Date/Time
Date(s) - 24/01/2013
9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Location
The Carriage Rooms
Spa Rd
Ballynahinch
Down
BT24 8PX

United Kingdom

Matthew O’Callaghan 

Matthew O’Callaghan is Founder and Chairman of Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association. He has led a ten year campaign to protect the pie under European legislation including in the High Court and Court of Appeal. Matthew is also Founder and Chair of the UK Protected Food Names Association – fifty of the UK’s most iconic foods, worth over £1 billion. He has supported a number of applications for protected food name status e.g. Newmarket Sausages, Cumberland Sausages. This is a scheme that Matthew has actively promoted throughout the UK.

Matthew is a member of the Leicestershire Tourism Forum and has promoted the concept of food tourism in the Melton area of England, now worth £65m. Matthew also established the East Midlands Food & Drink Festival, British Pie Awards (900 pies judged in 2012) and Artisan Cheese Fair (largest UK cheese fair). Recently Matthew was recognised for his work in food tourism and received the East Midlands Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism.

Matthew is often recognised from his appearances in all three series of Great British Bake-Off, BBC The One Show and many UK news programmes. Matthew has also been a guest on the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show, BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, and Radio 5’s Live and World Service.

Michele Shirlow – Food NI 

Michele is a founder of Food NI which works to enhance the reputation of Food from Northern Ireland. Via events, festivals, social media, press and the Taste of Ulster guide Michele promotes our food, so good and the response is overwhelming. ‘We want to grow our visitors’ food experience, tell them what we’ve got and bring them back for more…’

Michele is a passionate believer in using our food story to spread a positive message about Northern Ireland. She raised the £800K private sector funding required to create the ‘Northern Ireland – Good Food is in our Nature’ message delivered via local television and she is a regular contributor to local radio.

Join Michele to hear the story behind what’s on our plate, the rise in new local artisan producers and how food is emerging as a key pillar of our tourism message in 2013.

Joining these speakers will be some of Northern Ireland’s ‘Food Heroes’:

• Glenarm Castle Organic Farm

• Punjana Tea

• William Orr and Sons – Comber Potatoes

These producers will speak briefly on their products, discussing how they relate to Northern Ireland and how their produce contributes to the authenticity of the visitors food experience.