Strong Northern Ireland food presence at National Ploughing Championships

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Eight Northern Ireland companies will be showing an extensive range of innovative products at the Irish National Ploughing Championships in Carlow from 17-19 September.

The companies will feature in the Northern Ireland Food Pavilion hosted by promotion body Food NI in association with Invest NI, the region’s business development agency.

Products on show from Northern Ireland will include cheese, balsamic vinegars, flavoured peanut snacks, a black butter spread, seafood, popcorn and fruit crisp snacks, authentic Italian ketchup and pasta sauces, and home baked products.

Most of the participating companies are already doing business in the Republic of Ireland and will be launching novel products at the event. Several have won Blas na hEireann and UK Great Taste Awards for quality and outstanding taste.

The participation is part of Food NI’s support for the Taste the Island showcase of food and drink in Northern Ireland and the Republic being led by Failte Ireland and Tourism NI.

Michele Shirlow, Food NI’s chief executive, says: “We are delighted to organise this showcase of Northern Ireland food and drink in the Republic as part of our support for the exciting Taste the Island initiative. We appreciate backing from Invest NI for our presentation at the National Ploughing Championships, now among the most popular and successful events on the island of Ireland.

 “Encouraging and assisting smaller food and drink companies in particular to explore opportunities developing in the Republic of Ireland, the largest export market for Northern Ireland producers, is a key element in our business strategy and especially against the current Brexit background.

“The event is an excellent springboard for our companies seeking to either increase existing or win new sales in such an easily accessible market.

“What this important showcase does is to offer our smaller companies an unrivalled opportunity to display and sample their products to an anticipated audience of around 250,000 people. I am confident that our participating companies will do worthwhile business during the show and also afterwards through leads generated in the Republic. This is the fourth food and drink show we’ve been involved in with Invest NI in the Republic so far this year,” adds Mrs Shirlow.

In addition to the trade stands, the event’s features include an innovation arena, the National Brown Bread Championship, demonstrations and workshops. The Northern Ireland group will be among 1,700 exhibitors.

Northern Ireland companies in the Food Pavilion organised by Food NI in association with Invest NI:

Ballylisk of Armagh Cheese, Tandragee, Co Armagh – Triple cream cheeses

Burren Balsamics, Richhill, Co Armagh – balsamic vinegars

Food Stories, Belfast, Co Antrim – fruit crisps and popcorn

Granny’s Fayre, Armagh, Co Armagh – home baked goods

Irish Black Butter, Portrush, Co Antrim – sweet/savoury spread and peanut spread

Lecale Harvest, Killough – seafood including oysters and pate

Noisy Nuts, Ballygowan, Co Down – flavoured peanut snacks to accompany craft beers

Peppup Sauces, Portaferry, Co Down – authentic Italian ketchup and pasta sauces

An Invitation to participate: Taste the Island – All Ireland Food and Drink Expo

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Launching in September 2019, Failte Ireland’s new initiative, Taste the Island, promotes Ireland’s extensive food and drink experiences to domestic and international visitors.

Taste the Island creates an all-island opportunity to showcase Ireland’s world-class food and drink culture, by providing authentic food and drink experiences across September, October and November. Taste the Island is a celebration of the abundant and creative produce produced on the island of Ireland and provides a true Taste the Island Experience.

In celebration of Taste the Island, A Taste of West Cork Food Festival will host the first ever All Ireland Food and Drink Expo in Skibbereen Town Hall during the Taste of West Cork Food Festival final event – the Sunday Street Market on 15th September 2019.

A Taste of West Cork would like to invite all artisan food and drink producers all across the island to take participate in this exciting event celebrating Taste the Island. This indoor expo provides artisan food and drink producers from all around the island of Ireland with an opportunity to showcase and promote their produce, and for the public to meet, greet and engage with artisan food producers who live and work all over the island of Ireland.

If you would like to participate in the first Taste the Island All Ireland Food and Drink Expo please contact : Erin Bottomley (erin.bottomley89@gmail.com) by Friday 23 August or call Erin on 087 173 6642 for more information

Copeland distillery launches classic Irish gin as it completes new distillery

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Copeland Distillery in Donaghadee, a Food NI member company, has introduced a new gin which features 12 carefully selected organic wild botanicals including pine needles, cubed berries, orange peel, lemon peel and some locally sourced flora from local islands including sea pink maritima.

The classic Irish gin is the latest product from the company, owned by Gareth Irvine, is launched as it opens a new visitor centre as part of a £950,000 investment. Copeland already has a successful range of fruit-infused gins.

Mr Irvine describes the new gin as “the result is a refreshingly loud yet familiar juniper taste with caramelised orange peel and sweet spice on the nose. Piney juniper follows giving an even more distinctive experience while sweet orange returns with a lingering yet subtle spice”.

Already in distribution across Northern Ireland, the new gin will make its debut in the south of Ireland and Copeland’s existing territories across Europe, Australia and further afield throughout 2019 and early 2020, joining its acclaimed flavoured version in off-sales and on-trade.

 

Copeland has also revealed a new brand identity to further cement its connection to Co. Down’s coast. It features a bespoke corked bottle with a prominent compass feature derived from an historic chart of the Copeland Islands.

 

Earlier this year, the Copeland Distillery announced it has taken the first step in its ambitious plans to add whiskey to its spirits portfolio, which will also be influenced by Donaghadee. Using the very best malt and casks and traditional and innovative cask finishes including bourbon, cognac, rum, Amontillado wine and Fino Sherry to deliver depth, character and flavour, all whiskey will be matured at the Distillery beside the coast allowing the sea breeze to seep in and deliver an authentic taste of Northern Ireland in every single sip.

 

Mr Irvine continues:: “Our long-term ambition is to create a world-class, varied portfolio of spirits that offer the consumer, at home and abroad, a taste of Northern Ireland’s craftsmanship and history. Our new brand echoes this same ambition and proudly combines our product with local heritage.

“Establishing our permanent home here in Donaghadee, with the Copeland Islands beside us, is a significant step in this journey. With a 125-year lease on the building we envisage being part of Northern Ireland’s future spirits story for quite some time.

“I’m really proud to have restored this site, a former cinema and community hall to its former glory as the hub of the town. Donaghadee – its history and connection to our brand – will be a very important part of our visitor experience. Our personal and immersive tours will share our passion for Northern Ireland with visitors and offer them the opportunity to understand more about our portfolio and our distillation process, with some tasting along the way.

“The distillery is now a permanent home for our brand and will allow us to move into new categories such as whiskey and more imminently our newest gin, our first clear, classic expression which is already in distribution locally and will soon join our other products throughout Europe and in Australia.

“Moving into our new home will also allow us to start our journey in whiskey production later this year. As an industry that is targeting global sales of 12 million cases by 2020 and with growing interest from new markets for us including Russia.

“With so much local history and heritage driving our journey, it’s very exciting to know that our new home, right on the harbour over-looking the Copeland Islands and surrounding waters, will be the starting point for every bottle of Copeland, be it whiskey or gin, as it sails its way across the world.”

Great Taste Award for Doyle’s Irish Cider

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Armagh Cider Company wins two gold stars in ‘Oscars’ of the food and drink world Armagh Cider Company has received two gold stars for its Doyle’s Medium Irish Cider product at the prestigious Great Taste Awards 2019, which took place in Dorset last week.

Considered the Oscars of the food and drink world, the Great Taste Awards is run by the Guild of Fine Food UK and judges products solely on how they taste. Seen as a quality stamp of approval by customers and suppliers worldwide, competition is tough, with just a fraction of the thousands of products entered each year receiving recognition.

This year saw almost 13,000 entries accepted, with Armagh Cider Company the only Northern Irish cider-making business to receive two of the coveted stars.

Mark Troughton, director at Armagh Cider Company, said he was delighted with their two stars, which brings the current total of Great Taste accolades for the business to seven.

He said: “We put a lot of work into perfecting our ciders to ensure the very best quality for our customers, so it means a lot when they win an award that champions great taste. Our Doyle’s Medium Cider is the perfect choice for a balanced cider which sits in between dry and sweet and is full of the natural, juicy sweetness of our home-grown Armagh apples.”

Available in Tesco and M&S across the UK, Doyle’s Irish Cider is now also supplied to bars, restaurants and retailers through O’Kane’s Irish Foods in England. Proud of its ‘blossom to bottle’ cider-making, Armagh Cider Company carries out every stage of its production process onsite at the Troughton family farm. This includes harvesting the apples from their century-old orchards, as well as packaging the products, something which marks them out as unique within the local cider-making industry.

“You can visit our farm to see the entire process first-hand, from growing to packaging,” said Mark. “Our Tours of Armagh Cider recently won the Authentic NI Experience of the Year Award at this year’s Northern Ireland Tourism Awards, which was very special to us.
“We’re committed to giving our customers great-tasting ciders which are authentically Armagh, which is why we’ve invested so much time and effort into growing, harvesting and bottling everything on the farm. Hopefully, the results speak for themselves.”

FOREST FEAST LAUNCHES A NEW AMERICAN-INSPIRED SNACK RANGE OF TRAIL MIXES

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Healthy snack brand, Forest Feast, has announced the launch of a specially crafted new range of Trail Mixes, to meet growing consumer demand for healthy products that provide a burst of energy to help you to get the most from life.

The innovative range, inspired by the great taste of America, is hand-crafted at Forest Feast’s headquarters, making the most of the company’s in-house roasting and flavouring capabilities and is now available in stores across Northern Ireland.

Speaking about the launch, Bronagh Clarke, Marketing Director at Forest Feast, said: “Innovation is at the heart of our business and we’re delighted to launch this new range. As a team of outdoor enthusiasts who love to snack, we were inspired to create a range of Trail Mixes that are delicious, nutritious and give you an energy boost.

“Packed with protein, our Trail Mixes provide you with the fuel to take on all of life’s adventures – on or off the trails. So, whether that adventure takes you out in your local forest park, up a mountain or out onto the ocean, we have a delicious flavour combination that will take you on a taste discovery.”

Launching with three bold flavours, two sweet and one savoury, Forest Feast’s Trail Mixes are a source of protein and perfect for those with an active lifestyle who want a healthy snack to keep hunger at bay while on the go.

  • The ‘Classic American Trail Mix’ is a combination of honey sesame and roasted and salted peanuts with roasted almonds, milk chocolate beans, dried cranberries and raisins.

  • The ‘Mochaccino Trail Mix’ is perfect for coffee lovers with a mix of coffee vanilla cashews, dark chocolate espresso peanuts, roasted peanuts, dark chocolate coffee beans and white chocolate cranberries.

  • Finally, the ‘Buffalo Ranch Trail Mix’ is a fusion of spicy buffalo cashews, spicy buffalo peanuts, dry roasted peanuts and BBQ peanuts.

Forest Feast, the ‘original snack explorers’, is a family-run business in its 23rd year of operation. Forest Feast’s Trail Mixes are available in 45g snack packs retailing at £1.00 and are now available on shelves nationwide.

For more information contact Paul Ryan, Forest Feast National Account Manager:  paulryan@forestfeast.com.

Slow Food Applications Now Open!

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Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization, founded in 1989 to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from and how our food choices affect the world around us.

The three elements of Slow Food’s philosophy food and food production are:

  • GOOD: a fresh and flavorsome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of our local culture;
  • CLEAN: food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health;
  • FAIR: accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for small-scale producers.

SLOW FOOD FESTIVAL 2019

This is the 4th year of the Slow Food Festival and this year it returns with a bigger marquee which will house the Slow Food Harvest Market celebrating both our local food and drinks producers. Given this new element within the marquee the festival will be open later on the Saturday evening, until 9pm. Some live music will help create a buzz and a more night time feel. There will also be chef demos, children’s activities and street food zone outside. This year the festival will also have an Oyster bar, showcasing our Lough Foyle Native Oyster.

There will be 2 elements to Slow Food Festival:

  1. Slow Food Harvest Market
  2. Street Food Traders

Deadline for applications is 28th August by 10am

See the attached application form:

Slow Food Festival 2019 Application (1)