Póg’s Rachel Keane on finding her niche with healthy, delicious meals

Erica Drum caught up with food entrepreneur Rachel Keane to go behind the scenes at her latest restaurant in Clontarf.

When Rachel Keane first set up Póg Café on Bachelor's Walk, she was determined to create a restaurant that served up dishes that were both healthy and delicious. To do so, Rachel turned to one of her own personal favourite ingredients: yogurt.

As it turns out, she was on to something good. Ten years later, Póg now boasts five restaurants, and at each, Rachel's signature yogurt pancakes remain a crowd-pleaser with diners.

In the most recent episode of Yogurt Tastemakers with the National Dairy Council, Erica Drum sat down with Rachel at Póg's most recently opened branch in Clontarf to try some of Póg's famous stacks for herself.

The base for Póg's pancakes is super simple – oats, milk, bananas and protein powder. Once the pancakes are made, the team at Póg customise them according to the diner's wishes. One of the most popular ingredients? A healthy dollop of yogurt.

With many customers popping into Póg for some post-workout food, yogurt's popularity isn't entirely surprising to Rachel. When they pick yogurt, they're making a conscious choice to eat healthily. After all, yogurt is naturally high in protein, a source of calcium and has a lower fat content than cream.

On top of its health benefits, Rachel appreciates yogurt's versatility and incorporates it into her other menu items. Póg's avocado toast, for instance, is topped with a beetroot yogurt, adding both colour and flavour to this tasty brunch recipe.

Rachel is also proud to source her yogurt from local Irish producers and seeing food make the journey from farm to table is central to Póg's ethos.

You can watch the full episode of Yogurt Tastemakers with the National Dairy Council below.