Food and drink initiative unites community
Article written by Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow- 2nd June 2016
Well done Belfast City Council on two spectacularly successful Twilight Markets last week. Upwards of 20,000 people visited the events in the splendid St George’s Market and clearly enjoyed the opportunity provided to talk to food and drink producers and experience the expertise of chefs from many of the city’s eateries. These markets carried forward our own hugely successful Food Pavilion at Balmoral which attracted record crowds.
I enjoyed walking around the market and talking to producers and restaurants, a great many of them members of Food NI.
What both events demonstrated is the tremendous strength of public support for the local industry and especially for the Year of Food and Drink campaign, now entering its sixth month and focusing on the Love Dairy theme in June.
We’ve all been immensely encouraged by the enthusiasm of both central and local government for this year-long campaign to showcase the excellence of our food and drink. I welcome new Economy minister Simon Hamilton and Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen, both of whom, I know, are also enthusiastic supporters of the initiative spearheaded initially by First Minister Arlene Foster when she held the economy portfolio and has continued be fully engaged in the campaign to showcase our £5 billion food and drink industry.
Events organised by councils from Derry to Newry and Belfast to Craigavon and Enniskillen have demonstrated that Year of Food and Drink has become a unifying initiative. Innovative events have included the very successful Food Heartland Awards organised by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon councils.
People here really have embraced the initiative. Communities in virtually every part of Northern Ireland are now working together to support our most important industry.
In addition to special events, we’ve seen the emergence of a number of local farmers’ markets that provide smaller companies in particular with a platform to reach shoppers. New monthly markets are emerging all the time, the latest being Hillsborough this Saturday. What’s also remarkable is the commitment being shown by producers to the various markets. I don’t know how they keep in touch with them. We do our best in Food NI, of course, to keep our member companies abreast of the opportunities. We want them to be successful and to stimulate other aspiring producers to get involved.
I think It’s fair to say that Year of Food and Drink has already succeeded in many of its objectives including heightening awareness here of the quality of local products. The challenge, of course, will maintaining momentum next year. It’s a challenge we are already addressing to help continue the industry’s growth.
This message is also reaching tourists and visitors, judging by the accents I heard at Balmoral and the Twilight Markets. We also hosted a visit to Balmoral by some of the leading food writers from Britain from publications such as The Times, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.
Led by our good friend Charles Campion and including Xanthe Clay, another great supporter of Northern Ireland food, they were all hugely impressed by the vast number of products on show and the willingness of producers to talk to them about their products and how they are made. I look forward to reading their reports in the months ahead. They’ll all be extremely positive. Year of Food and Drink is strengthening friendships and demonstrating the great good will that exists abroad towards Northern Ireland.
