Cheese lovers Jonny McDowell and Laura Bradley have just invested in a new artisan food store with a difference in Belfast on the back of their highly successful deli, Indie Fude, in Comber.

Both long-term supporters of local food and drink producers, they have opened a unique cheese and charcuterie deli on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares in pre-Covid-19 days.

Indie Fude 2, as the new shop is known, features a special cheese room and extensive air conditioning for maturing hundreds of cheeses from across the island of Ireland and from further afield. The Indie Fude identity was chosen to stress the independent and specialist nature of the business.

It’s also great news for Northern Ireland’s growing cadre of artisan cheese and charcuterie producers

Indie Fude in Comber has long featured most of our artisan producers including Dart Mountain in Dungiven, Mike’s Fancy Cheese in Newtownards, Kearney Blue in Castlereagh and Velocheese in Belfast. Charcuterie producers in the shop are Corndale Farm in Limavady, Ispini in Aughnacloy, Ke Nako in Ballyclare and Downpatrick’s Castlescreen Farm.

Indie Fude’s investment is another excellent example of the growth in specialist food stores here especiallyover the pandemic. Delis, farm shops, family butchers, greengrocers and smaller grocery stores have flourished as shoppers have turned to neighbourhood retailers with trusted local suppliers.

“Our business in Comber has grown strongly especially over the past year due to the increasing awareness among shoppers of the benefits from supporting local food and drink producers in terms of quality and taste,” Laura explains. “They recognise too that buying local helps preserve existing jobs and even creates new employment opportunities. We’ve added new jobs in Comber and also at the Ormeau Road store,” she adds.

A Food NI member, Indie Fude, which has been an integral part of the Comber business community for almost six years, was set up by Jonny, a chartered accountant and cheese specialist from Belfast, and Laura, who has extensive experience in hospitality, to specialise in local artisan produce.

As well as the shop in Comber, Indie Fude now has a significant on-line presence, a catering operation that covers corporate events, hosts regular supper clubs and other artisan food promotions especiallycheese presentations. In addition, the deli operates an extensive home delivery service which has grown substantially during the pandemic. An artisan food hamper business is also thriving.

The successful entrepreneurs have also supportedlocal markets around Northern Ireland, including those in Comber, Coleraine, Londonderry, and The Inns on Belfast’s Saintfield Road.

Laura continues: “We saw an opportunity to build a successful business around the exciting growth of artisan food producers here and decided to see if we could provide a springboard for them to grow.”

 As a result of this commitment to local artisans, many start up food enterprises have won their first sales through Indie Fude and gone on to prosper in wider marketplaces.

They decided to invest in a new deli in Belfast when suitable premises became available. “We had been thinking about an expansion for some time to focus especially on cheese, a key element of our Comber business,” Laura explains. “While we were encouraged by a growing interest in different cheeses among shoppers here we had still to be sure about the premises and surrounding area.There’s never an ideal time to invest, and trading conditions are currently very volatile,” she adds.

They were directed towards an empty shop on the Ormeau Road by a business friend and decided to explore the area. “We quickly came to the conclusion that it was too good for us to miss. There’s a greatcommunity there for retailers and plenty of shoppers from the surrounding area. Furthermore, the road has many excellent restaurants,” she says.

Work on revamping and stocking the new shop was completed in early December and it opened last week. Response so far has been ‘immensely encouraging”, Laura says.

In addition to the cheeses, charcuterie and other artisan foods, takeaway coffee and snacks are available. “We’ll also be offering unique sausage rolls with pork from Stonebridge Farm in Crossgar, a popular supplier to the Comber shop,” adds Laura.

The three-storey premises will also support thedevelopment of other related activities such as supper clubs with top chefs showing how to cook local food.

“Overall, it’s another opportunity for us to work with the brilliant artisan businesses here and to help in marketing their excellent produce,” continues Laura.It’s a very exciting sector with lots of inspirational people who are as passionate as we are aboutartisan produce. We’ve so many brillian products in both shops.”

As we start another year and face renewed calls for healthier diets, it’s pretty clear that our shopping habits have gone through some pretty radical changes in 2020, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are now buying more ingredients from local suppliers for cooking meals at home from scratch.

And it’s been immensely encouraging for Food NI to see the growth in specialist food stores and the new opportunities now being offered to local suppliers. This trend has ensured the survival of many artisans and farm-based suppliers. We hope that this trend will continue to gather pace in the year ahead.

Interestingly, new reserach that more than three quarters of consumers changed how they planned, purchased and prepared their food during the first national lockdown, with more than half claiming to have eaten more fruit and vegetables. Also encouraging here is the growth in numbers of delis and smaller shops adding seasonal fruit and especially locally sourced vegetables to their offerings.

There will be further scope to expand these items here in the months ahead. While there is now a trade agreement between the UK and EU in place, it is still not clear how this will impact supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables from Europe to Northern Ireland due to the new Irish Sea border.

There should be even greater opportunities for our farmers and retailers to increase supply of fresh vegetables in particular to the specialist shops. Several shops here are responding to the new opportunity by creating bespoke veg and fruit boxes for home cooks in particular and a number are also including menu ideas.

In addition, they should consider making it easier for people to try something new by. recommending ‘simple swaps’ to existing recipes to help normalise healthy, sustainable choices. Simple ingredient swap suggestions can help people liven up family favourites and add new meals to their cooking repertoire.

There are very real benefits for the community and economy from building closer relationships between farmers, retailers and consumers here. While we’ll never be self-sufficient in vegetables, there’s scope to increase output in the future by growing the local marketplace to a much greater extent to encourage our farmers.

Another interesting statistic showing the growing consumption of vegetables in the UK came from the innovative Peas Please initiative of which Food NI is a longstanding supporter. According to Peas Please, UK food businesses served 162 million vegetable portions over the past three years. This impressive statistic is a measure of the success of the promotional drive to promote consumption of vegetables especially among children and young people.

Peas Please is a multi-stakeholder project that works with businesses, civil society and policy makers across the UK to make it easier for people to access vegetables, by getting organisations to pledge to grow, serve or sell more veg. Covid-19 has apparently caused widespread disruption to food businesses increasing their veg consumption targets. Some 72 million additional portions were either sold or served last year…and against the very difficult background of Covid-19 restrictions.  Again, we await the outcome of the Brexit trade agreement in the months ahead for any adverse impact on supplies from the likes of Spain’s Murcia region. Some 68 percent of fruit and veg in UK supermarkets is currently imported.

While trends are moving in the right direction, there’s still much more to raise consumption levels. Retail grocery sales, according to supermarket surveys, show that the proportion of veg in a consumer’s shopping basket remains low at seven percent – despite overall grocery sales increasing by 13.7 percent in the 12 weeks leading up to mid-June.  There’s a lot to do to reach the Government’s Eat Well target of 20 percent of shopping baskets should be veg.

Clearly further work is required on reshaping our food systems. This must involve greater encouragement of more localised shopping and further targeted campaigns by the Executive to promote local vegetable production for a healthier community.

 

Finnebrogue Artisan has won a national deal with Asda to supply three of the retailer’s Extra Special products this Christmas.

The Downpatrick based business will produce a first to market Extra Special Vegan Turkey Joint and two new Pig in Blankets products – Extra Special Pigs in Blankets and Extra Special Double Chilli Pigs in Blankets, to stores across the UK.

The much-loved traditional festive favourite Pigs in Blankets are a new product from Finnebrogue Artisan for Asda and will be stocked in 579 stores for the holiday season, with the Vegan Turkey Joint available in 180 stores.

The deal builds upon Asda and Finnebrogue Artisan’s existing relationship, which has seen the family business supply Extra Special Sausages since 2014, and a range of plant-based products since the summer of 2020.

John Cowen, Finnebrogue’s Account Manager for Asda said:

“We’re always delighted to grow our relationship with Asda and the arrival of three new products for this year’s Extra Special Christmas range is no exception.

“With the growing switch towards meat substitute meals, the Vegan Turkey Joint expands the Asda meat free range in 2020, offering festive foodies the opportunity to enjoy a Christmas lunch that doesn’t compromise on taste or flavour.

“The Asda Extra Special Double Chilli Pigs in Blankets will see the classic pigs in blankets, set on fire this Christmas. Extra Special Dry Cured Streaky bacon is wrapped around cocktail sausages, containing both halved jalapeños and the world’s hottest Carolina Reaper chillies, to get any Christmas party off to a hot start.

“Our customers can rely on our products for great tasting festive centre pieces and sides, whether it’s a meat or meat free option. We hope Asda customers love the new products and flavours available for their Christmas table this year.”

Emma Swan, Asda’s Buying Manager for NI added,

“At Asda, we work alongside our suppliers to create innovative, affordable and delicious products for all our shoppers and this year’s Extra Special Christmas products from Finnebrogue are a wonderful example of this work.

“We’re so proud to offer our customers avegan turkey joint, as well as a selection of pigs in blankets. Whether you fancy something traditional or a little more quirky for your dinner table, we have our customers covered this Christmas!”

The Extra Special Vegan Turkey Joint with caramelised onion stuffing, the Extra Special Pigs in Blankets and the Extra Special Double Chilli Pigs in Blankets are available in select Asda stores across the UK now.

 

Matt D’arcy’s, the Newry-based whiskey company, has published a new book “Matt D’Arcy’s & Old Newry Whiskies”, detailing the long history of distilling and blending in the city, and introduced a new Irish whiskey“Old Newry’ to mark the occasion.

The company is developing a distillery in Newry and has also range of range of premium whiskeys.

Company chairman Michael McKeown has authored the book and has completed a detailed study of the various companies that called Newry home and that made the Irish city famous throughout the world in the 18th and 19thcenturies.

Mr McKeown has also uncovered records dating back to the 12th Century wherein Maurice McLoughlin, the High King of Ireland, granted a Royal Charter to the local Cistercian Order of Monks giving them ownership of the mills in the area and access to the mash needed to distil spirits.

This claim of a long history of Newry Whiskey distilling is further supported by records in Nicolas Bagenal rent rolls of 1575, where the most valuable property in the Abbey of Newry was recorded as the “Queen’s Backhouse and Brewhouse”.

The book details the establishment of the Victorian distilling enterprise, Matt D’Arcy & Company, the history of its founder and subsequent chairmen, and the many business and philanthropic endeavours they undertook that helped shape the city to this day.

A further exploration of the other companies that helped to build a rich heritage of whiskey production over the centuries is also included, such as Henry Thomson & Co. and Duncan, Alderdice & Co.

Matt D’Arcy’s have launched a new whiskey to celebrate the publishing of this historical record.  Named “Old Newry” with the tagline “Since 1144 and before”, this whiskey pays homage to the long history of blending and bonding Irish whiskey in the city of Newry.

 

Erne Larder Preserves, an artisan producer of sauces, relishes and jams in Northern Ireland, has won its first export business in the US.

The new deal will see Erne Larder’s popular products featuring in hampers being distributed by a recently launched New York-based food business.

Erne Larder, based in Enniskillen, county Fermanagh, has recently shipped its successful Irish gin and cranberry relish, Irish bacon ketchup and Irish stout onion jam to Over The’Eire for inclusion in its Christmas hampers for customers across the US.

Declan O’Donoghue, the managing director of Erne Larder, says the business followed a contact from Steph McCrory, one of the founders of the New York food business. “Steph, who is originally from Enniskillen, had been told about my products by a friend from Ireland. She checked our website and decided on our unique Irish gin and cranberry relish would be perfect for their Christmas hampers and also ordered our Irish stout and onion chutney, and Irish bacon ketchup.

“She then placed an order for the products. We are delighted to win this breakthrough business which will add a bit of a ‘kick’ to Christmas meals around the US, a market we’ve be keen to penetrate for some time. There’s the prospect of further business there for the relish and our other artisan products especially our very successful Irish bacon jam,” adds Declan, an experienced chef who has won widespread acclaim for the original recipe products.

The small company has already won significant sales in Britain and the Republic of Ireland for its range of premium quality products. Erne has a strong base in Northern Ireland and is already supplying most delis and artisan food shops as well as leading retail chains such as Eurospar. It has also supplied both Aldi Ireland and Lidl.

Mr O’Donoghue established Erne Larder in 2017 on the back of a successful career that included creating original sauces for meals in hotels and restaurants across the island of Ireland and in Scotland over 20 years. His original product was a unique smoked Irish bacon ketchup which was quickly followed by the Irish bacon jam.

The successful smoked bacon jam followed approaches from hotel chefs for such a product for use in dishes and with cheese.  ”I’ve always been interested in making my own food products and decided to start with a range of unusual jams and chutneys,” he adds.

A key element in his approach is a focus on locally-sourced ingredients. “There are so many excellent products available across Northern Ireland that can be used to create innovative and tasty products,” he adds.

Sail into Christmas by visiting Titanic Hotel Belfast to marvel at the only life-sized Gingerbread House in a hotel in Northern Ireland and chill out with a Christmas cocktail while enjoying a festive feast in the Wolff Grill.

If you are dreading the fuss of being joyful and merry while cooking the Christmas lunch on Christmas Day, let Titanic Hotel Belfast do all the prep for you in advance. Relax and enjoy time with your family after decorating the tree with baubles knowing that your only task is serving your guests with an exquisitely prepared festive feast by award winning chefs of the Wolff Grill.

The five course Christmas Day Lunch To Go will be available for collection on Christmas Eve and the sumptuous menu includes canapes, traditional starters, a choice of main courses, a delicious dessert and a selection of cheeses to finish.

Adrian McNally, General Manager, Titanic Hotel Belfast, said: “We are open for lunch on Christmas Day and the restaurant is fully booked so rather than exclude those who simply couldn’t get a reservation or those who would prefer to entertain their Christmas guests at home this year, we decided to create our Christmas Day Lunch To Go menu. The last thing we want is to end 2020 with disappointed diners on Christmas Day, so those who can’t dine in the Wolff Grill can experience our award-winning food in the comfort of their own homes.”

The chefs at Titanic Hotel Belfast have every confidence that no matter what level your standard of cooking might be, you will be able to reheat your lunch and impress your guests while retaining the all important unique and award winning Titanic Hotel Belfast flavour.

Christmas Day Lunch to Go is served with luxury Christmas crackers and is priced at £99.00 per couple including a 20cl bottle of Prosecco or at £190.00 for four with a 75cl bottle of Prosecco.

Christmas Day Lunch to Go will be available for collection on Christmas Eve. To book your Christmas Day Lunch to Go contact christmas@titanichotelbelfast.com.

The Wolff Grill restaurant at Titanic Hotel Belfast was awarded ‘Irish Hotel Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Ulster Hotel Restaurant of the Year’ 2020.

With a stylish and innovative interior boasting an Art Deco nautical theme, Titanic Hotel Belfast opened in 2017 and was named ‘Northern Ireland’s Leading Hotel’ by the World Travel Awards for the third year in a row. It also received the ‘Great Place to Stay Quality Award’ 2020.