Mayo best-selling author is the 'Voice of Mayo'

Sarah Butler from Castlebar is the ‘Voice of Mayo’ for Mayo County Council’s campaign to raise awareness of the 45 connected hubs around the county. 

With a background in graphic design and digital media for 17 years, she developed an award-winning business specialising in wedding stationery. The pandemic saw the cancellation of all weddings and her business collapsed. What she did next completely changed her life.

One day she shared a picture of a lemon meringue pie she had made - and social media went mad. 

“Everybody was in lockdown so I had a captive audience, they couldn't even leave their house. It was perfect timing. I did my very first video in November 2020 and it blew up”. 

Sarah’s social media following grew tenfold from 1,000 followers to 10,000 in just three months and currently stands at 153,000. www.instagram.com/sarahbutlerathomeofficial

“I grew up in Castlebar in a family of six kids, my father was a fourth-generation butcher and we had a Bed and Breakfast growing up. Food was always a big thing in our house.” 

Since then, Sarah has reinvented herself as a celebrity chef, author of three best-selling cookbooks, influencer, brand ambassador, podcaster and broadcaster.

Combining practicality with years of personal experience, Sarah’s Irish cookbooks Home Cooking, Food for Life and Comfort Food encourage home cooking in an easy-to-follow manner, teaching how to reduce food waste and get the most from your ingredients. The titles tell you what to expect: step-by-step practical recipes, using ingredients you already have, to produce truly superior results.

“I’m thrilled to be chosen as the Voice of Mayo to share my experiences of working in remote hubs around Mayo,” she said. 

“The paperwork I got through in two hours in the hub would have taken me all day working from home with all the distractions in my house. What stood out to me was how helpful the people were who working in these remote hubs. They were able to advise about grants available from Mayo Local Enterprise Office and because you don’t have to sign a lease or a contract, you can keep an eye on your costs. You can rent a hot desk for just €15 per day.”

Sarah was even able to record a cookery demonstration video in the small village of Balla using the fully equipped, HACCP-approved commercial kitchen. This is available for short-term or long-term lets, for small start-ups or cookery classes/demos from only €20 per hour. There are 45 hubs dotted around the county which offer an incredible range of remote working facilities and options. They provide high-speed broadband, offices, hot desks and meeting rooms to start-ups, existing businesses, students and community groups in County Mayo.

To make a booking in any one of the 45 hubs in County Mayo or further afield visit www.connectedhubs.ie.

To learn more about Sarah Butler visit www.sarahbutlerathome.com.