Diners in high-end restaurants in Tokyo and Dubai will soon be enjoying luxury cheese from Ballylisk of Armagh as a result of company’s participation in the food and drink showcase organised by Invest Northern Ireland.

Ballylisk, based on a family dairy farm at Tandragee, near Portadown in county Armagh, made contacts at the important‘meet the buyer’ event at the start of December and these led directly to the company’s first sales in Asia and the United Arab Emirates. Products are now on their way to customers in both global markets.

The latest export successes come as the award winning company gears up for the launch of two highly innovative cheeses – a soft blue and a brie – soon

Dean Wright, the founder and managing director of Ballylisk, says the new export clients are taking the company’s two unique cheeses – Triple Rose, a rich and distinctively flavoured triple cream, and a smoked variety. Both cheesesare produced from milk sourced from the farm’s pedigree, grass-fed dairy herd.

“We were delighted to meet buyers from Asia, the Middle East and other markets at the ‘meet the buyer’ event organised by Invest NI with support from Food NI,” continues Mr Wright. “It’s been our experience these events really do work for us especially in terms of new international contacts and sales. The new contacts loved the quality and tastes of our cheese and placed orders,” he adds.

The company, Ireland’s only producer of triple cream cheese, has seen exports grow substantially over the past year and currently sells more than 60 percent of its cheese to customers outside Northern Ireland. “Our business is growing strongly in both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, markets in which we have some very high profile customers in both retail, especially Fortnum and Mason, and food distribution,” Mr Wright continues. “Indeed, we anticipate that by Easter we will be selling 90 percent of our products to markets beyond Northern Ireland.

“Fortnum and Mason, in particular, has become an immensely important customer over the past year and sold a great deal of our cheese over the Christmas period. As well as our developing success with Fortnum and Mason, we are experiencing exceptional business at London’s iconic Borough Market,” adds Mr Wright.

Mr Wright founded the small business in 2016 and developed the initial Triple Rose cheese with help from Invest NI and the Food Technology Centre at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Loughry, near Cookstown. Helaunched its very first product at Balmoral Show 2018 – Ireland’s largest agricultural and food show.

The Triple Rose cheese went on to win the ‘Best New Product’ award on the same day and remains the company’sflagship product. It also won two Gold Stars at the 2019 Great Taste Awards and was a finalist in the 2018 Great British Cheese Awards. It also proved a winner at the Blas na hEireann Awards, the Irish National Food Awards.

A fifth generation farmer, Mr Wright points out that the company has full control over the production process fromfarm to fork. “We also grow our own grain to feed the cattle and breed our own cows,” he explains. The farm has been in the Wright family since 1820 and currently employs four people.

An experienced farmer, Mr Wright is committed to traditional low intensity farming practices and excellence in animal welfare and husbandry. He explains: “The dairy industry is changing steadily in part as a result of consumer concerns, both here and globally, about preserving the environment and high intensive production. We are responding to these concerns by reviewing and restructuring all our practices.

Mr Wright continues: “Exporting is now crucially important to the growth of our business and is a huge area for growth. So, we have to respond to the changes underway within the global industry and in consumer attitudes to farming and especially dairy products,” he adds.

 

Mash Direct in Comber, the manufacturer of potato and vegetable sides dishes and convenience dishes is recruiting 12 staff and increasing production after a £10million funding boost.

The Comber family business, which has around 200 staff, is to use the cash boost from HSBC UK to become more environmentally friendly.

New solar and wind energy equipment will be installed along with a new wastewater treatment facility.

Mash Direct will also add new production lines, so it can produce new dishes and increase capacity, and invest in robotics and enterprise management software.

Additional plans include the hiring of 12 new staff in roles from operations to human resources.

Chief operating officer Jack Hamilton, whose parents Tracy and Martin founded the farm-based firm, said: “With growing demand for our range of products at home and abroad, it was essential that we invested in new, environmentally friendly machinery and in the talented, skilled staff we currently have.”

The company has also invested in measures to reduce plastic usage including replacing black plastic trays with green alternatives.

The next episode of UTV’s Rare Breed – A Farming Year features five of our farming families, and we meet the last of our 10 families, a dairy farmer from Cloughmills, Co. Antrim. 

Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday at 8.30pm UTV and April’s a busy time for the families. We meet dairy farmer Wallace Gregg, who’s a third generation farmer, based near Cloughmills, with 160 Holstein cows. He has four young children who all get involved in the farm and who look after their ownanimals too.  Wallace comments, “It’s nice to see the kids helping.”   He talks of his love of farming, “You don’t go into farming unless you love to do it because of the long hours….it can be lonely but it’s a way of life.”  He is preparing for big changes this year. After a long wait, he’s finally got permission to build a new parlour. It’s an exciting development but a critical one if the farm is to thrive for future generations.

Valentine and Chris Hodges are checking on their bees at Greyabbey.  It’s a key time to open the hives and inspect the colonies. They need to do this every seven days to ensure the bees stay active and bright. Chris picks out a drone bee, which don’t have stings and are much bigger, and explains the vital role they play in the upkeep of the hive.   He’s happy that the bees have wintered well and loves this time of year when he starts operating with the bees more regularly.

We then head to the Belfast Hills where Mark McConnell and his dad Phillip have an anxious wait for the result of a TB test.   They sold a cow that ended up in a herd with TB, so their farm was closed as a result. Vet Cahir McAuley, who has appeared himself previously on Rare Breed, is overseeing the testing, the results of which have to be sent to the Department of Agriculture before the herd can be confirmed TB free.

Meanwhile near the iconic Dark Hedges in Co. Antrim, contractors the Lyons Brothers have a ploughing job. They employ European and World Champion ploughman, Thomas Cochrane to do the work. He speaks with pride about not only his competition achievements but equally about doing a good job as a contractor.   He loves straight lines in a field, and laughs, “This is a new tractor and it has no GPS yet, my eyes are the GPS!”

Finally, we visit Ballyclare vet Diane Beattie. She’s working a routine morning pet clinic but that soon all changes when an emergency arises. A ewe is in labour and in difficulty, and requires a C-Section. She remarks, “That’s the unpredictability of being a vet, having to switch from one thing to the next.”

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, sponsored by Moy Park.   Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday 30th January at 8.30pm on UTV.

Whitewater Brewery, which is based in Castlewellan, Co Down, has won substantial business in France for a range of its canned and bottled beers.

The independent brewery, a Great Taste Regional Golden Fork winner last year, has begun supplying one of the leading drink importers to restaurants across France following an approach from the long established business. Whitewater is not announcing the identity of the latest contract for commercial reasons.

The new importer in France is taking many of Whitewater’smost successful beers and stouts including award winningbrews such as Maggie’s Leap, Ewe Rebel, Belfast Ale and Belfast Black Stout, along with both red ales – Hen Cock and Pigeon Rock and Hallion Red.

Bernard Sloan, Whitewater Brewery’s managing director and founder, says: “We were delighted when the managing director of our new importer approached us about supplying products and subsequently travelled to Northern Ireland to sample our range and continue negotiations.

“The importer was impressed by our state-of-the-art brewery and our ability to produce both 330ml cans and 500ml bottles on the same site. He subsequently placed what is our biggest business to date in France, a market we have been targeting for some considerable time.

“He had also been drawn to Whitewater from the outstanding success of our Ewe Rebel (7%ABV), a real heavyweight IPA, in winning Grand Gold at Frankfurt International Trophy 2019, voted Best Beer in the competition, and was keen to try more of our products. It’s a tremendous start to 2020.

“This is an important contract for us because it offers coverage to restaurants across France by a respected importerwith vast experience in the sector. Furthermore, the importerworks with restaurants in the development and printing of menus, which could mean that our beers could feature on these,” adds Mr Sloan.

Mr Sloan established Whitewater Brewery, now Northern Ireland’s largest independent brewery, in 1996 on a fifthgeneration family farm in the foothills of the iconic MourneMountains, near Kilkeel in county Down.  Beers produced on-site subsequently collected a host of national and international awards.

Growing global demand for the beers and stouts led to a decision by Mr Sloan to develop a much larger and ultra-modern brewery at Castlewellan, county Down, also in the Mournes, in 2018.

The brewery’s focus on quality and outstanding flavours was recognised in September when it was award three-stars and subsequently Regional Golden Fork in the influential UK Great Taste Awards for its unique Kreme dela Kremlin, aunique Russian Imperial Stout.

Leading food-to-go firm, DELI LITES, has launched two new ranges to meet growing consumer demand for tasty meat-free products, as more and more people start to enjoy vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian lifestyles.

Launching this month is DELI LITES’ first fully plant-based range -a chef-led product line-up which is full of innovative flavour combinations and features dishes such as Buffalo Cauliflower with Spiced Cous Cous Tabouleh and Maple Harissa Dressing; Curried Chickpea with Mango Chutney and Cashew Crumble; Spiced Fritters with Beetroot Hummus, Kale & Candied Walnuts and Creamy Roasted Pepper & Tomato Pasta for the on-the-go, busy consumer.

The new vegan-friendly range will be available from retailers across Ireland, with plans to extend availability through its distribution lines into the UK.

In addition to its own DELI LITES plant-based range, the company has collaborated with nutritionist-led start up business, Kitchen Vegilantes, to create a second range featuring a host of ready-meals and food-to-go products that are 100% meat-free and packed full of plant-based proteins, including a number of vegan and vegetarian versions of many popular meat dishes.

The new Kitchen Vegilantes line-up includes three main meals – Cheeky Chickpea Tikka, Rebel 3 Bean Burrito Box and Bad Boy Bolognese. As well as the nutritious meals, the range offers three different flavours of energy bites which are perfect for a snack or pre-workout boost – Zesty Coconut and Pistachio Energy Bites, Cranberry Choco Lit Bites, and Bite Me Banana Brownie Bites. Also included, are three Anytime Oats in Macho Mochaccino, Wild Pecan and Apple Pie, or Berry Blast, which were developed as either a breakfast option, pre-gym boost or evening snack.

DELI LITES and Kitchen Vegilantes joined forces on the venture with the aim of creating genuinely good food that doesn’t rely on meat as a high source of protein, instead the new range utilises naturally occurring plant-based protein. The shared vision of DELI LITES and Kitchen Vegilantes sees DELI LITES CEO Brian Reid take on the role of Director and Advisor for the start-up business.

Kitchen Vegilantes was founded by qualified personal trainer and nutritionist, Kevan Jordan. The collaboration was important to DELI LITES co-founders, Brian and Jackie Reid who are passionate about supporting small likeminded businesses. With their own humble origins, operating out of the kitchen cafe in the late 90’s, DELI LITES were keen to invest in the collaboration with Kitchen Vegilantes to demonstrate its passion for quality values.

Brian Reid, the Co-Founder of DELI LITES and newly appointed Director of Kitchen Vegilantes, commented on the new ranges:

“DELI LITES has continuously sought ways to incorporate an array of choice within our product lines. As more and more people opt to reduce or completely phase out meat and dairy, it’s even more important to us that we are able to offer products which meet changing lifestyles and diets but don’t compromise on quality or taste. By working with our chef-led Innovation team and the minds behind Kitchen Vegilantes, the two new plant-based ranges have been created by experts in their field to be nutritious and full of flavour in order to appeal to a wide range of consumers, not just those following a vegan or vegetarian diet.

“We will continue to focus on meeting and exceeding consumer needs by creating products packed with quality Irish ingredients. As a company, we also have a strong ethos of sustainability engrained in everything we do, and we are conscious of how our products will impact the environment at every

stage. From the sourcing of ingredients, to hand-made production of products, and plastic free packaging using organic recyclable clear-flow wrap film in place of plastic, everything from the product to packaging in these new ranges is proudly plant-based.”

Commenting on the importance of its new collaborative plant-based range, Kevan Jordan, Founder of Kitchen Vegilantes, said:

“Having worked in the health, nutrition and fitness industry for many years, we are acutely aware of the importance of quality plant-based food to fuel healthy lifestyles. The partnership with DELI LITES has provided the ideal opportunity to develop great tasting products which are packed with natural plant-based proteins, are low in calories, and also taste delicious. We’re excited to promote this range and hope to develop even more product lines in the future.”

These new plant-based dishes join a host of pre-existing vegan friendly products in the DELI LITES repertoire, which includes a tasty Coconut Mocchaccino that won over judges at Lunch! show’s Innovation Challenge, as well as a delicious Sweet Potato Fritter and Spiced Hummus Wrap, which was awarded an Irish Good Choice Quality Food Award.

DELI LITES Ireland was founded by Brian and Jackie Reid in 1998 and employs a team of almost 300. Its customers include major retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Boots and Applegreen, as well as local food service companies. The food to go specialists continue to visit markets in the Netherlands and the Middle East to meet consumer demands whilst futureproofing its product ranges and the impact on the planet. The business produces more than 20 million products every year, including gourmet sandwiches, nutritious salad bowls, hot sandwiches and award-winning bakery treats with increasing export distribution of their product across the globe.