Noisy Snacks, the award winning, innovative snack brand from Northern Ireland is adding a new range of delicious healthy flavours in nuts and chickpeas. Available in convenient recyclable 45g pouches Noisy Chickpeas and Noisy Nuts are pre-mixed with extra flavouring and available in a variety of bold tastebud-tingling flavours.

 Noel Allen, founder of Noisy Snacks, says; “We wanted to exceed customer expectation on taste blowing people’s minds with the level of flavour, and emphasising the character notes of those flavours. Where there is heat and spice we want it to be knock-out; we don’t pull our punches. I’ve been told that the Chickpeas explode with flavour in your mouth and leave long-lingering heat. I am so proud of the taste of the beans which really are stand-out in the market. They have excellent health credentials and taste delicious.”

 Noisy Snacks’ 45g range comes in 100 percent recyclable packaging, and are flexitarian, vegan, gluten free, high in fibre, and high in protein.

Noisy Snacks is dedicated to creating delicious healthier snacking experiences that are memorable and fun. They put taste first with knock out flavours that tantalise the tastebuds. Noise is a key product differentiator, however meeting and exceeding customer expectations on taste, feel, and smell are key components in creating a memorable customer experience using all five senses.

 The snacking industry in the UK and Ireland has been valued at £1,489.3 million.

Based near Belfast, Noel Allen has 10 years’ experience in FMCG working for Coca Cola, Red Bull and six years working for Boost Drinks. Noisy Snacks taste delicious with unique flavour combinations to delight and engage with all of your senses.

 In 2019 Noisy Snacks received enterprise funding from Greenyard plc. Greenyard is a global market leader of fresh, frozen and prepared fruit and vegetables, flowers and plants. Counting Europe’s leading retailers amongst its customer base, Greenyard provides efficient and sustainable solutions to customers and suppliers through best-in-class products, market leading innovation, operational excellence and outstanding service. Assistance from Invest NI for the company includes an Innovation Voucher to develop the initial range.

Whitewater Brewery in Northern Ireland has resumed exports to France and Italy as the lockdowns in both important export markets are lifted

The award-winning independent brewery, in addition, is currently following up a new approach from Australia for its range of beers including its UK Great Taste Regional Golden Fork for Northern Ireland winning Kreme dela KremlinImperial Russian Stout (ABV10.5%).

The small brewery, which is based in Castlewellan, county Down, last week shipped consignments of its bottled beers ordered by existing distributors in France and northern Italy.

Bernard Sloan, Whitewater’s founder and managing director, describes the new orders as “the first green shoots of recovery”. “It’s been a very difficult couple of months for the industry due to the lockdowns in hospitality in all our main markets,” Mr Sloan says.

“The downturn in hospitality has been only partly offset by increased independent off sales and supermarkets in Northern Ireland. We greatly appreciate their support during this immensely challenging period. Licensing laws in Northern Ireland have also prevented us from selling from our website.

“The big problem for us were the lockdowns in Europe which halted the fast developing export sales in which we had invested considerable time and other resources. Our state-of-the-art brewery, for example, was a substantial investment in response to the growing demand from our beers from hospitality operators in the UK, other parts of Europe and from further afield.

“The orders from our distributors in France and Italy for our five-strong range of beers for their customers in bars, cafes and hotels in both countries were welcome and a tremendous relief. We were able to supply them very quickly from stock we had built up before the lockdown. We look forward to further repeat orders soon,” he adds.

In addition to sales in France and Italy, Whitewater Brewery had developed exports to Sweden and Japan well before the virus outbreak.

As well as its bottling lines, the brewery has developed a canning operation and introduced a facility for slim line cans which is now attracting attention from a leading producer of sparkling soft drinks.

Whitewater was the first brewery in Northern Ireland to win a Great Taste Regional Golden Fork for Northern Ireland when it gained the award last year for the unique Russian Imperial Stout, a recipe created by Mr Sloan. The company has also won World Brewing Awards.

Mr Sloan founded Whitewater Brewery near Kilkeel in 1996 and subsequently decided to invest in a new brewery at Castlewellan because of the rapid growth in demand for his range of original beers, ales and stouts in bottles, cans and kegs.

The new brewery was opened in 2018 and is now among the most modern of its type on the island of Ireland. Invest Northern Ireland has assisted the company over many years including the development of the new brewery and export marketing.

We have all undoubtedly been through a very tough few months, but it was heartening to read a survey last week which showed that farmers in Britain are now more respected than ever because of their outstanding work during the lockdown.

The report by the influential Agriculture and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB), which has a role here and works with the Department of Agriculture and Rural and Development and Invest NI’s Food and Drink Division, found that 71 percent of people interviewed in Britain believe that British farmers have been doing a good job in producing food during the crippling pandemic.

I am sure a poll of local consumers would produce an even more impressive endorsement, because farming here is much closer to the wider community than in Britain.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, AHDB said the pandemic had created “a greater sense of community” in which consumers were keen on local food because of its traceability and provenance. They had come to count on the wholesomeness and safety of local produce and had grown to appreciate the endeavours of those providing produce.  More people were also turning to “comforting, traditional producesuch as meat and dairy and especially mince, chicken breast, bacon, milk, cheese and cream”.

Worryingly, many shoppers were also heavily influenced by price during the virus outbreak.  Only 22 percent of people interviewed said they would buy British products if they were more expensive, whilst 51 percent said they will proactively seek out British produce post-outbreak.

Important in the results is “a shift in consumer behaviour when it comes to people claiming to be cutting back on their dairy and meat consumption”. The survey found that the number of people eating more meat has doubled to 14 percentsince February, whilst those reducing their intake has dropped from 27 percent to 16 percent. The number of people claiming to cut back on dairy has dropped from 17 percent to 11 percent, whilst 12 percent of people are now claiming to be consuming more dairy, up from five percent. Interesting to see how the pandemic has, at least temporarily, reversed the trends towards a more plant-based diet.  

There are important messages to be taken from the report by the agri-food industry here. For Food NI, there is a strong case for increasing our marketing of the provenance, wholesomeness and safety of products. Sustainability seems likely to grow in importance with consumers as will food security. We need to be promoting the green credentials of our producers and produce and communicating these much more extensively in Britain.

Our longstanding focus on farmers contributing to food and drink could be strengthened to reinforce the local nature of the products for consumers here and especially in the rest of the UK. We really need to build upon our reputation as a safe, sustainable, resilient region with short supply chains.

The lockdown has also stimulated more at home food preparation which provides an opportunity to provide cooking experiences for consumers to enjoy. We need to seize the market opportunity from the evidence that there’s more home cooking and baking going on now than ever before. This looks likely to grow in popularity and will increase demand for tasty and nutritious ingredients from trusted suppliers with transparent farm links.

And on that note, this week, look out for the first Comber Earlies hitting the shops. While we can’t have a Comber potato festival this year we can still experience their delicious flavour. Just steam them and add a little local butter. Delicious.

 

It’s been a time where we’ve all been forced to make changes and adapt. At Food NI, we’ve been blown away by the adaptability, innovation and determination of our agri-food industry in the face of COVID-19. Whenever we needed them the most, they continued to make sure we had food and drink on our tables!

To say thank you, we’re launching a 4-week digital competition to share and celebrate the stories of our local agri-food champions.  Those good news stories will be made into a video highlighting what so many have done. We’re calling it a massive virtual applause, so the more stories the better!

We want to hear your good news stories about those artisans who made your life easier by  delivering to you from a farm shop, who updated their website so you could order your favourites online, who supported the vulnerable or who just put a smile on your face.

“It’s been so heartening to see how so many of our members have just rolled up their sleeves and got on with it. They have made a real difference to so many people and have also highlighted how important our local agri-food industry is” said Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow.

“We really want to hear from the public how their efforts have helped them.  It’s a way of showing our appreciation to those producers and chefs.”

It doesn’t matter how big or small, just email us and you will be in with the chance of winning a local food hamper to the value of £20.

One winner will be chosen at random each week for four weeks.

PM us your stories on social media or email info@nigoodfood.com.

Retailer Launches More Than 160 Summer Products Including Vegetarian and Vegan Options Starting at just £2.50 for a Limited Time

Lidl Northern Ireland’s limited-time summer barbecue range has all the essentials to make your summer at home one your palate, and wallet, won’t forget with mouth-watering build-your-own burgers for less than £4 a head! From succulent 100% Irish beef burgers to alternative vegan options starting from just £2.50, Lidl Northern Ireland has all your barbecue needs covered this summer.

Missing your favourite burger joint’s signature stack? Lidl Northern Ireland has all you need to replicate your favourite one at home. For a classic American-style beef burger, try the Strathvale Skinny Beef Beef Burgers (£1.49) supplied by Northern Ireland based company Dunbia and stack with Butterhead Lettuce (£0.50) from Co. Derry, some juicy Loose Vine Tomatoes (£1.50) and to top it off, some Rathdaragh Mature Cheddar Cheese (£1.40) supplied by NI supplier Dale Farm. Sandwich your burger together with Lidl Northern Ireland’s buttery Deluxe Brioche Burger Buns (£0.79) and add a twist by whipping up Lidl’s Special Secret Burger Sauce with just four ingredients you are likely to have in your cupboard already.

Plant-based options for vegans, vegetarians and everyone in between include Lidl Northern Ireland’s Eden Plant-Based Burgers for just £2.99 and Plant-Based Sausages, £2.50. Bursting with flavour, they can be combined with mix-and-match veggie toppings, creating a mouth-watering restaurant-style vegan burger at home.

Lidl Northern Ireland’s summer range is available now in the retailer’s 39 stores, while supplies last.

Lidl’s Secret Burger Sauce recipe:

Mix together:

• 25g Batts Mayonnaise (£0.83)
• 1 tbsp Batts Ketchup (£0.54)
• 1 tbsp McEnnedy American Mustard (£0.69)
• 1 Freshona pickled gherkin (£0.89), coarsely grated

 

For more information, visit lidl-ni.co.uk 

 

James Street South Cookery School are delighted to be in place where they are making plans for the re-opening of the cookery school.

An Autumn schedule is available online starting in September, with the hope all bookings that have been cancelled can be accommodated. More classes can be added once these are filled.

The cookery school intends to operate whilst adhering to the current guidelines, as hygiene and safety, will always be at the forefront of their plans. The classes have a maximum capacity of 12 people, and with an experienced chef at helm, everyone is able to keep up and work to the pace. Some of the classes may be more adventurous than others like Effortless Entertaining, but when you hear the feedback from the participants everyone leaves with a new skills and confidence in the kitchen as well as all the food that has been cooked.

Mid week classes last for up to 3 hours whilst our Saturday class can last up to 4 hours and includes an apron to take home. The emphasis in all the classes is to use equipment that is easy to use and all produce is local and seasonal and is available in the local shops.

Classes can be found here , if you cannot see the one you want please get in touch with James Street South Cookery School:

028 90 434 310
info@jamesstreetsouth.co.uk

All valid gift vouchers can be used to book classes online.