Whether you love the thought of having the children off for half term and enjoying a meal out as a family in Belfast, love getting friends together for a well deserved night out or you love the idea of celebrating the most romantic day of the year with your Valentine a few days later than most, you’ll love this year’s Belfast Restaurant Week which runs from February 17^th to 23^rd in participating restaurants across Belfast City Centre.

The collaboration between Belfast One and Destination CQ is tried and tested, with last year’s spring and autumn events having phenomenal success and, of the restaurants surveyed, 100% agreed that Belfast Restaurant Week should return for 2020. Belfast Restaurant Week has previously attracted an increase in footfall of up to 75%, a staggering £151,000 spend in city centre restaurants in just seven days and menus included scrumptious steaks, Vegan feasts and delicious dining experiences with Asian, Italian and Mediterranean influences created from the best in local produce.

Organisers have every confidence that this spring’s week-long event will bring diners keen to sample lovingly created menus into the City, while they explore the number one shopping and leisure destination in Northern Ireland where they can stop off for lunch, dinner or the now famous Big Belfast Brunch – available on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 February.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, St George’s Market will be the place to visit for cookery demonstrations by local chefs where visitors will be offered the opportunity to taste dishes directly from the demo oven. For the adventurous foodie or for those wishing to sample something completely different, there are a range of special events throughout the week from tasting menus to an oyster experience and a Moroccan banquet to choose from.

Gareth Neill of Cathedral Quarter BID said: “There’s a real buzz among the hospitality industry as they anticipate Belfast Restaurant Week 2020. Belfast’s food and drink scene is unrivalled and this event allows us to showcase and shine a spotlight on owners, chefs and the staff that make it the Belfast experience. The diversity of lovingly created menus on offer and enticing price point is designed to let people try something new and get out and explore the City. We are incredibly proud to see Belfast Restaurant Week grow year on year.”

Clare Maguire, Managing Director of Belfast One, said: “We’re thrilled to build on two highly successful Belfast Restaurant Week events last year to bring Belfast Restaurant Week back this month. The food offering from our award winning City Centre restaurants will be a hit with couples, families and friends visiting the City to dine from mouthwatering menus during Belfast Restaurant Week 2020.”

Belfast Restaurant Week, 17 to 23 February. Lunch from 12 noon to 2.00pm, Monday to Friday, is priced at £10.00 per person; dinner from 5.00pm to 7.00pm, Monday to Thursday, is priced at £15.00 per person and advance booking is essential.

For participating restaurants and menus, visit  www.belfastrestaurantweek.org.

Follow Belfast Restaurant Week on social media and share your pictures with #BelfastRW20.

 

Doherty’s Meats, one of Northern Ireland’s leading family owned meat processors, has launched two unique savoury sausage products.

The company, which is based in Derry, has a successful track record in providing traditional Irish pork sausages, as well as burgers and mince, to major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, and also supplies Ocado, the on-line retailer in Britain. The company also has a successful range of gluten free sausages.

The company has created new innovative products which are:Pork, Apple and Black Pudding Sausages; and Pork and Stout Sausages.

The new sausages feature a high pork content – 80% percent – and are available in packs of eight per 454gm as well as in catering packs for hotels and restaurants.

The family business has been in operation in Derry for 150 years and is one of the best-known and most respected food brands in the North West of Ireland. It’s now the market leader in the area and is also a major supplier of meat products in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

Brian McQuaid, Doherty’s sales manager, explaining the launch of the new sausages, says: “These highly original products reflect our commitment to innovation as a means of setting us apart in a very competitive market sector and gives us the opportunity to work with other local producers.”

They proved popular with shoppers when we launched them at the Walled City Market in Derry.

The popular Walled City Market, at which Doherty’s is a mainstay, runs on the first Saturday of every month in Guildhall Square, Derry City.

Doherty’s Meats remains family-owned and managed today, and has a heritage in quality meat processing that stretches back over 150 years and six generations. It is widely acknowledged throughout Ireland as one of the leading meat processors.

James Doherty opened his butcher’s shop in Derry in 1830. The business was continued by his son and grandson and by 1945 comprised a small retail chain owned by Thomas J Doherty. In that year, James Doherty joined his father in the business and began a process of expansion and development into processed beef and pork products.

Doherty’s has BRC Grade A accreditation and operates from a modern HACCP approved processing plant in PennyburnIndustrial Estate in Derry.

 

The next episode of UTV’s Rare Breed – A Farming Year features four of our farming families. It’s July and they are all taking advantage of the good weather and making hay while the sun shines, some quite literally!

Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday at 8.30pm UTV and we’re off to the McGovern’s farm near Clogher in Tyrone. Dad Sean and the four girls are working against the clock – and the weather – to make sure they get the best quality fodder. This will be used to feed their own cattle plus they’ll sell bales to other farmers.

Sean has to do some ready repairs to the baling machine, commenting,” The baler’s a bit like myself, it’s old, not as old as me, but going better !”  Orlagh is waiting on her ‘A’ Level results and shares her plans for university. She says, “I’ll be living in Belfast but Daddy’llwant me back on the farm helping out with the other girls.”

Next, we head to Newtownards in Co.Down, where Valentine and Chris Hodges are rearing new Queen bees.  They need to find, mark and then clip them to prevent the hive from swarming. It’s delicate and important work, made all the more complicated when the Queens decide to play hide and seek!  Chris says, “She’s been trained to elude all beekeepers!”  Valentine points out how beekeeping is good for mental health, as you need to be calm and stay positive. They are both surprised and delighted to find brand new queens.  “You never know what you are going to get when you open the box.”

We then head down to visit Jack Smyth in VictoriaBridge in Tyrone. He’s getting his Suffolk and Zwarblesheep ready for sale season in Ballymena and Carlisle. Whilst he is a renowned breeder of cattle, he brings in a sheep grooming specialist to make sure the rams are looking their best. They get a wash, cut and then a spray tan to top it all off. Jack jokes that girlfriend Emma should be doing the spray tan part!

Finally, we pay a visit to Bushmills, where David Chestnutt is checking sheep for ticks and flies. He says that the warm but wet weather is causing a problem with maggots.  His lambs won’t be sold till later in the year, so he needs to pay close attention to and treat the flock for parasites.  He’s selecting lambs to be kept for breeding. He says, “I’m not expecting high flyers this year.” But he’s happy enough with the quality.

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, sponsored by Moy Park.   Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday 20th February at 8.30pm on UTV.

Morelli’s Ice Cream, a leading Northern Ireland innovator and producer in dairy desserts, has won its first major national award for sorbet.

Based in Coleraine, Morelli’s, better known internationally for its premium Italian-style ice cream, gained the prestigious award in the highly competitive Sorbet Class for its mango sorbet. The award was presented at a gala event held in the annual Ice Cream Alliance Awards in Harrogate.

“We are delighted to have won our first award for sorbet in the highly influential event for the UK’s highly successful ice cream industry,” says Naldo Morelli, the company’s managing director. “It is immensely encouraging to see our sorbet recognised as excellent by a panel of expert judges from our industry,” he adds.

The family business has been making quality ice cream in Northern Ireland for over a century and has expanded successfully into neighbouring markets such as Great Britain and the Republic. Among new customers in Britain won by the Northern Ireland business is Morrison’s supermarkets. It also supplies ice cream to Tesco in the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland.

The company, which has also pioneered the production of a dairy-free ice cream, has regularly won awards for excellence in quality and taste was named the UK’s best producer of ice cream last year

The Ice Cream Alliance is the voice for the UK’s £1 billion ice cream industry. The conference in Harrogate included the Ice Cream & Artisan Food Show, a unique event showcasing the entirety of the ice cream industry.

A huge assortment of ice cream varieties, equipment and supplies are showcased across the three-day event. However, this event is not just about ice cream. The industry is more inclusive than ever, and this is no better represented than at this show.

Morelli’s has also produced an award winning frozen yoghurt using yoghurt sourced from Clandeboye Estate in Bangor. The yoghurt subsequently collected a gold medal at the Blas na hEireann Awards – The Irish National Food Awards – held annually at Dingle.

The company employs 20 people at Coleraine.

Lynn’s Country Foods from Downpatrick, parent company of Finnebrogue Artisan, was named winner of the prestigious Large Meat, Poultry and Seafood category in the annual Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards, the UK’s most important event in food manufacturing.

Finnebrogue is best known for the hugely successful Naked Bacon products which are free from nitrites and other “nasties”. The bacon was the first to be completely free from nitrites, preservatives, E numbers and all allergens.

The awards recognise and celebrate the innovation underpinning the UK’s food and drink manufacturing industry. They are presented annually to companies demonstrating an innovative approach to food development, high-tech manufacturing and high-quality raw materials.

The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards provide a platform to showcase the hard work and the boundaries pushed forwards in the past 12 months.

They have been running for 19 years and have established a coveted mark of quality and excellence. They were presented at a gala dinner in front of hundreds of industry professionals.

Finnebrogue Artisan, a Food NI member company, operates from one of the most modern and technology advanced factory outside Downpatrick that includes a unique sensory centre within an extensive development kitchen.

Lynn’s Country Foods was launched by local businessman Denis Lynn, now chairman of Finnebrogue Artisan, in 1985. Among its first products was Oisin branded venison from his own estate at Finnebrogue.

The business subsequently diversified successfully into other meat products especially sausages and has since become a UK leader in pork products and a pioneer in the developing flexitarian market.

Denis Lynn has now created one of the most technologically advanced food processing plants of its type in these islands and probably in Europe.

After extensive research over many years, the company launched, in December 2017, its nitrites-free Naked brand of pork and ham products that now includes bacon, cooked ham and sausages which are stocked by most of the main supermarkets and leading independent retailers.