Meet the Team
Derek grew up in the all too beautiful Wexford countryside enjoying the freshest of food from an early age. Always out helping his parents with their own fruit and veg, Derek instilled this in his cooking career, working across Bib Gourmand and 2 AA rosette restaurants. Derek loves achieving a Zero Waste Kitchen. Derek is very passionate about supporting his local team ‘Wexford Youths FC’
"Working at GROW HQ is literally a chef's dream. I really believe it's never too late to start growing your own food. Even a few herbs to start and pass this knowledge onto our children, for their future".
Our food system is broken and at GIY we believe that nurturing a real connection to where our food comes from is the key to fixing it.
We're on a mission to inspire a global movement of food growers, one GIYer at a time.
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GIY is a social enterprise consisting of two companies: GIY Ireland CLG (Company No 477525) and GIY Ireland Activities Ltd (Company No 490550), both registered at GROW HQ, Farronshoneen, Dunmore Road, Waterford, Ireland and have the following directors: Eamonn Clarke, Carol Montgomery, Aoibheann O'Brien, Elias Darwish, Marie Oldham, Laura Smith© GIY Ireland Ltd 2025