‘The Pink Slice’ premieres at Mo Chara in Dundalk

There was a great turnout at Mo Chara recently, for the premiere of The Pink Slice, a six-minute documentary created by Dundalk-based food and drink creative agency KOR which tells the story of the iconic pastry, the family bakery behind it and the town that loves it.

The screening saw members of the Keelan family, owners of the Home Bakery, and The Home Bakery team in attendance.

For generations of people from Dundalk, the combination of flaky pastry, jam, buttercream and unmistakable pink icing has become something close to a local institution.

For those who have moved away, sometimes to the other side of the world, buying a Pink Slice is often part of the ritual of coming home. It's a taste of the town.

The story of the Pink Slice in Dundalk begins with The Home Bakery, a multigenerational family bakery whose roots in Dundalk stretch back more than 70 years.

Annie Maguire, grandaunt of current co-owner Deirdre Keelan, originally opened a bakery on Clanbrassil Street and taught Deirdre’s grandfather, Patrick Keelan, how to bake. Patrick later moved to Jocelyn Street, where The Home Bakery opened in 1953.

After spending time working in England, Patrick drew inspiration from the pink fancies he had encountered in English tea shops.

During the 1970s, he adapted the idea into something of his own, using laminated puff pastry together with jam, buttercream and pink icing to create the Pink Slice in the form Dundalk knows today.

The pastry itself is a feat of repetition and precision. Margarine is repeatedly pressed and folded into the dough during lamination until the finished pastry contains 486 individual layers of dough and margarine. Once baked, it is layered with jam and buttercream before receiving its defining coat of pink icing.

Patrick’s son, Brian Keelan, also worked in the family bakery before spending time overseas working in Navy kitchens.

Following his father’s death, he returned to Dundalk and the bakery, where he continued working until the age of 83. The business later passed to the next generation, with Brian’s children, Caroline, Deirdre and Rory Keelan taking over the family bakery.

Majella Murphy has worked behind the counter at The Home Bakery for almost 40 years. During that time, she has watched generations pass through the doors, serving customers as children who now return to the bakery with children of their own.

“People come in and tell us they haven’t had one in years because they’ve been living away,” says Majella Murphy of The Home Bakery, “and that getting one is one of the first things they do when they come home.”

For KOR, the documentary marks the beginning of a wider series of films exploring the stories, people and traditions behind Irish food.

"We're all from Dundalk and work here in the town, so this felt like a really cool chance to get behind the scenes of a proper Dundalk icon and tell the story of a pastry that means so much to people here.

"We wanted to show off the skill, the techniques passed down over the years, and the family recipe behind a pastry that's seriously complex to make — but brings so much joy to people."

A limited run of Pink Slice merchandise was also available on the night, including t-shirts, vinyl stickers and keychains designed around the pastry and its newly created visual identity.