop in Kinsale, nationwide recognition, and even a handshake with Bill Murray, it has been a journey fuelled by innovation, curiosity, and love.
“I am so delighted,” Catherine concluded. “Meeting Bill, going nationwide with Aldi, going back to Italy for training, and enjoying time with the family, those are the key things for me. It has come a long way, but I know it’s only the beginning! .”
