Taste of Ulster member chef Niall McKenna of James Street Restaurant in Belfast is launching a new state-of-the-art cookery school in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.

Niall’s Waterman House Cookery School is in the Grade B listed Waterman House building on Hill Street. It will be an expanded version of his former cookery school on James Street South, where he still operates James Street restaurant.

He has created three new jobs with the expansion which represents a £1 million investment.

The school will accommodate groups of up to 18. A reception and first floor area are also being laid out as a new events and cultural space.

Niall says: “Having served Belfast city centre since 2003 with our James Street restaurant, we’re delighted to expand our presence and offer food enthusiasts the best environment to enjoy an exciting learning experience using the finest local ingredients. 

“Belfast’s tourism growth has been remarkable, but the challenges of the last 15 months have taken their toll on the city. As we move towards recovery, we’re looking forward to playing our part in contributing to the city’s status as an award-winning destination for local, national and international visitors with this exciting new culinary experience.”

Niall will also launch a new street food offering under the name Le Four from a converted Land Rover Defender and an outdoor dining space in the building’s courtyard.

The James Street group currently employs 57 full and part-time staff across its James St and Hadskis restaurants. 

Six Food NI member companies are among the seven from Northern Ireland food, drink and non-food businesses which have won new contracts to supply Aldi’s 145 stores across the Republic of Ireland through its Grow with Aldi Supplier Development Programme.

The programme gives smaller companies an opportunity to reach the supermarket’s shoppers over a period of two weeks.

The successful Food NI companies are:

Ballylisk Dairies of Craigavon, producer of Ballylisk of Armagh and Rokeby cheeses;

Burren Balsamics, Richhill for its Letterbox Larder spices;

Hellbent, Belfast: Irish pork belly with South African flavours and Chakalata Boerewors sausages

Hilden Brewery, Lisburn, a producer of craft beers;

Irish Black Butter, Portrush, sweet/savoury spread; and

Woodlab Distillery in Pomeroy, the home of Symphonia Spirits especially gin;

Other successful companies were:

Green Fingers Family Granola of Larne, a producer of handcrafted granolas;

Karri Kitchen, Portadown, Asian inspired wholefood meals;

This year, the Grow with Aldi message also focused on sustainability, and entrants were encouraged to demonstrate how their product/company is focusing on sustainability within their business.

In the last four years, almost 800 Irish suppliers have entered the Grow with Aldi programme, which is supported Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, with the programme receiving the highest number of entrants ever in 2021.

Over 100 exciting Irish-made products from the 57 suppliers chosen will now go on sale nationwide as part of an Aldi Specialbuys event, kicking off on Sunday, June 6 for two weeks only.

John Curtin, Aldi group buying director, said: “The first three years of the programme were successful and Aldi forged new links with fantastic Irish suppliers from around the country. 

“During Covid-19, we were also in a position to help even more small Irish suppliers listing on our shelves as part of the Grow with Aldi programme, and we know that the quality of food and drink produced is outstanding!”

Jawbox Gin, the award-winning Northern Ireland gin, has released pre-mixed cocktails in a can, featuring two different serves. The roll-out is perfectly timed with the arrival of summer and offers the consumer Jawbox Gin’s most-loved cocktails in convenient packaging, suitable for picnics, BBQs or garden parties. Jawbox is a Food NI member.

The popular Irish gin brand, which is distilled at the Echlinville Distillery on the Ards Peninsula, has teased the launch of their cocktails to much anticipation from consumers.

The range includes the signature Jawbox Small Batch and Ginger Ale serve, as well as Jawbox Pineapple & Ginger Gin Liqueur and Ginger Ale. Two delicious, refreshing cocktails in refreshingly convenient packaging.

A classic dry gin like no other, Jawbox is made and distilled using a unique combination of premium botanicals including local Belfast Black Mountain heather and orris root, before triple distilling in traditional copper pot stills. The result is a classic gin that becomes more complex on the palate, with citrus and juniper developing into pepper, green angelica and subtle rootiness.

With an ABV of 5%, the 250ml cans will retail for RRP £2 each and will be available to purchase this month (May) from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Winemark stores. 

Northern Ireland’s leading independent bakery Irwin’s has revealed a new packaging design for Nutty Krust bread to celebrate the brand’s 60^th anniversary.

To accompany the makeover, a range of commemorative merchandise will be available via the Irwin’s website. The celebrations will also include 60 days of competitions and recipes shared across the baker’s social media channels throughout the summer.

Food NI member Irwin’s will be partnering with retailers and other brands from Northern Ireland to give away Nutty Krust merchandise, hampers, ‘staycation’ competition prizes and in-store promotional offers.

Nutty Krust was first sold by Irwin’s in Northern Ireland on 30 August 1961. The bread involves an 18-hour fermentation and slow baking process on the sole of the oven which gives the bread a ‘distinctive and unique’ flavour.

Figures suggest the brand remains popular among consumers, with IRI data showing sales of Nutty Krust increased by 22 percent in the 52 weeks to 21 March 2021.

“It’s enjoyed and recognised as a comforting taste of home by people of all ages – so much so that we get regular requests for overseas deliveries for people who have moved away from home and miss a good old slice of Nutty Krust,” said Brian Irwin, chairman of Irwin’s Bakery.

“Whilst the birthday isn’t officially until the end of August, we’re launching the celebrations early and will be keeping the party going right through until autumn,” he added.

“We want to say a big thank you to everyone in Northern Ireland who keeps supporting Nutty Krust – and we hope to make its seventh decade the best yet.”

A top hotel chain in Ireland has teamed up with a drinks giant to unveil one of the world’s largest bottles of gin – a 73cm bottle containing a staggering 32 litres.

Nearly 1,000 measures of the spirit are included in the Jawbox Giant’s Edition – the star attraction of a new G & Tea afternoon tea offering in the Hastings-owned Grand Central Hotel in Belfast. 

Holding almost 46 standard bottles of gin, the huge bottle weighs more than 50kg.

The G & Tea experience in Ireland’s tallest cocktail bar, The Observatory in the Grand Central, is supported by Tourism Northern Ireland and the ‘Embrace a Giant Spirit’ promotional campaign.

It takes its name and inspiration from Jonathan Swift’s well-known tale, Gulliver’s Travels, in which the writer was said to have been inspired by the sight of the Belfast Hills, which he felt resembled a sleeping giant safeguarding the city. 

“We are delighted to mark our reopening by embracing our giant spirit, in partnership with Jawbox and Tourism NI, by showcasing one of the world’s largest bottles of gin,” said Stephen Meldrum, general manager of the Grand Central.

“We have created a truly unique visitor experience for our guests who can enjoy our new G & Tea and find out more about one of our most famous local legends.

”Northern Ireland is rich in stories and myths and we are excited to bring part of this to life as we celebrate the reawakening of the giant that is our very own tourism and hospitality industry.” 

Founder of Jawbox Small Batch Gin, Gerry White, added: “We are thrilled to launch the Jawbox Giant’s Edition in collaboration with Hastings Hotels. The Grand Central Hotel is the perfect home for the bottle, with stunning views overlooking the Belfast Hills that inspired the story behind our Giant’s Edition Gin and from which one of our key botanicals, Black Mountain Heather, is carefully gathered.”

The Jawbox G & Tea, including delicate sandwiches, scones and sweet treats, is served daily from 1pm – 5pm and is priced at £40 or £50 to include the exclusive Jonathan’s Twist Cocktail.

NeighbourFood was established in Cork in 2018 and in just under 3 years has grown to 50 collection points in ROI and has also gained a foothold in the UK with 20 markets in England and Scotland. NeighbourFood is the brainchild of founders Jack Crotty and Martin Poucher, who designed it to give small producers a direct route to market via an online platform. It works just like a farmers’ market but instead of customers heading to their local market, they can shop with the same producers with a few clicks of a mouse. 

Recently earning the prestigious accolade of “Outstanding Organisation” in the Irish Food Writer’s Guild 2021 awards for its support of Irish producers, Jack Crotty explains how the NeighbourFood business model works: 

“Our food producers set their own prices and get a fair price for every product sold. They keep 80% of sales for every product, compared to 15-50% through supermarkets. The remaining 20% is split equally between the market host and NeighbourFood. Our vision when we set up NeighbourFood was to enable even small communities to create a self-sustainable food network. We see this as a means to building strong local economies, providing a new and more profitable route to market for small scale farmers and producers. The dividends for local communities and the environment are substantial in that it provides better quality, fresher food for customers while also reducing unnecessary food waste as you buy just what you need for the week.”

Each NeighbourFood has a local flavour which is what makes each market distinctly of its place. A local market host brings together small farmers’ and food producers to create a weekly online farmers’ market. It is a click and collect model with an accessible collection point where producers drop their customers’ weekly orders for collection.

NeighbourFood Newry was the first stepping-stone into Northern Ireland when it was launched by Elaine Quinn in January this year. Over the 4 months since launch, it has grown steadily to a consistent 50 – 60 customers each week. The NeighbourFood EastSide collection point at Portview Trade Centre is due to launch this month and there are plans afoot for new collection points across Northern Ireland. The reception from local producers has been very positive, both from those already trading on the Newry market and those signed up to for the EastSide collection point at Portview Trade Centre in Belfast. Just a few of the highly regarded local producers that will be trading at the NeighbourFood EastSide market include Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Castlescreen Farm, Bara Bakehouse, Sea Source. Hahu Organics, The Curious Farmer and Deli Muru.

NeighbourFood customers benefit from the convenience of planning their weekly shop at home, filling their fridge with the best of local food available in their area, ensuring that their weekly shopping spend is spent in their local community. The icing on the cake is the time saved with a collection that takes just minutes.

To shop at the first NeighbourFood market in Belfast, sign up at www.neighbourfood.co.uk/eastside and note that you can shop weekly or as often as suits your needs.