Date/Time
Date(s) - 06/10/2012 - 13/10/2012
12:00 am

Belfast Restaurant Week, October 6th – 13th

With award-winning chefs famed for their innovation and talent, our superb natural produce and a diverse range of cuisines, Belfast’s great value restaurants are getting rave reviews from the critics. Now the first ever Belfast Restaurant Week offers a delicious and comprehensive insight into that acclaimed eating scene. With over 80 restaurants taking part in every quarter of the city, a host of special menus and great offers, new dining experiences, tastings, cookery demonstrations, fascinating talks, food tours, pop-up restaurants, suppliers markets and major foodie events, it’s a fantastic chance to enjoy the ultimate taste of Belfast.

Organised by Belfast City Council, in partnership with the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Restaurant Week kicked off with a thrilling ‘Cook Off’ at St George’s Market on October 6th. This is the culmination of a citywide contest between our most talented chefs to find the best recipe for a family friendly dish sourced with the finest local ingredients. Another spicy contest takes place with the Great Curry Cook off at St George’s Market on October 12th.

Number one food city
Great British Menu finalist Niall McKenna, the award-winning chef/owner of James Street South, believes this is the first of many such events and the beginning of a campaign to make Belfast the UK’s number one food city. “Belfast Restaurant Week has been created to truly celebrate our great eating establishments and encourage all those people who are interested in good food to experiment with new restaurants during the week”, he says. “I am very excited to be part of it and to be showcasing our superb local produce in great cookery demonstrations and tastings.”

One of many great events Niall will be hosting, at the sensational new Bar & Grill at James Street South, is Talk and Taste, with award-winning food writer Joanna Blythman. Sponsored by the Soil Association the event will focus on major food issues such as sustainability, organic farming and local produce.

Party atmosphere
Leading pioneer of the great Belfast food renaissance, Paul Rankin is delighted his acclaimed Cayenne Restaurant will be playing a big part in Restaurant Week. “We’re looking forward to creating a real party atmosphere in the restaurant and celebrating the sheer quality of Northern Irish food, from the farm to the plate”, he says. Paul will create a special set menu for the week which will encompass the best of local producers and also match each dish to a wine with a Northern Irish link. During the week Paul and some of food producers he works most regularly with will be in the restaurant to speak to customers about the produce and how to cook it. Another star guest will be Joe Wadsack, the renowned wine expert from BBC TV’s Saturday Kitchen.

Beef Baron’s Banquet
The award-winning Shu on the Lisburn Road is presenting a special menu for the week, as well as hosting a fine wine dinner and a unique four-course Beef Baron’s Banquet. “The idea of the beef banquet”, says Alan Reid, Shu’s owner, “is to focus on the best of the best, making people aware of the superb meat being produced locally and the process that it goes through from farm to plate.”

Shu is working with a leading beef farmer and an expert in the beef-ageing process, and in the weeks leading up to the event will use their social media to show people the way the animal is treated on the farm, the process of ageing the beef and the butchering.

“On the night our chef, Brian McCann, will cook the finest cuts and use different techniques and cooking methods for each course”, Alan says. “For instance, if he is to create a smoked beef course he will work with materials to smoke the beef that are indigenous to the Belfast area. It promises to be an evening that beef connoisseurs and aficionados will savour and remember for a long time to come.”
Authentic Indian cuisine
Owner of the elegant Safa Indian restaurant, above the three hundred years old Kelly’s Cellars, Askir Ali, is looking forward to using Restaurant Week to encourage those new to Indian cooking to discover what Belfast has to offer. “I know some people have a fear that Indian food is too hot, so we are preparing a special thali for Restaurant Week – a large plate with several dishes ranging from mild to hot, with naan, rice and raita (an Indian yoghurt) to introduce people to the rich and complex flavours of authentic Indian cooking. We will also have live Indian music to add to the authenticity.”

Once a head chef himself and steeped in Indian cooking, Askir is passionate about authenticity. “We buy our spices whole and roast, grind and mix them ourselves and cook the traditional way, serving the food in bati dishes as we do at home. Restaurant Week is a great idea to showcase the talents of our local chefs and our wonderful local produce, like the fantastic local meat and fish we use.”

Innovative Chinese cooking
Another local trailblazer for ethnic cuisine is the stunningly designed House of Zen at St Anne’s Square, where owner Eddie Fung will be trying out some specially created signature dishes. “Belfast Restaurant Week is a great platform for us to showcase traditional Chinese cooking of a kind which is completely different from my previous restaurants”, he says. Among the special signature dishes House of Zen will be presenting for the week are crispy king prawns with a golden coating of crispy corn and garlic and chilli; succulent coated pumpkin in crisy salted duck egg yolk, fillet of beef in sizzling wasabi sauce and hoisin glazed pork belly on a bed of spicy Chinese leaves, served with Chinese steamed bun.
The art of food
Inspirational Belfast art and delicious locally sourced food come together in the light, airy Café Conor, the beautiful former studio of the famous local artist, William Conor. Now renowned for their all day menu, award-winning breakfasts and casual evening dining, co-owner William Clark is devising some special attractions for Belfast Restaurant Week.  “We’re very anxious people discover the joys of imaginatively cooked, locally produced food, enjoyed in a really relaxing atmosphere with warm, friendly service and a very affordable bill at the end. That, in a nutshell, is what makes eating in Belfast special. So, we’re looking at a special offer for a main course and drink (including beer and wine).” As well as choosing from one of chef Craig Reid’s seasonal specials or regular dishes like cod and salmon mornay or Marrakesh spiced chicken fillet, customers can enjoy the elegant surroundings, enhanced by the paintings of acclaimed local artist, Neil Shawcross.
So what are you waiting for? Get tasting! Find out more at www.gotobelfast.com/whats-on/event/belfast-restaurant-week-2012.