Armagh Food & Cider Festival returns with a fresh spread of indulgence

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Raise more than a glass at Northern Ireland’s award-winning food and drink event

Northern Ireland’s biggest and best food and cider festival is back for a feast like no other in beautiful Armagh 19th – 22nd September as part of giant-sized programme of events and activities to get the taste buds tingling.

Officially Northern Ireland’s top food and drink experience for 2019, the Armagh Food and Cider Festival in Ireland’s Orchard County is famed for the quality of its local produce, fine ingredients and culinary excellence – and of course its world class cider.

The festival is proud to be part of a new major tourism initiative ‘Taste The Island’, promoting food and drink related events across Ireland that take place over three months from September 2019.

Supported by Tourism Northern Ireland, the international four-day festival food frenzy in one of Ireland’s top foodie destinations kicks off on 19 September in a perfect pairing of authentic events, dining delights and tasting experiences all carefully designed to excite and inspire.

Packed with spectacular food quality, top-notch artisan ciders and an agile band of inventive, enthusiastic chefs, this year’s gastronomic festival weekend promises to further embed this region’s reputation for outstanding food quality, unique events and distinctive, authentic experiences.

Enjoy a range of events and activities including open-air markets, orchard and cidery tours, tasting dinners, cooking masterclasses, a stunning Bramley apple banquet, hedgerow foraging, foodie film nights and much more.

To see the full programme and secure your place to these unmissable events, visit www.visitarmagh.com/festivals or phone 028 3752 1800.

A stout with clout wins Golden Fork, as Kreme dela Kremlin is deemed fit for a Tzar

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Golden Fork from Northern Ireland announced

 

Following a record-breaking 12,772 entries judged over 75 days, Great Taste, the world’s most revered food and drink awards, has reached its grand finale for 2019. The Great Taste Golden Fork for the best food or drink from Northern Ireland was presented to the “supremely talented” Whitewater Brewery Co. from Castlewellan for its Kreme dela Kremlin, a 10.5% ABV Imperial Russian Stout made using a selection of premium malts, hops and maple syrup, then aged in a whisky cask.

 

With its “intense chocolatey nose that beckons the drinker in” and a balance of “sweet, bitter and spice” on the palate, Kreme dela Kremlin impressed at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process. Rising to the top among hundreds of other entries from Northern Ireland, the “funky” stout was celebrated as the best tasting product in its region at the Great Taste Golden Fork Dinner held on Sunday 1 September at the InterContinental Park Lane Hotel, London, where over 350 guests from the world of fine food gathered to discover this year’s stars of food and drink.

 

Contact: Whitewater Brewery Co., 02843 778900 / www.whitewaterbrewery.com.

 

Six Hundred Mouthwatering Dishes On Offer During Belfast Restaurant Week

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A choice of 600 mouthwatering dishes will be on offer in 40 City Centre restaurants during Belfast Restaurant Week which runs from 23 to 29 September. A joint venture between Belfast One and Destination CQ, the initiative will tickle the taste buds of diners seeking scrumptious
steaks, Vegan feasts and delicious dining experiences with Asian, Italian and Mediterranean influences.

Diners will be encouraged to explore the number one shopping and leisure destination in Northern Ireland and stop off for lunch, dinner or the now famous Big Belfast Brunch – available in participating restaurants on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September.

Julie McCullagh, Marketing Manager, Belfast One, said: “Belfast Restaurant Week has fast become one of the most exciting and busiest weeks for restaurants in the Belfast City Centre events calendar. We first brought the joint initiative to our local restaurants in February and we had more than 30 sign up, generating more than £150,000 for the local economy and driving an almost 20% increase in midweek evening footfall year on year in just seven days. This autumn we’re excited to further develop Belfast Restaurant Week to include a Taste The City
Producers Market where local chefs will demonstrate their culinary skills for foodies to recreate at home.”

Gareth Neill of Destination CQ welcomed the return of Belfast Restaurant Week and said: “Belfast Restaurant Week provides an opportunity to dine out in style, try new venues and support our fantastic independent restaurant scene in Belfast. Our expanded lunch and brunch offerings will have something for everyone.”

As well as dining out at some of Belfast’s finest restaurants from as little as £10 per person, those who crave creating their own instagrammable recipes at home can go along to the Taste The Island supported Taste The City Producers Market on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September in Writer’s Square where they will be inspired with demos by chefs from Belfast restaurants before stocking up on locally sourced and grown produce to take home, as well as live music and family fun from 10.00am to 4.00pm each day.

Gareth added: “We are delighted to be working with Tourism NI on the Taste The Island standout event ;Taste The City’ on 28   and 29 September as part of Belfast Restaurant Week, where the city's best chefs will be cooking alongside some of Northern Ireland’s most formidable food and beverage producers.”

Aine Kearney, Business Support and Events Director, Tourism NI said: “We are delighted to offer support to Belfast Restaurant Week which was funded through Tourism NI’s Taste the Island Events Scheme. The scheme was developed for festivals and events to enable them to
motivate both local and international visitors to enjoy the high quality produce available here.

Belfast Restaurant Week offers an exciting programme of events and experiences and I would encourage everyone to taste the finest food and drink our local chefs and producers have to offer.”

Belfast Restaurant Week, 23 to 29 September. 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. Participating restaurants and
menus can be found at www.belfastrestaurantweek.org. Follow Belfast Restaurant Week on Instagram at @BelfastRestaurantWeek19

Food NI Members Shortlisted in Prestigious Irish Quality Food Awards

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Four Food NI member companies have had their products shortlisted in the influential Irish Food Quality Awards, the finals of which will be held at a gala event in Dublin on 24 th October.

The four successful companies are Armagh Cider Company, Portadown, Glens of Antrim Shindig Crisps, Cushendall, Deli Lites of Warrenpoint and Rich Sauces, Northern Ireland’s leading producer of sauces for foodservice, in Newtownards.

In addition, Hannan Meats of Moira, another Food NI member company, provided beef to James Whelan Butchers in the Republic, another company shortlisted for its quality products.

Michele Shirlow, Food NI chief executive, congratulating successful member companies, says: “I am delighted to see the innovation underpinning their original products recognised in what is among the most influential challenges and one closely monitored by leading retailers on the island of Ireland and in Britain. I am delighted that all four Northern Ireland’s shortlisted companies are Food NI
members.

“The awards come as we showcase our quality and innovative food and drink internationally and at home through the excellent Taste the Island promotional initiative,” she adds.

Armagh Cider was shortlisted for its award winning dry cider, Glens of Antrim for its novel Shindig Crisps and Deli Lites for its feta wrap and its sweet potato and spiced hummus wrap. Rich Sauces was shortlisted for a series of original sauces.

The Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards are for all Irish food and drink producers in the North and the South. They celebrate the quality, innovation and outstanding taste of food and drink being produced across the island.

The award demonstrates a unique collaboration between Food and Hospitality Ireland (formerly SHOP) and The UK Quality Food and Drink Awards. Business development agency Invest NI is among sponsors. They also celebrate the best in retail, wholesale and foodservice and food and drink products available in Ireland.

The ‘Q’ symbol on pack is now the most recognisable mark of quality for retailers, food and drink manufacturers, foodservice providers, wholesalers, suppliers and small producers alike. The awards are made following a rigorous and transparent judging process involving 200 experts

The awards have been rewarding excellence in food and drink flavours, textures and aromas for more than 35 years and are highly respected within the UK multiple grocery sector and food producers for the rigour and transparency of the judging process.

Golden Popcorn Launches Innovative Flavour

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Food NI member Golden Popcorn in Northern Ireland has strengthened its product portfolio with the introduction of an original flavour for retailers and cinemas throughout the island of Ireland.

Based in Antrim, Golden Popcorn, a specialist in popcorn for cinemas, has launched a Sweet Cinnamon in 80g in line with growing market trend towards the flavour as an a healthy ingredient.

“The introduction of the cinnamon flavour is the outcome of our ongoing market research into new and different flavours over the past few months. We have other exciting products in the pipeline to accelerate the growth of our business,” explains

Golden Popcorn managing director Sean McClinton. “While we are the leading manufacturer of cinema style sweet and salted popcorn in Northern Ireland we are also experiencing substantial growth in the retail sector especially in major supermarkets,” he adds.

He continues: “Our growing success is based on our longstanding commitment to using only the best quality ingredients with high standards of food safety and hygiene, recognised with industry awards over the last few years.”

The new product, Mr McClinton adds, is based on a recipe developed by the company’s in-house NPD team and follows extensive taste tests.

The new flavour is already on the shelves of Tesco stores and will be on sale soon in other retailers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as well as cinemas.

The new flavour joins Sweet, Sweet and Salty, and Salted in 95g, 100g and the Sweet popcorn in 120g bags.

Ireland’s leading producer of cinema-style popcorn, Golden Popcorn was originally established in 1996 to supply popcorn in bulk to cinemas and other leisure outlets.

The company was then acquired by a local food entrepreneur in 2014 and a new brand identity and packaging were subsequently introduced in a major rebranding and review of the business, its product range and markets.

Golden Popcorn then moved to a purpose-built factory and office space in Antrim in February 2017, due to growth in sales.

This was followed by a major and ongoing marketing drive in Northern Ireland and the Republic targeting supermarkets in particular. The company is also exploring business opportunities developing in Britain. It has achieved BRC AA status.

Golden Popcorn has been assisted by business development agency Invest NI to increase production and grow sales.

New Tourism Ireland Video Invites International Visitors to “Taste the Island”

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Our world-class chefs and innovative artisan producers are coming together this autumn for one of the most exciting food events in the world – Taste the Island.

Tourism Ireland has created a new online film to give prospective visitors everywhere a flavour of the exceptional level of our food and drink. Delicious and creative dishes, rich traditions and incredible flavours – Tourism Ireland’s message around the world is that there has never been a more exciting time to come and discover Ireland’s food scene.

Taste the Island involves more than 500 food and drink-related experiences lined up over 59 days – so, Tourism Ireland is inviting international visitors to take a seat at the table and get their fill of some of those amazing food and drink experiences!

To read more, click here.

To view the Taste the Island Campaign follow the links:

TV 1: https://app.frame.io/presentations/5ee2c481-1905-4fb5-b0aa-466466d0e52b

TV2: https://app.frame.io/presentations/0e170fc8-66f7-4dba-93e9-abd0accaf3b6