Authentic Belgian Waffles Now Delivered To Doorsteps
Authentic Belgian waffles are now being delivered direct to doorsteps in parts of Northern Ireland by local producer Michael Henderson of Born and Raised. He’s providing freshly hand baked waffles in boxes of 12 to orders placed by social media.
To avoid any social contact, the company only takes PayPal payments. “The new service is a response from approaches by local people who have enjoyed our waffles at outdoor events such as food shows across Northern Ireland,” Michael explains. “We leave the order outside the door. If it’s raining, we leave the box in a bag,” he adds. The delivery service is currently available from his Facebook site.
The waffles are made fresh to order every day by the company which is based near Ballymena in county Antrim. The small company is also planning to acquire a vacuum sealer and developing an e-commerce site to accelerate the growth in sales currently being experienced.
A passionate baker, Michael launched Born and Raised waffles in 2018 after a period of market research to pinpoint opportunities in baked goods including Belgian Liege waffles.
“Baking was something I always wanted to do. It started out as a hobby and is quite a leap from my original training as a metal worker. I worked in the ventilation business and then at Shorts for 11 years. I guess I’ve always been good at working with my hands and then had a long held desire to start my own small business,” he continues.
He opted for the waffles after taste testing with family and friends. This led to a decision to convert an old horse box trailer into a food truck specialising on waffles. He now operates a second trailer because of the success of the business at shows and other events such as weddings. In addition, the company was commissioned to provide waffles during a movie shoot in Northern Ireland featuring Hollywood A Lister Liam Neeson, who also hails from Ballymena.
Michael, a father of two young children, then created an identity, Born and Raised for the new start up business – Born in Belgium and Raised in Belfast, his home town
He chose Liege waffles because they are “richer, denser and sweeter”.
