The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has given the hospitality sector real encouragement by reducing VAT to five percent until January 2021. A reduction in VAT is something that we have wanted to see for years now, particularly since hospitality and tourism in the Republic of Ireland pay significantly lower rates of VAT. Taste of Ulster members have welcomed the new package of lower VAT which it is hoped will encourage diners to return, safely, to restaurants and to take short breaks at home. Our restaurants and hotels certainly need and deserve this long-awaited support.

What this important package promises is a cut of VAT on food, accommodation and attractions from 20 percent to just five percent, for 6 months. This is a significant reduction and Taste of Ulster has actively supported Hospitality Ulster in pressing the Treasury for a VAT cut to enable Northern Ireland to compete with the Republic of Ireland.

Tourism, of course, has been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and this year I would urge people to holiday at home.

There is also a new ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme for the month of August. This entitles diners to a 50 percent discount of up to £10 per head on their meal between Monday and Wednesday. I hope that people here will grasp the opportunity and in greater numbers enjoy the creative, delicious dishes from talented chefs in our network of excellent restaurants. They need our support now more than ever now.

Many have also invested heavily to meet social distancing requirements so we can dine safely. I’ve loved being able to eat out again with friends. It’s something I’ve missed enormously over the past three months.

These schemes offer unprecedented support for a key sector, over 80 percent of which was forced to cease trading in March as a result of Covid-19, resulting in the closure of several businesses and over two million workers in the sector on furlough.

I urge readers to respond positively and thereby help re-inspire a sector which employs thousands of people here and ensure as many companies in the sector are in a position to benefit when confidence and tourism eventually return.

We have a globally rated hospitality sector. As has been shown from regular research, holiday decisions are influenced strongly by the reputation of a potential destination for excellent food and drink. And around a third of a tourist’s holiday budget has typically been spent on food and drink.

The chancellor’s package will also benefit our food and drink suppliers to the hospitality sector. Many have been badly hit during the lockdown and have adapted imaginatively to the challenges that resulted. Food NI fervently hopes these measures will lead to a significant boost in demand for manufacturers here who supply into hospitality and thereby safeguard businesses and protect employment. They will also hope to see a recovery in hospitality.

Much of course will depend on consumers recovering confidence and being willing to eat out again and return to our wonderful visitor attractions. I for one think if we are vigilant and follow sensible precautions as advised by the Good to Go scheme that we can do good by supporting our local restaurant sector.

Q: How often do you get to ask your burning grocery retail questions to an experienced expert?

A: Now you can, every month!

Grocery Retail Expert, Malachy O’Connor is launching a new monthly 1-hour ‘Ask Me Anything’ webinar on Friday 17th July at 09:30. To compliment his regular posts and articles, now you have a chance to delve deeper or spark debate on Irish grocery market trends.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/eVQNs9j

Please PM Malachy via LinkedIn or email: Malachy@foodfirstconsulting.ie with your questions in advance of the webinar.

These insights are really valuable, but instead of paying a fee,  you to make a charity donation. Malachy will chose a different cause each month. This month they’re supporting Self Help Africa whose mission is to help African farmers better feed their families. Self Help Africa are currently working with Glenisk organic yogurts to plant a million trees in both Ireland and Africa.

Here’s the #justgiving link:
https://lnkd.in/enHBsKV

Staff at Titanic Hotel Belfast had plenty to smile about as the doors reopened last Friday, with the news that the hotel had won three 2020 Irish Hotel Awards. The hat trick of awards recognise the quality of the hotel and its outstanding restaurant.

Named overall Irish Hotel Restaurant of the Year and Ulster Hotel Restaurant of the Year, the Wolff Grill was judged on the standard of food and service it has become renowned for since opening two years ago.

With 119 luxury rooms overlooking the world famous Titanic Slipways and Harland & Wolff cranes, the hotel won the Great Place to Stay Quality Award, a huge boost in confidence for the management and staff as they started welcoming guests back into the hotel for the first time since lockdown.

Adrian McNally, General Manager, Titanic Hotel Belfast, said: “We were buzzing to reopen our doors after being closed for so long during such an uncertain time for the industry. We were just so eager to be able to get back to giving guests a warm Titanic Hotel Belfast welcome while adhering to government guidelines but receiving the news of winning these three awards was the icing on the cake for us on reopening.

“The combination of winning the regional award for Hotel Restaurant of the Year in Ulster as well as the overall Irish award for Hotel Restaurant of the Year in Ireland is really special for the hotel as I’m only too aware of our competition in hotels throughout Ireland. It is testament to the dedication of our executive chef Nigel Mannion and his team who lovingly prepare the finest of food for our diners.

“We appreciate the uniqueness of being able to dine in the Titanic Drawing Offices and to sleep in a room overlooking reminders of Belfast’s shipbuilding heritage but to be recognised for our individuality with the Great Place to Stay Quality Award underpins the everyday emphasis we place on quality, service and cleanliness, factors which were never more important than they are today.

“I am truly thrilled that Titanic Hotel Belfast has won these awards for quality and food at a time when guests are taking a tentative step into supporting the hospitality industry again.”

Titanic Hotel Belfast opened in 2018 and its stylish and innovative interior boasts an Art Deco nautical theme.

West Belfast based artisan food producer Tom and Ollie, has secured its first business in GB with Cotswold Fayre, a leading UK distributor of gourmet and fine foods.

The company , a Food NI member,is to provide its 85-strong retail range of products and secured the business after a successful meeting with Cotswold Fayre at an Invest Northern Ireland ‘meet the buyer’ event. The company’s products are handcrafted by its team in Belfast, using ingredients sourced locally and from leading suppliers across the Mediterranean.

Announcing the success, Shay Mullan, one of the founding directors of Tom and Ollie said: “This is our first significant business in Britain and we couldn’t have chosen a better customer to launch our handmade products in such an important market. We’ve been seeking a major distributor there for some time.

“We first met Cotswold Fayre at a ‘meet the buyer’ showcase in Belfast organised by Invest NI last year. This proved to be an extremely important event, which gave us a tremendous opportunity to showcase our extensive product range and develop contacts with key buyers. We subsequently continued discussions with Cotswold Fayre in London before lockdown, which resulted in this contract.

“We look forward to developing this hugely important business relationship by working closely with the Cotswold Fayre team in marketing our unique products throughout the UK and Ireland.”

Welcoming the announcement John Hood, Invest NI Director of Food & Drink said: “This deal is a tremendous endorsement of the quality, taste and innovation underpinning the foods Tom & Ollie handcrafts at its factory in west Belfast, and we are delighted to support its first steps into the GB market.

“It is also great to see that the very practical support we provide to our food and drink companies, both large and small, is making an impact. Our meet the buyer showcase has been hugely successful over the years and underpins our longstanding strategic focus to assist companies win business outside of Northern Ireland.  We will continue to help local businesses to maximise the commercial opportunities available to them through comprehensive support and guidance.”

The company also supplies products to Sheridan’s, one of Ireland’s most successful food distributors with a speciality in artisan cheese. The relationship with Sheridan’s has led to a listing with Dunnes Stores, Ireland’s biggest retailer.

In addition, Tom & Ollie has won business from Aldi Ireland for its network of 142 stores across the Republic of Ireland. The progressive company also supplies more than 60 lines to Pallas Foods, one of Ireland’s biggest food distributors.

Neary Nogs, a leading artisan chocolate maker  has won new export business for its bean-to-bar luxury chocolates outside Northern Ireland.

The small company, based near Newry in county Down, has just lined up new business in Australia, Germany and also in London for its range of handmade and stoneground chocolates produced in its own chocolate workshop.

Formed in 2005 by husband and wife team Shane and Dorothy Neary, the progressive business has begun supplying Bean Bar You in Sydney, Australia’s first independent chocolate subscription service. The company is committed to scouring the world for the best handmade chocolate.

In addition to the company’s first business in Australia, Neary Nogs has supplied Cocoa Runners in London, another subscription service that offers “the world’s foremost selection of luxury single milk, dark and white chocolate bars that are handcrafted all around the world by small batch makers, who meticulously manage every stage of the chocolate making process from bean to bar”.

The new business in Germany is being lined up with Choco-Dealer, a leading distributor of premium chocolates in Bonn.

Mr Neary, commenting on the new business, says: “It’s immensely important that all the new business has resulted from direct approaches including through our website. It’s a clear indication of the growing global awareness of the quality and outstanding taste our unique handcrafted chocolates.

“The new business means that our luxury products are now reaching lovers of fine
chocolate in key international markets. It’s our primary objective to establish the
Neary Nogs brand as a global maker of the very best chocolate,” he adds.

Neary Nogs, Northern Ireland’s only bean to bar chocolatier, has invested in the development of a state-of-the-art workshop and visitor centre that’s now powered by solar electric panels and on eco-friendly packaging.

The company expects solar to generate 60 percent of electricity to power the plant and equipment over the next 12 months. In addition, the small business is achieved zero waste. It has a portfolio that includes gluten free bars and operates a successful website with an e-commerce shop.

Neary Nogs, which has won a string of UK Great Taste and other national awards, sources beans from single estate growers especially in the Dominican Republican.

The company roasts, shells, cracks and winnows bean to produce cocoa nibs which are then ground the nibs by hand to create to create its original bars.

A unique chocolate coffee powder drink has been developed by Refuge Chocolate, a Food NI member and an award winning chocolatier in Belfast.

The new chocolate drink has been developed by Tara Mullan, who founded Refuge Chocolate to raise funds for survivors of human trafficking. The coffee was one of a number of original products developed during the lockdown to help generate cash for the small artisan business.

Tara Mullan explains: “I’ve been working on a number of new product ideas including the coffee, a development of our successful hot chocolate drink which has attracted interest from leading retailers such as Lidl and has won a range of awards for taste.

“The coffee beans used in our new product are sourced via direct trade and roasted by survivors of modern slavery in Brazil, which is in keeping with the reason behind my formation of the business. The beans are Rainforest Alliance certified. UTZ certified for sustainable farming and Alta Mogiana Speciality Coffee Association in Brazil.

“Once the beans arrive with us at Refuge in Belfast we grind them carefully with the finest Belgian chocolate. This encourages the extra chocolatey taste note. The coffee has a rich flavour of chocolate, tangerine and mild spice,” she adds. The chocolate coffee is free from dairy, gluten, wheat, eggs and nuts. It is also suitable for vegans. The RRP is £7.95 for 224g packet.

The recipe was created by Ms Mullan as also was her original one for a luxurious hot chocolate, a handmade beverage using premium ingredients from eco-conscious, traffic-free and fair trade sources.

“It’s immensely important to me that the ingredients are sourced ethically. It would be totally wrong for a company founded to support survivors of human trafficking to use unethical ingredients. I believe in practicing what I preach,” she says.

The company, in addition, produces a popular vegan hot chocolate and a chocolate and peanut spread. Other products include brownie recipe kits for home cooks, salted caramel chocolate fudge, chocolate chip cookie kit.