Peas Please gathered stories from nearly a hundred people across the UK in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions last summer (June–August 2020). These paint a picture of people’s experiences in accessing fruit and veg at a time of national crisis and demonstrate how people’s usual routines were disrupted, with many seeking out alternative ways to access fruit and veg.    

Peas Please found that:  

• being able to buy enough fruit and veg was a problem for those on below average incomes 
• more people used local shops and veg box schemes during this time 
• price was a barrier 
• quality was sometimes poor 
• more people grew their own. 

The report is the first in a planned series that will seek to better understand the UK’s veg environment from a citizen perspective, working closely with our 170 Veg Advocates to do so. 

Independent ‘field-to-fork’ brand Mash Direct (www.mashdirect.com) has been recognised by Innovate NI as a ‘Silver Level Innovator’ on behalf of the Department for the Economy.  

Mash Direct is an innovative farming enterprise, run by the Hamilton family, at their family farm in County Down close to the shores of Strangford Lough. They grow and produce quality, convenient ‘field to fork’ vegetable and potato side-dishes, boasting 23 Great Taste Awards, ranging from Mashed Potato to Cauliflower Bites.  

Jack Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, Mash Direct comments, “We are very excited and proud to announce that we have been recognised by Innovate NI on behalf of the Department for the Economy for our innovation.  This recognition is a credit to the staff here at Mash Direct who are constantly striving to develop our ever-growing portfolio of fresh, healthy and convenient vegetable side dishes.”

Innovate NI is a Department for the Economy initiative which is delivered by Invest NI in partnership with local councils and further education colleges. 

The main aim of the programme is to increase the number of businesses throughout Northern Ireland engaging successfully in innovation.  The programme recognises innovative businesses and provides guidance on the best practice to help businesses innovate successfully. 

Mash Direct produces over 50 products that are 100% Gluten-Free and free from artificial colourings and flavourings and are available throughout Ireland and the UK.  All products have very low food miles and are easily traceable from ‘Field to Fork’ whilst also coming in recyclable packaging, contributing to a low carbon footprint for the company.

Inaugural awards will take place online in 2021

www.irishfoodwritingawards.ie

The high quality of food writing in Ireland across print, broadcast and online will now be recognised and celebrated with the launch today (2nd March 2021) of The Irish Food Writing Awards. This inaugural year will see the awards being held exclusively online with a virtual Awards Event in September. Once restrictions allow, the annual Irish Food Awards will adopt a traditional format of judging meetings and a Gala Awards Ceremony each autumn.

Food writing in Ireland is diverse, and this is reflected in the award categories which will include restaurant writing, cookery writing, features and drinks writing. There will also be  awards for online content, photography, podcasts and audio, writing on sustainability in Irish food, and investigative writing.

The judging panel features well-known international names from the world of journalism and food. Already confirmed are René Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen, writer and broadcaster Jay Rayner, investigative journalist Joanna Blythman, author and food columnist Trish Deseine, chef and author Richard Corrigan, critic Tom Parker Bowles, founder of Saveur magazine Colman Andrews and The Guardian wine writer Fiona Beckett.

The Irish Food Writing Awards are the initiative of journalist and food author Suzanne Campbell. “I had always wanted to see an awards for food writers in Ireland as there are great journalism awards for other sectors. So I decided to take it on myself this year as something really positive both for writers and the food sector.”

“The aim is to reward excellence in food writing. It’s quite a diverse field; paid journalism is under threat but content is more popular than ever. So we wanted to highlight the best content out there; whether it be investigative journalism on Irish food systems, or cookery writing, or food photography”.

“The food community has really come behind us in an extraordinary way. Everyone we’ve asked to support the awards or to judge has just said yes immediately. It’s been incredible!” 

On board with Suzanne is Paul O’Connor, a food publicist and former restaurateur “It’s been a really tough year for restaurants and many have had to close or adapt very quickly to survive. Journalists have been so important getting that word out there and supporting chefs so much during this pandemic. Also as a former restaurateur and head judge of The Irish Curry Awards, we’ve found that awards really build community. They celebrate both food and the people behind it, so this time it is the writers that are being celebrated, I’m delighted to join up with Suzanne on this venture”

The Irish Food Writing Awards will recognise writing from throughout the island of Ireland. The awards are open for entries, via the website, from the beginning of April until the 31st of May.

Website is atwww.irishfoodwritingawards.ie

Twitter @Irish_Writing

Insta @IrishFoodWritersAwards

Three Food NI members were among six Northern Ireland distilleries to have been successful in the prestigious World Gin Awards 2021, the winners of which have just been announced.

The global awards select the very best in all internationally recognised styles of gin. They are presented by TheDrinksReport.com, the world’s leading online resource for drinks professionals. The awards select, reward and promote the world’s best gins to consumers and trade across the globe.

The three Food NI members were: 

Boatyard Gin, Enniskillen, county Fermanagh was named Northern Ireland Country Winner in the World’s Best Flavoured Gin category for its Winter Solstice Gin,

Category Winner in the World’s Best Matured Gin for its Old Tom Gin and Northern Ireland category winner for its Sloe Gin, Silver for its Double Gin in the World’s Best London Dry Gin, Northern Ireland Country category winner for its Old Tom Gin in World’s Best Matured Gin category and Northern Ireland Country Winner for its Sloe Boat Gin in World’s Best Sloe Gin Category.

Echlinville, Kircubbin in county Down which was the overall Ireland Country Category Winner in the World’s Best Contemporary Gin for its Irish Pot Still Gin;

Symphonia from Moy in Tyrone won a silver medal for its Dry Gin in the Northern Ireland category in Contemporary Gin category and a Bronze in the World’s Best Flavoured Gin category for its Symphonia Apple Gin

Three other distilleries were also successful. They were

Belfast Artisan was named Northern Ireland Country Winner in World’s Best London Dry Gin for its Small Batch Gin;

Killowen, Rostrevor, county Down  – Bronze for Native Botanical Gin in Ireland category in Best Contemporary Gin;

Wild Atlantic Way, near Castlederg in county Tyrone, was the Northern Ireland Country category winner for its First Edition Gin in the World’s Best Contemporary Gin category; and

Fresh food home delivery company, Moo to You, which was established at the beginning of lockdown last year, has now introduced a new line of home cookery kits with locally sourced ingredients and an easy step-by-step recipe guide. Moo to You is a Food NI member  company.

The ‘Meals by Moo’ meal kits were created after customer research showed households in Northern Ireland wanted convenient recipe ideas to cook at homesince lockdown restrictions have temporarily closedmany restaurants across the province. 

Similar to Hello Fresh which along with other UK home delivery companies currently supply more than 5,000 meal kits to households in Northern Ireland, Moo to Youis hoping to tap into this lucrative market by offering a local delivery service, using local produce from local suppliers. 

Moo to You founder Chris Wilson, along with business development manager Stephen Lynn, a former Flybe pilot who lost his job before the first lockdown, areconfident in the longevity of the new service after he saw the success of Moo to You over the last 12 months. 

Chris Wilson says, “Our Moo to You delivery service has gone from strength to strength and based on our customer feedback and requests for a local version of convenient meal kits we felt it was time to introduceMeals by Moo.

“What makes them so popular we believe is because our fresh ingredients are locally sourced from qualityNorthern Irish producers. This uses minimal packaging and reduces food miles as our deliveries are made byour friendly drivers and not couriered by air from Great Britain. Not only is this much better for the environment but it also means we can deliver at a very competitive price.

“Meals by Moo also offers convenience and flexibility, we do not employ a subscription service like other home food delivery companies, meaning customers can order what they want, when they want. We hope the simple to follow meal kits will help retain and enhance our loyal customers’ experience and expand our new customerbase.”

Examples of Meals by Moo meal kits include Thai Green Curry and Garlic and Herb Chicken. 

Moo to You employs 10 staff and operates from its hub at Streamvale Farm in Dundonald. Its fleet of vans deliver to households across Northern Ireland. Find out more about Meals by Moo at www.mootoyou.co.uk

Economy minister Diane Dodds last week put forward a substantial package of funding to help in regenerating our beleaguered economy post-pandemic. Food NI will continue to support the minister, and the wider Executive, in its efforts to turn the economy around over the months and years ahead. We believe that our creative and versatile food and drink, which has ‘fed the nation’ during the pandemic, should have an even greater role to play in the regeneration.

While I appreciate the need to continue to keep downward pressure on this dreadful and lethal coronavirus to save lives and protect the NHS I have to say that I remain deeply concerned about the future of the hospitality sector, in particular, and the wider economy.  The sector can play a vital role especially in the rejuvenation of our city and town centres which have seen a disturbing decline in major retailers and the loss of thousands of jobs.

Many thousands of workers are either redundant or on furlough due to the pandemic. And it’s still far from clear if existing funding support for the furlough scheme and other initiatives including lower rates and VAT will be sustained beyond March. Industry and wider community need hope that there will be a sustainable future beyond the pandemic. It’s essential, we believe, that the furlough scheme and other support for business be retained. Indeed, we’d wish to see funding and other support, especially the lower VAT rate, extended to the end of this year and beyond. The Executive should also consider investing in the sector by providing a separate fund to help the sector recover.

It’s also essential too that the chaos surrounding the so-called Irish Sea border is resolved…and quickly. We really do need to see the promise of “unfettered trade” between Great Britain and Northern Ireland honoured by the Government and EU. Both appear to be digging their respective heels in at present.

The new £1million capital grant scheme to help existing micro food and drink manufacturing businesses to upscale production to secure new markets for their products is a very important step in the right direction. The aim of the scheme is “to enable eligible businesses that are processing primary agricultural or horticultural produce to commence supplying to the retail or distribution industry; or to increase the quantity of products they are selling to the retail or distribution industry; or to move into sales outside of Northern Ireland. In other words, improving commercial links between Northern Ireland food processors and the local farmers and growers who produce the raw materials. Grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 will be available.

We are urging our producer members to explore how the scheme might benefit them to develop their business before it opens on 8th March.  Food NI is keen to support the scheme. We will do whatever we can to assist our members in particular to get involved and grasp the benefits. The budget for the current scheme is limited to £1 million, which doesn’t go terribly far, but it is definitely a positive step by DAERA and hopefully it is a scheme which can be expanded in the future. 

The food industry at micro and other levels is growing and many of our firms are now active in key markets such as Great Britain and the Republic as well as further afield. We’ve seen several of our member companies winning good business in these markets in recent weeks. They include: Mash Direct in Comber which has gained a listing for eight lines by Marks and Spencer in Ireland; Finnebrogue in Downpatrick has won significant business from Asda for its plant-based foods; and Burren Balsamics in Richhill has achieved repeat business with Harrods in London and extended the range of vinegars now on sale in the iconic London luxury department store. 

Irwin’s in Portadown, our biggest independent bakery, has extended its business with Lidl; Golden Popcorn in Antrim has won new business with Aldi for a new snack product; and Tom and Ollie in Belfast is also doing good business with this retailer in the Republic.   I congratulate all these companies on their impressive achievements. 

Other member distilleries such as Old Bushmills, Echlinville, Boatyard and Symphonia have recently won major international awards. These and other successes further demonstrate that food and drink is a vibrant industry able to make an even greater contribution to the local economy. Additional support would enable it to play a key role in driving faster economic recovery.