Authentic Belgian waffles are now being delivered direct to doorsteps in parts of Northern Ireland by local producer Michael Henderson of Born and Raised. He’s providing freshly hand baked waffles in boxes of 12 to orders placed by social media.

To avoid any social contact, the company only takes PayPal payments. “The new service is a response from approaches by local people who have enjoyed our waffles at outdoor events such as food shows across Northern Ireland,” Michael explains. “We leave the order outside the door. If it’s raining, we leave the box in a bag,” he adds. The delivery service is currently available from his Facebook site.

The waffles are made fresh to order every day by the company which is based near Ballymena in county Antrim. The small company is also planning to acquire a vacuum sealer and developing an e-commerce site to accelerate the growth in sales currently being experienced.

A passionate baker, Michael launched Born and Raised waffles in 2018 after a period of market research to pinpoint opportunities in baked goods including Belgian Liege waffles.

“Baking was something I always wanted to do. It started out as a hobby and is quite a leap from my original training as a metal worker. I worked in the ventilation business and then at Shorts for 11 years. I guess I’ve always been good at working with my hands and then had a long held desire to start my own small business,” he continues.

He opted for the waffles after taste testing with family and friends. This led to a decision to convert an old horse box trailer into a food truck specialising on waffles. He now operates a second trailer because of the success of the business at shows and other events such as weddings. In addition, the company was commissioned to provide waffles during a movie shoot in Northern Ireland featuring Hollywood A Lister Liam Neeson, who also hails from Ballymena.

Michael, a father of two young children, then created an identity, Born and Raised for the new start up business – Born in Belgium and Raised in Belfast, his home town

He chose Liege waffles because they are “richer, denser and sweeter”.

PEPPUP, Northern Ireland’s award winning producer of authentic Italian sauces, has strengthened its presence particularly in the Republic of Ireland through a new distribution agreement.

Based at Newtownards in county Down, PEPPUP, a Food NI member, has just signed a deal for two of its Bolognese sauces with SoulBia, a leading retailer and wholesale operation.

PEPPUP won the listing with SoulBia following a pitch and sampling of its products. SoulBia, which is based near Newry on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, subsequently listed PEPPUP’s Chilli Bolognese and Basil Bolognese, both in 480g jars.

PEPPUP founder and managing director Dr Luca Montorio, a nutritionist originally from Turin and now resident in Northern Ireland,” says: “I was delighted with the SoulBia listing because of this company’s approach to business which is focused on premium artisan products. Furthermore, SoulBia has an extensive network of business contacts in the Republic, a market I am keen to grow my business and overall profile there.

“SoulBia has also been attracted by the features of the sauces which are suitable for vegans and are free from dairy and fat and have no added sugar,” he adds.

As well as a shop packed with quality artisan food products, SoulBia operates a successful wholesale business for retailers, cafes, farm shops, delis, health food shops and independent grocery stores throughout the UK and Ireland especially those seeking vegan and free from foods.

PEPPUP was formed by Dr Montorio and wife Liz in 2014. The initial products were ketchup and pasta sauce, which are now on sale in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The original products, featuring roasted tomatoes and peppers, are based on original recipes developed by Luca and influenced by his upbringing in Turin, where his parents still live.

PEPPUP’s initial products are selling successfully in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland through distributors and major retailers.

Dr Montorio has developed the unique recipes for his portfolio of authentic Italian sauces which have won multiple UK Great Taste Awards and Free From Ireland awards.

It’s come around all too soon. The final episode of this season’s Rare Breed – A Farming Year will air on Thursday 9th April on UTV.   It’s December and we’ll get a final look in on five of our farming families, as they keep as busy as ever during the winter, making preparations for the New Year and the continuation of the farming cycle.

We’re off first to Clogher, Co Tyrone to the McGovern’s farm where Eimear is preparing the cattle herd for the winter.  She’s vaccinating and tagging young animals. She comments, “You need to keep on top of it, you want healthy calves, and just like us, they need vitamins and minerals.”  We also see her recent surprise present from boyfriend Terence, a flock of sheep, which she’s thoroughly enjoying looking after, despite the differences between them and cattle.

In Crossgar, Robbie Neill is loading up the last batch of pigs in peak condition headed for slaughter.  He comments, ‘That’s farming at the end of the day.”  He talks about the farming circle, being respectful to the animals, spoiling them rotten and giving them the best life.   He hand delivers his produce with children Connie and Angus, to various restaurants in the area, and is looking forward to some downtime in January when he plans a few trips away with the family.

We’re off down the country to Lisnaskea to Stephen Maguire’s farm, where he’s in the process of loading up all his in calf cows to go for sale at Clogher mart. He’s changing his style of farming to be a contract beef farmer. He has mixed emotions about parting with his herd but knows it’s the right thing to do, as he’ll have certainty over his prices working on a contract basis. .  He’s glad too of not having to get up in the middle of the night to tend to calfing cows!  We get to see the foundations of his new shed which he hopes will be ready by March time.

We then head up to the North Antrim Coast to the Chestnutt’s farm outside Bushmills. Victor and David have a new arrival in the form of a bull bought in Roscommon.  Victor worked a visit to the mart in with a two night stay at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen, commenting, “I can only do 24 hours away from farming!” He talks about the price paid for the bull but feels it was well worth it.   He’s looking forward too to his Spring Bull Sale in March.   David meanwhile is renovating the calf house, with the help of ‘interior designer’ Victor, who pointing at his head laughs, “The design’s all in here!”  They are both glad to be working inside on such a wet December day.

Finally, we head to the Christmas market at St George’s Market, Belfast very early on a Sunday morning where Valentine Hodges is putting up and decorating her stall. Husband Chris watches on, commenting for the sake of his marriage he’s better out of the way!  While the bees are tucked up for the winter, feeding on their special fondant in the hives, Valentine is setting out all the products to sell. She loves to get dressed in the beekeeper’s suit and show off all the foodstuffs and beauty products.  She’s glad that despite the poor summer, the bees survived to make all these amazing items.

And there we leave it till next year, where there will be more farming families sharing their year with us.

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, sponsored by Moy Park.   Rare Breed – A Farming Year concludes on Thursday 9th April at 8.30pm on UTV.

What will Northern Ireland be like when all of the Covid-19 crisis is over? It’s the question that I’ve been thinking about following tele-conferences and telephone calls with our member companies and other agri-food industry bodies.

While I’ve been impressed by the inspirational dedication of so many food and drink processors to keep on supplying the best local products for consumers here, I’ve also been greatly concerned about the plight of dozens of artisan and smaller enterprises which have ceased production due to a collapse in cash flow over the past few weeks.

Many of those companies, mostly sole traders or husband and wife teams, are unable to access government support packages and are finding difficulty in securing funding from local banks. Some smaller companies have adapted to the challenge by investing in e-commerce and others have developed new home delivery services targeted to meet the specific needs of local people, especially the elderly and vulnerable. It has been heartening to see the ingenuity and compassion that people possess.

I fear, however, that we may lose a number of smaller ventures, including some with very original products, stimulated to start up during our Year of Food and Drink. Most of these have very limited resources and have been dependent on the now closed street markets across Northern Ireland. They haven’t the funds to invest in e-commerce or home delivery, which can be a hard way to make money.

I’ve urged the supermarkets to consider developing some opportunities for artisan and smaller businesses especially when the panic buying phase ends…and there are signs that it has. There’s also anecdotal evidence from companies I’ve talked to that consumers are coming back again to smaller local shops influenced partly by restrictions on going too far from home. Several companies providing van deliveries are also ready now to include artisan products from other suppliers. I’d certainly like to see more of this.

Many of our delis are doing their best for artisan producers but have had to limit opening hours to trim costs because of the sharp decline in footfall and unwelcome pressure from some landlords.

Food  NI continues to present a strong case for the agri-food industry, especially artisan and smaller companies, to the Executive. I was greatly encouraged by the joint statement from Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots and Economy Minister Diane Dodds, both long-time supporters of the industry in which they recognised the essential services being provided to this community particularly at this very stressful and unpredictable time.

Both are aware of the serious challenges currently being experienced by the industry and smaller enterprises.

As Minister Poots remarked: “Food production is sometimes taken for granted, but in this time of crisis, we are starkly reminded that it is an absolutely essential service and is a vital part of the government’s response to COVID-19.”

I am sure that everyone engaged in the industry appreciates greatly their support at this time….as well as in the future. The industry will need further support to recover from the Covid-19 outbreak and to emerge more strongly in the new normal, whatever that looks like.

Hopefully when this is over, people will have a better understanding and appreciation of the power of food in our society, in terms of its impact on health and the environment.

I believe that agri-food could be a major generator of our economic, environmental and societal recovery post-Covid-19.

Eight Northern Ireland craft distilleries – seven of them Food NI members – have temporarily switched production to develop hand sanitizers for the health services, care organisations and retailers for use against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

And Belfast Hot Sauce Company of Helen’s Bay, Co Down, which produces the Snow Patrol range of very hot sauces, has supported the inspirational initiative by donating thousands of plastic bottles.

The distilleries now producing hand sanitizers in Northern Ireland are:

Boatyard Distillery in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, a specialist in gin, vodka and whiskey and a Food NI member;

Copeland Distillery, Donaghadee, Co Down, a producer of gin and a Food NI member;

Echlinville Distillery in Kircubbin, Co Down, best known for its Dunville Irish Whiskey, Jawbox Gin and Echlinville Gin, Food NI member;

Killowen Distillery in Rostrevor, Co Down, a producer of whiskey, gin and poitin;

Mourne Dew, Warrenpoint, Co Down, a producer of gin and poitin will soon launch a sanitiser, a Food NI member;

Rademon Estate Distillery, Crossgar, Co Down, a Food NI member, producer of Shortcross Gin and Irish whiskey is also soon to launch a sanitizer;

Stillhouse Distillery, Moira, Co Down, a Food NI memberproducer of Irish potato vodka and fruit-infused liqueurs; and

Symphonia Distillery, Benburb, Co Tyrone, a distiller of gin, another Food NI member.

The craft distilleries reacted quickly to the widespread shortage of hand sanitizers for use in the fight against the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus by developing their own products, many influenced by the World Health Organisation formula which specifies the ingredients should include at least 60 per cent alcohol.

Most of the Northern Ireland craft distilleries are producing sanitizers with around 70 percent alcohol.

The sanitizers are mostly produced in one and five litre plastic containers.

 

What a heart-warming idea it was to celebrate the dedication of NHS staff at 8pm last Thursday, across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as they continue the fight to control Coronavirus.

I was delighted to join with so many people Northern Irelandin thanking NHS staff for their inspirational work…and not just in the life and death battle against Covid-19. And the same goes for all the carers out there in residential and nursing care.

While they do a tremendous job for us throughout the year,they absolutely deserve our gratitude at this time and musthave all the support they need to do their jobs and to provide the protection they require.

We really see the very best of Northern Ireland at challenging times. There’s now a widespread recognition that we are all in this together and that we will only defeat the virus by working as a united and determined community.

I’d also wish to pay the warmest tribute to our farmers, food processors and retailers, (particularly delis and independent grocers) who have stepped up their efforts to provide the quality and nutritious food we all need to fight the virus effectively and to speed up recovery. They are truly the unsung heroes of the pandemic here. Our farmers have quietly continued to produce quality, wholesome and nutritious meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, vegetables and potatoes, everything a healthy body requires.

Our Taste of Ulster member restaurants and cafes have also adapted to the crisis and continue to offer great food on a collection basis. Many have volunteered to help community organisations by cooking for those in need.

Environment secretary George Eustice has recognised the industry’s tremendous response to Covid-19 in an open letter paying a richly deserved tribute to the “absolutely vital service” being provided.

So many inspirational stories of food enterprises meeting the challenges of the crisis have reached my office from various sources. And I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the commitment and innovation they are demonstrating. For instance, a host of smaller companies have responded to the lockdown and the campaign to ensure more individuals and families can stay at home to reduce the spread of the virus by offering free delivery services that can be paid for by card. See www.nigoodfood.com for more details.

One innovative farm business has just revived a farm to doorstep fresh milk delivery service in the Portadown/Tandragee/Armagh City area. And families in the Dromore/Newtownards/Comber area can now enjoy freshly griddle baked breads delivered to their doors. It’s also easier than even to order fresh fish and seafood landed by trawlers in Co Down harbours for delivered straight to your door by companies in Kilkeel and Belfast.

Delis here have also been making it easier to enjoy nutritious fruit and vegetables by putting together bespoke boxes delivered to doorsteps.

Our bigger dairy, meat and poultry processing members are all working at full throttle to ensure fresh produce for retailers across Northern Ireland and to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

I really cannot comprehend the panic for pasta when we have a ready supply of tasty potatoes from a host of local farmers and provided by processors in a wide range of easy cooked formats including for use in microwaves.

Distilleries here have also reacted to the crisis by switching into the production of hand sanitizers especially for health and care staff.

The response of our food and drink industry demonstrate is tremendous adaptability and its ability to react quickly to the needs of this beleaguered community. We’ll also need the industry’s skills and outstanding products in rebuilding our shattered economy when the virus has been defeated…and it will be and hopefully soon. I hope when life returns to normal that there is increased recognition of the part that everyone in the food and drink industry has played at this challenging time. Stay safe.