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.

Extensive development sees the brand move forward in 2020 with new Corn and Bean range of products

Noisy Snacks, the award winning, innovative snack brand is to launch a new range of products following substantial investment in NPD. The brand refresh sees the delicious healthier snacks indulging all the senses, and releasing new flavours in a new packaging format.

Noisy Snacks will introduce convenient fully recyclable 45g pouches of toasted corn and bean snacks pre-mixed with extra additional flavouring that requires a vigorous ‘Shake it, to Wake it’ for a sensory-awakening experience.

Noel Allen, Founder, Noisy Snacks, said; “We have spent the last year extensively testing our new range on customers all over the UK. People love our enhanced flavours which have double the impact of regular snacks, and they also love our noisy ‘Shake it, to Wake it’ mechanic. Shaking the product ensures our bold and exciting flavours give a generous coating around the snacks themselves.”

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

Noisy Snacks is a range of guilt free indulgence with 100% recyclable packaging, and are flexitarian, vegan, gluten free, high in fibre, and high in protein. The range includes;

• Noisy Corn Hot Wings Pouch, 45g, RRP £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)
• Noisy Corn Red Curry and Coconut Pouch, RRP 45g, £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)
• Noisy Corn Jamaican Jerky Pouch, RRP 45g, £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)
• Noisy Bean Chips Beef Brisket Pouch, RRP 45g, £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)
• Noisy Bean Chips Pulled Pork Pouch, RRP 45g, £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)
• Noisy Bean Chips Hot Spicy Salsa Pouch, RRP 45g, £1.00 – £1.29 (VAT free)

Further announcements are expected to confirm significant distribution deals with key retailers in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. The brand will also be investing in a social media campaign with a consumer interaction mechanic to drive mass friend to friend sampling.

The snacking industry in the UK and Ireland has been valued at £1,489.3m (Kantar), while the snacking market in the Netherlands is expected to grow to €1,107.2 by 2022* with the market there current valued at £995million.

For further information about Noisy Snacks please visit https://www.noisysnacks.com/ or call the sales team on +44 7470 467 057. Support Noisy Snacks by Making Some Noise! Tell your friends.

Luxury chocolate maker Neary Nogs in Northern Ireland has seen online sales soar to over 70 percent of its business in the past few months. The fast growth has also seen significant sales to the US, Britain, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands,Spain and Germany.

The artisan business, which is located in Northern Ireland’s iconic Mourne Mountains, near Rostrevor in county Down, has just launched a subscription which is contributing to the impressive growth in the family enterprise’s business.

Owned by husband and wife chocolatiers Shane and Dorothy Neary, the company recently opened a unique chocolate factory and visitor centre. “We’ve had to adapt our whole business model and shelve our plans to host tours because of the coronavirus,” explains Shane Neary.

“This meant switching virtually everything online and the development of initiatives such as our special subscription boxes of our hand crafted chocolates. A few weeks ago our online sales accounted for around 10 percent of our business due to our focus on markets and smaller retailers. Everything has changed from the advent of Covid-19,” he adds.

The enterprise has won a series of awards for the outstanding quality and wide range of chocolates including drinking chocolate powder from influential bodies such as the UK Great Taste Awards.

Subscribers are able to use the company’s website to sign up for a well-stocked box of delicious cacao nibs, drinking chocolate, a bar of the month, a chocolate sale of the month, sea salted caramel cups and a mystery item at £24.99 a month. Packaging and postage is freeto subscribers.

“The new subscription service enables lovers of luxury, handcrafted chocolates to enjoy them every month without having to remember to buy,” adds Mr Neary.“The boxes will arrive whenever they specify, making it easier than to enjoy fine, handmade chocolates,”

The small company has pledged its support for NHS professionals during the current crisis by offering subscribers the opportunity to nominate a key worker to receive a special chocolate donation.

Mr Neary continues: “Every time we sign up a new subscriber we will post out some free chocolate to any NHS staff member they nominate or anyone they feel deserves some love.  At the Checkout, all the subscriber has to do is enter an address and name for the free chocolate to go to and we will do the rest!

“We decided to develop this service for nominated healthcare staff because we’ve received tremendous help and support from the NHS over many years and we appreciate greatly the expertise and assistance that our family has experienced,” Mr Neary adds. “Healthcare professionals are currently working in the most extreme conditions in the efforts to defeat the virus. They deserve support from everyone,” he adds.

“We’ve also seen a heart warming trend of chocolates being ordered by people for delivery to family and friends with notes of kindness and encouragement.”

Newry-based whiskey company Matt D’Arcy & Co has unveiled its first whiskies in more than 100 years.

The company has released a 17-year-old single malt and a 10-year-old blend, aimed at the super-premium and premium whiskey markets respectively.

The brands are now available to purchase exclusively at the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Dublin or to order online at www.celticwhiskeyshop.com, and the company says further listings will follow in the north and the UK.

The releases herald the revival of whiskey production in the Newry region, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty that has centuries of heritage in the distillation of whiskey.

The 17-year-old single malt has limited-edition of only 384 numbered bottles, each coming in hand-blown Italian crystal glass, while Matt D’Arcy’s other release is a 10-year old grain whiskey blended with 17-year old single malt finished in port casks.

The arrival on the market of these premium and super-premium whiskies follows the announcement of a £7.3 million investment in the original site of the Matt D’Arcy Whiskey Company, with plans for an onsite distillery, restaurant, Victorian bar and international visitor centre.

Historian and Matt D’Arcy owner Michael McKeown said: “It’s a great triumph after so much hard work to be able to release these first batches of our whiskey.

“The discovery of the water source used in the original Matt D’Arcy Whiskey more than 200 years ago was a huge moment for us, and to see the whiskey now going to market has made this a really rewarding journey.

“The historical prominence of this area in the distilling of whiskey was significant and we are look forward to restoring that reputation,” he explained.

The company’s chief executive Andrew Cowan added: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring to market such a special old single malt along with our innovative blend to revive the whiskey making tradition in the Newry area.

“It’s been a long time in the making, but now we mark the start of production of Matt D’Arcy’s whiskey range and our plan is to bring forward subsequent new batches later in the year.

“The whiskies we are producing are aimed at the premium and super premium markets and will appeal to international whiskey collectors and enthusiasts or those looking for a very special whiskey to enjoy at home.”

He added: “Irish Whiskey is in serious demand in the international market, with whiskey distilled in Northern Ireland worth £26.6 million being exported annually.”

Local businessman Michael McKeown acquired the old distillery site on Monaghan Street in February 2017, the original location of D’Arcy’s Old Irish Whiskey since 1817, and the distillery opened last year.

The 14,000-square-foot site comprises a fully restored Victorian bar, restaurant and a visitor centre over several floors, and it aims to produce 9,000 cases a year of single malt whiskey for the premium market globally.

A new ‘farm to door’ fresh milk delivery service has been launched by Ballylisk Dairies in Tandragee, one of Armagh’s best known dairy farms. Ballylisk Dairies will soon be supplying fresh milk cartons around the Portadown-Armagh City area in a new community initiative aimed especially at the elderly and vulnerable.

Reviving historic doorstep milk deliveries is the brainchild of Dean Wright, who runs the family farm, a leading dairy business, on more than 400 acres of pasture land near Tandragee. This land has been in the family for five generations.

Dean Wright, explaining the decision to revive the doorstep milk delivery service, says: “We are conscious of people, particularly the elderly and those unable to get out to food stores, in the area who prefer fresh milk and would like it delivered to their doorstep. Doorstop milk delivery used to be a feature in the area but it’s now largely disappeared

“We decided to take a hard look at our resources to see how we could help to supply the elderly and vulnerable people and the wider community with nutritious and healthy milk.

“We have our own daily supply of fresh milk from the herd, the essential pasteurising, cooling and processing machinery and the ability to deliver direct to their doorstep on a regular basis. It made sense for us to develop what we see as an important community service.

“It will be a cashless service and the milk will be delivered without any contact with the shopper. The customer can order the milk by phone (028 3833 0044) in advance for delivery whenever they need it, pay by card and we’ll leave it on the doorstep,” he says. There’s also an order form on the Ballyliskwebsite (www.ballyliskofarmagh.com) which can be completed in advance by the customer.

Mr Wright said the initiative will help to maintain employment in the processing plant and farm and could lead to further opportunities for the wider community.

Ballylisk Dairies will supply whole and semi skimmed milk in one and two litre cartons straight from its modern processing plant to customers within radius of 10 miles that takes in Portadown, Tandragee and Armagh City.

“We also have a recognised and successful brand associated with the farm and particularly our award winning cheese which is now sold here as well as in Britain, the Republic of Ireland and further afield.

“What customers can count on above all is premium quality, fresh milk with provenance processed straight from a local source,” he adds.

“We offer total traceability from farm to fork. The farm is self-sufficient from growing its own grain and grass to feed the entire herd that we breed.” The farm has been in the Wright Family from 1820.

Mr Wright continues: “Ballylisk Dairies intends to become plastic free. Our aim is to have a collectable glass bottle service, but under current circumstances we intend to begin this service with plastic cartons.”

The Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards are open for entry online. Chairperson Artie Clifford say they are using a new online entry system, developed with the Submit.com team in Cork.

“As it is a new system, producers will need to register here. It’s a fresh start for your details, for those who have entered before if you are taking part again, we are asking you to start fresh so we can be sure we have the most up to date details.

“If you would like to check back on details for previous years you can just ask, we have the information on file, and we will be happy to help. “

“You can check dates for the year ahead and categories and delivery dates. 

“If you have any questions at all please just get in touch, we are online and available to help at info@irishfoodawards.com”