Echlinville Distillery was an outstanding success in the recent Irish Whiskey Awards, winning a category and two gold medals.

Based at Kircubbin in Co Down, Echlinville gained the ‘Best Irish Single Malt (12 years and younger) category for its Dunville PX Cask 12 Year Old and under as well as golds for Echlinville Single Estate Irish Pot Still Gin and for Ban Poitin, the latter being distilled in Kircubbin.

“Always super proud of this whiskey, never more so now,” said Echlinville Distillery director Jarlath Watson.

Echlinville Distillery was formed in 2012 by businessmen Shane Braniff and Mr Watson to develop a range of premium spirits especially whiskey. It was the first distillery to be granted a license to distill Irish whiskey in the North of Ireland in over 130 years. The distillery also produced the hugely successful Jawbox Gin.

The whiskey awards were announced at a gala event held in Dingle Distillery, Co Kerry in celebration of the growth and success, especially in global markets, of Irish whiskey and other spirits.

The industry is seeing record output from a growing number of distilleries. At last count, the number of whiskey distillers either operating, being built or announced and in the process of being permitted, exceeded 35 – the largest number of Irish whiskey distilleries since the late 19th century. There are now eight distilleries either operating or planned in Northern Ireland including, of course, Bushmills, the world’s oldest licensed distillery and among the most successful.

Yearly shipments from Ireland’s distilleries are now over 20 million cases and US sales at wholesale, for the first time in the industry’s history, now exceed one billion dollars.

The keynote speaker for the evening was Colum Egan, Master Distiller for Bushmills Distillery in Co Antrim. Long considered a pillar of the Irish whiskey community, not to mention an iconic character in the Irish whiskey industry, Egan has worked with Bushmills Distillery since 2002.

He is a previous chairman of the Irish Whiskey Association. He has extensive experience within the industry and has created award winning whiskeys for one of the world’s best-known distilleries.

Mr Egan presented the awards, which are now in their seventh year and span over 20 categories.

Judging of the awards took place in July and August with members of the Celtic Whiskey Club, Irish Whiskey Society, Irish Whiskey Society Dingle Chapter, Kilkenny Whiskey Guild & Cork Whiskey Society, as well as two new participating societies: Waterford Whiskey Society and Belfast Whiskey Club.

Overseas members of the Celtic Whiskey Club also had the opportunity to purchase sample packs without having to travel to Ireland. Members of the trade and whisky media also judged the approximately 130 entrants. Members of the trade were also responsible for judging the white spirits, liqueurs and barrel-aged beer categories. All judging was blind.

Commenting on the awards, organiser Ally Alpine, managing director of Celtic Whiskey Shop and organiser of Whiskey Live Dublin, said: “The Irish Whiskey Awards celebrates the excellence and innovation in the Irish whiskey industry whilst raising funds for our incredible charity partner Mary’s Meals.

SUKI Tea Makers in Northern Ireland has announced that it has moved away from the use of plastic packaging in its wide range of tea products as part of a longstanding commitment to the environment.

Based in Belfast, SUKI Tea Makers is a leading supplier of premium loose-leaf tea and infusions to customers in the UK, Ireland and other parts of Europe as well as Japan and Dubai. The multi-award winning company recently announced a major brand refresh and packaging redesign.

Anne Irwin, who founded the tea blenders in 2005 with business partner Oscar Woolley, explains: “At SUKI, we have always believed quality is defined by what we source and what we deliver. We won’t settle for anything that is second best and this has been the driving force behind our vision since the very beginning.

“We’re excited to showcase our wonderful new design to the world this Autumn, with one of the biggest changes to our packaging being one you might not notice at all – we’ve gone plastic-free!

“We care about people, plant and planet, from open and responsible sourcing to how the teas are packaged and transported,” she adds.,
The new format plastic-free packaging, she continues, had been “a challenge but an important one that links closely to our core ethics and ethos”.

She continues: “Operating in a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable manner are the cornerstones of everything we do, so it was a natural next step for SUKI.

“Our tea pyramids are made from paper, yarn and a special material called Soilon, meaning unlike some traditional teabags, our pyramid teabags are completely natural and plastic-free!” Made from corn starch, Soilon is a naturally derived product that is fully compostable so can be disposed of in your food waste bin.

“All this means that the new packaging is now as environmentally friendly as the tea that goes inside it. Boxes for retailers are also made from sustainably sourced cardboard (FSC or PEFC) and are either pre-printed using vegetable-based inks or use a paper-based label,” adds Mrs Irwin.

The new packaging demonstrates SUKI’s belief that eco-friendly is the future. “So look out for our new brand plastic-free bags, retail boxes and accessory packaging hitting the shelves over the coming months,” she adds.

Agronomist Sean Kane, along with his colleagues at White’s Oats in Tandragee, Co. Armagh celebrated World Porridge Day with bowls of creamy porridge from oats grown by its local farmers. They are also now gearing up to mark the centenary of their iconic Speedicook Porridge brand next year.

Generations of families across Northern Ireland have enjoyed the company’s naturally wholesome porridge from locally farmed oats over the past century. While White’s is renowned for the outstanding taste, creaminess and consistent quality of its best-selling Speedicook Porridge Oats, the small company also mills and markets globally an impressive portfolio of instant porridge, organic oats, jumbo oats toasted oats, protein and fibre enriched oats, oat muesli and granola.

A graduate in Agriculture from Queen’s University, Sean (28) joined White’s in 2017 as Supply Chain Co-ordinator and has been responsible for spearheading White’s process of bringing continuous improvement to the science and techniques of oat growing across UK and Ireland.

White’s, a Food NI member company, has vast knowledge of the science, genetics and techniques required to grow and process premium plant-based foods, now on-trend in the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world. It’s an enterprising company with a strong science base and successful track record in customer-focused new and natural product development.

Commenting on his first two years in the hugely important role, Sean says: ‘’The most rewarding aspect of the job is working with professional farmers and supporting them in their decision making on farm to help improve both oat yield, quality and, of course, margins.”

An enthusiastic sportsman with a passion for golf in particular, Sean plays a crucially important role in the company’s professional grower’s initiative for now close on 55 growers across Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

This strategic initiative is an integral part of the company’s overall commitment to improving standards of grain growing and thereby to ensure superb products for its customers here and further afield. And it’s an initiative that also takes account of environmental concerns especially crop rotation to ‘rest’ the land.

The quality of White’s quality porridge oats and oat cereals was once again endorsed at this year’s Great Taste Awards in which the ambitious and progressive business scooped a further four gold stars, making it among the most ‘decorated’ producers in the UK of oat products in a market moving increasingly to plant-based foods, like oats, with recognised health benefits.

Sean, who grew up working on the family beef and sheep farm, near Newcastle, in Co. Down, adds: “It’s the authentic and nutritious taste of locally grown produce that’s now being increasingly enjoyed in homes, cafes and canteens here and further afield.

“The ingredients in White’s porridge oats and oat cereals are all fully traceable and reinforce the provenance and heritage that consumers are increasingly demanding. Oats, furthermore, are recognised as a very versatile ingredient for a range of foods beyond breakfast. Our nutritionists have long been developing tasty recipes with oats for all meals,” he says.

White’s was founded in 1841 in rural Tandragee, Co. Armagh by Thomas Henry White who came from a family of millers.
The fledgling soon established itself as a reputable force in the oat milling industry, which enabled it to establish a strong reputation as an innovative and pioneering spirit. This was evident in the first patented wafer oat in late 1800s followed by the launch of Speedicook Porridge, a quick cooking oat flake in 1920 and which went on to became a trusted household name and a market leading porridge brand in Northern Ireland.

From its humble beginnings on the grassy banks of the River Cusher in Tandragee, White’s, which in 2016 celebrated 175 years of milling, now has an annual turnover of £15 million and processes 26,000 tonnes of oats every year.

It is Northern Ireland’s only porridge and oat cereal producer and Ireland’s largest oat miller. And the company also has a global profile, marketing its products throughout Great Britain, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Russia and China. It’s become one of our most successful food exporters.

Sean continues: “A recent example of our growing success outside Northern Ireland is the contract to supply our apple and cinnamon toasted oats to over 800 Aldi supermarkets across Great Britain, a key and fast growing market for us.

“This substantial new business is a further development of the close working partnership that we’ve enjoyed with Aldi Ireland over the past decade,” he adds. The company also supplies most of the UK’s leading retailers.

White’s is part of a local farmer’s co-operative and works with a network of 30 local growers in Northern Ireland, some of whom have been supplying the Tandragee mill with oats for three generations.

“It is the strength of the partnerships with local farmers that enable us to continually produce quality, award winning porridge oats and oat based breakfast cereals. In addition, we have a growing network of organic oat growers outside of Northern Ireland, where we are developing strong partnerships with British organic farmers. We are keen to recruit more growers here and in Britain,” he adds.

The White’s milling process is also unique in that it gives the oats a special character in terms of taste and texture, delivering a distinctively nutty texture and creamy taste – resulting in numerous Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food over the years.

Northern Ireland’s leading food-to-go firm, DELI LITES Ireland, triumphed at the Lunch! Show’s Innovation Challenge Awards in London. The Warrenpoint-based company was presented with two awards for its new plant-based products: the delicious Guilt Free Doner Kebab and the tasty Coconut Mocchaccino Breakfast-on-the-Go. The double-win follows in the footsteps of DELI LITES’ Asian Bespoké Bowl, which took home the same title at last year’s awards.

DELI LITES, which has been building a reputation as a quality Irish artisan producer, competed against 110 new products to be recognised with the two coveted Innovation Challenge Awards. The brand was shortlisted as one of fifteen finalists, voted for by visitors and VIP buyers who attended the product showcase in the Innovation Challenge Gallery.

DELI LITES’ plant-based foods impressed the award’s industry judges at the highly competitive show during the live pitching event, which was designed to promote and celebrate new ideas in the marketplace. The judges hailed the guilt-free kebab as an “innovative and great tasting solution to a typically unhealthy indulgence”, while the Breakfast on the Go Mocchaccino was described as the “perfect option for time-poor commuters, as well as the Gen Z population”.

Commenting on the double-award win, DELI LITES CEO, Brian Reid, said:

“We are thrilled to receive two awards at the Lunch! 2019 Innovation Challenge Awards. These highly competitive awards are significant as they recognise our innovation and creativity within the food-to-go sector. Our plant-based selection is growing fast and with the recent investment in our new food hub, we are able to deliver the best tasting flavours in food-to-go products.

“We are very proud of our talented Food Innovation Manager, Gary McDowell and his team for presenting such a strong pitch, and securing the recognition the products deserve. Together we have built a business exporting world-class products across the UK, Ireland, Europe and further afield. We look forward to bringing more futuristic foods in 2020.”

This latest success comes on the back of multiple award wins for DELI LITES growing export range.

The Innovation Challenge annual awards was hosted by the contemporary food-to-go show, Lunch!. The ceremony was held in the Keynote Theatre in the ExCeL London convention centre.

DELI LITES produces more than 20 million products every year, including gourmet sandwiches, nutritious salad bowls, hot sandwiches and award-winning bakery treats. The business, founded by Brian and Jackie Reid in 1998, employs almost 300 and its customers include major retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Debenhams, Boots and Applegreen, as well as local food service companies.

Ann’s Pantry in Larne bakes the best traditional Irish Wheaten Loaf (sugar free) in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The winning bakery came out on top in the hotly contested World Bread Awards. In addition, the bakery, owned by baker John Agnew and Helen Porter, also won the coveted Fruit Bread Category with their Irish Fruit Loaf – an excellent achievement in such a large category. Ann’s Pantry also came 3rd in the Overall Supreme Champion.

The World Bread Awards were announced in London and are sponsored by Tiptree with BrookFood. The awards, launched in January 2013, celebrate the very best of British bread baking.

In second place in the wheaten loaf were Anthony and Jim O’Keefe of Corn Dolly Foods, Newry and third was Stephen Bell, Ballydougan Pottery, Portadown.

There was, furthermore, a fine crop of gold, silver and bronze awards too for Northern Ireland, given to entrants scoring especially high marks for their bakes – Ann’s Pantry scored four golds, while James Herron of The Cookie Jar, Newcastle, collected two golds; Stephen Bell, Ballydougan Restaurant, Portdown, Noeline McCooey, Irwins Bakery, Portadown; and Anthony and Jim O’Keefe, Corn Dolly Foods, Newry, scored gold.

Alan Burns, Amber Catering & Cakes, Antrim, won gold and silver, Lois Shaw, Shaw’s Home Bakery, Newtownards, a silver. Simon Maccabe, Café Smart, Belfast and Lynne Gardiner, Amazin’ Grazin’, Portstewart scored one bronze.

The Irish Wheaten Bread category in the world awards was supported by Food NI and Andrew’s Ingredients of Lisburn, a major supplier of premium ingredients for the bakery industry.

As winner of the Irish Wheaten Loaf category, John Agnew was presented with his trophy by Claire Andrew of Andrew Ingredients. The home bakery has also won a series of UK Great Taste Awards.

Stars of the bread-baking world gathered together at St John’s Church, Hyde Park, London for the much-anticipated announcement of the winners.

The awards ceremony was hosted by Stephen Hallam, Master Baker, Managing Director of Dickinson & Morris and Chair of the Judges.

“The field was more competitive than ever,” says Hallam, whose fellow judges, all 100 of them,included Apollonia Poilane of the legendary Paris bakery Poilane, Dr John Foster of BBC’s Victorian Bakers and Harry Lomas MBE, Executive Head Chef, Wembley Stadium, as well as Finbar Haughey of Andrew Ingredients and Belfast Metropolitan College.

Jam producer Tiptree is headline sponsor of the World Bread Awards. The first Tiptree preserves were made in 1885 and Tiptree jams and preserves are now sold across the world, many of them made with fruit still grown on their farms in Essex.

 Brook Food is passionate about the bakery industry and proud to pass on this enthusiasm to their customers when working with them on equipment solutions for their businesses