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.

It was a real pleasure at the weekend to enjoy a meal in a local restaurant for the first time in three months. I was lucky to be in Strangford village on Friday, a place where you are spoilt for choice of places to eat such as Artisan Cookhouse and The Lobster Pot with The Cuan reopening soon. We’ve missed being able to experience superb food in one of our Taste of Ulster restaurants – within social distancing regulations of course. It’s really heartening to see many of the hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes reopening again after what has been an immensely challenging period for everyone.

Comber market also re-opened on Thursday and it was encouraging to see the crowds of shoppers, socially distanced of course, smiling and chatting to local producers and picking up local produce to enjoy at home. Around 1,000 shoppers supported one of the best local food markets here and purchased food from around two dozen smaller producers which also faced challenges during the lockdown. Other markets are now functioning including Ards, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Lisburn. The popular Causeway Market in Coleraine will be open again on Saturday.

Our many members are adapting extremely well to what has become known as the ‘new normal’. It isn’t easy.However, necessity is the mother of invention and there have been some highly impressive innovations undertaken by restaurants offering takeaway gourmet meals. The feedback on the quality and taste of these has been super, especially for dishes that people do not wish to cook at home.  I understand several restaurants plan to continue to offer a takeaway option as part of their new business model.

In Food NI, we’ve sought to support and encourage over the lockdown and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead.

As a measure of this commitment, Food NI was delighted to be approached by Mash Direct, a much valued Food NI member company which is recognised internationally as a pioneering and award-winning producer of ‘field-to-fork’ vegetable sides and convenience dishes. Mash Direct proposed a brilliant initiative that will help our local hospitality sector and specifically Taste of Ulster eateries. It’s an imaginative scheme that’s also shaped to promote food and drink produced here.

This is how it will work: Mash Direct is spearheading a‘Dine in to Dine Out’ campaign throughout the months of July and August, giving their consumers the chance to win one of 30 £100 vouchers which they can spend in an award-winning Taste of Ulster restaurant of their choice.  

It is an on-pack promotion across Mash Direct’s comprehensive range of fresh, nutritious, and convenient vegetable side dishes available in food retailers up and down the country, throughout multiple convenience stores and independents.  Lucky winners will be able to choose from a vast range of local restaurants throughout Northern Ireland which have the ‘Taste of Ulster’ award.  The winners can count on really memorable meals with great customer service.

Mash Direct, of course, supplies many of the restaurants as well as major retailers with fresh, nutritious, and convenient vegetable side dishes. The pioneering company’s products are home grown on the Co Down family farm.  The company has also adapted successfully to the growing consumer demand for free-from products.  Each product is low in saturated fat, gluten-free and free from artificial colours and flavours.  

It is the first time we have worked with a local producer to promote Taste of Ulster eateries, and I hope it isn’t the last. ‘Dine in to dine out’ celebrates the great community spirit that exists among our award winning, quality food and drink community in Northern Ireland.

Things are beginning to look up again for hospitality and local food producers. Let’s do our bit to ensure both sectors continue to prosper.

Customers can enter a promotional code found on packs to www.mashdirect.com/dineout for their chance to win a Taste of Ulster Restaurant voucher.

The lucky winners will be able to choose from a vast range of local restaurants throughout Northern Ireland which are ‘Taste of Ulster’ members.

Noisy Snacks in Northern Ireland, a UK leader in award winning original snacks, has been invited by Amazon VendorCentral to become a supplier. Amazon will now be selling the full range of Noisy Snacks.

Based near Belfast, Noisy Snacks recently developed an innovative range of delicious healthy flavours in nuts, broad bean, corn and chickpeas which are available in convenient 100 percent recyclable pouches.

 Noel Allen, founder and managing director of Noisy Snacks, says; “The invitation from Amazon is a very exciting development for us and could accelerate the growth of our business online.

“We decided to take part in an Amazon workshop about the online retailer organised by business development agency Invest Northern Ireland. This highly informative event gave us the knowledge and understanding of working with Amazon in a number of ways. I decided to be proactive and chase theopportunity to pitch online for business with Amazon and this subsequently led to the invitation from Amazon VendorCentral to us about becoming a supplier.

“I jumped at the opportunity to become a supplier. I am looking forward to working with Amazon to maximise thismarvellous business opportunity for such a relatively young snack company as Noisy Snacks is,” adds Noel.

The new range of Noisy Snacks are flexitarian, so whether you’re a gluten-free, kid-raising vegan or a protein-loving, gym-obsessed meathead we have a snack for you.

Mr Allen has developed Noisy Snacks on the back of 10 years’ experience in FMCG working in marketing for industry leaders such as Coca Cola, Red Bull and Boost Drinks.

He founded the business in 2018 with the launch of a range of peanut snacks with favour sachets. The flavoured peanuts were targeted successful at the developing craft beer sector.

Assistance from Invest NI for the company includes export support and ecommerce website grant.

Amazon Vendor Central is an invite-only platform for businesses that want to sell their products to Amazon itself rather than just being listed on the digital retailer’s website for direct sale to consumers.

The Northern Ireland company has been growing steadily since its launch and saw sales in Britain double during the pandemic lockdown.