Armagh Cider Company has won the Authentic Northern Ireland Experience of the Year Award for its visitor tours at this year’s Northern Ireland Tourism Awards ceremony.

The award, sponsored by Diageo NI, was presented to Helen Troughton from the family-run business at a special black tie dinner event at the Palace Demesne, Armagh.

This was the first time the annual ceremony was held in Armagh, with a wide range of local tourism providers attending. The awards ‘recognise and celebrate the industry’s excellence and innovation’ and were hosted by BBC presenter, Jo Scott, with a special Georgian themed marquee erected in the grounds. “We’re absolutely delighted to receive this award,” said Helen Troughton, who launched the business with her husband Philip, back in 2006. “It was wonderful just to be shortlisted alongside the other businesses in our category, so winning is the icing on the cake.

“We take great pride in making our tours the very best they can be, giving visitors a true flavour of what we do here at Armagh Cider Company. That’s why we describe our tour as being ‘from blossom to bottle’. We take visitors on a journey from the very start of the cider making process, in the orchard, right through to the final stages in the ‘cidery’ and bottling hall. We do everything ourselves on our family farm and are so pleased that people enjoy the touring experience.”

The award-winning Tours of Armagh Cider take place on the family farm at Ballinteggart, based just outside Portadown in Co Armagh, where the Troughton family has lived since 1898. Built in 1766, Ballinteggart House is rich with history and many of its stories are woven into the tour to enhance visitors’ overall experience. Mark Troughton, director at Armagh Cider Company, said the award was another great achievement for the family-run business, which recently branched out into mixers. The Troughton’s Raising Spirits range was launched successfully at this year’s Balmoral Show.

“We work hard at Armagh Cider Company to create handcrafted products our customers will love and we put the same amount of work into making our tours informative and enjoyable,” he said. “So, it’s great to get this seal of approval of our tours from Tourism Northern Ireland.”

Application Form

Set in the grounds of the stunning Clandeboye Estate, we are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity for local food and drink companies to showcase and sell their products at this event.

Business name: _____________________________
Contact Person: _____________________________
Mobile Number: _____________________________
Email contact: ______________________________

The costs are as follows;

Food and drink producers – one day cost – £ 50 , two days costs – £80
Food to go – one day costs – £ 100 , two days costs £150

The hours are as follows –

Saturday 31st – 11am to 6pm
Sunday 1st September – 11am to 5pm

Stand fees will be non-refundable should you decide to withdraw from the event after 31st July 2019.

Do you require electricity?
Yes                 No

If YES please list all electrical appliances to be used on the stand and the required Wattage/Kw: As stated there may be an extra charge for this.
____________________________________________

Information to be sent with this application form: Applications will not be considered without this information, without exception.

1. Description of your product(s)

2. Insurance Policy Copy (£5m Public Liability, £10m Employers Liability, Product Liability – if relevant).

3. Risk assessment for the event.

4. Food hygiene rating and food hygiene certs for producers attending.

Notes:

• All traders must carry sufficient first aid cover to meet the risk applicable to their stand.
• All trade stands must be open and manned by a company employee familiar with the product for the duration of the event.
• Places on the stand will be allocated to ensure the best variety is offered and a good representation of products from NI are shown. Once the application/selection process has been completed we will ask for payment. Payment – Please make cheques payable to Clandeboye Estate – Bank details are available on request from (christine@nigoodfood.com). Payment will be required to hold your space. If this is not received within a week of being requested the space will be offered to another company. Please do not make cheques out to Food NI.

PLEASE SIGN HERE
Name: _________________________
Position: ________________________

I wish to apply for a trade space at Clandeboye Foodie Festival, 2019 & agree to adhere to the terms and conditions below.

The criteria that each company must meet and sign up to before being considered is outlined below:

1. Adherence to opening hours.
2. Traders must comply with all relevant food safety, health and safety regulations and fire regulations.
3. Traders must supply their own equipment.
4. Traders must produce, or add value to, everything they are selling.
5. A company employee familiar with all products must be on site throughout the event. This would preferably be the producer him/herself.
6. Electrical appliances to be used MUST be specified on the application form and cannot change without notification to the organisers, at least one week before the event. All electrical appliances need to be PAT tested, this is a legal requirement.
7. Places at the event will be allocated by the organisers in the overall best interests of the market. Please note that the organisers’ decision is final.
8. The organisers reserve the right to restrict the number of stallholders in any particular product category in order to ensure that a wide variety of food is on offer at the event. This is in the interest of all traders, and will ensure adequate trade for all; a wide variety of foods will also make the event more appealing to the public.
9. All exhibitors are asked to provide small samples of their product for the public to taste.
10. All decisions regarding participation in this event are entirely at the organisers’ discretion.

For any further enquiries please contact:
(Christine@nigoodfood.com) or alternatively ring 02890249449
Thank you.

 

Download – Clandeboye Foodie Festival – Application Form

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is celebrating the first ever World Food Safety Day by highlighting the UK’s internationally recognised food alerts system.

While it is rare for food to be removed from the market because there is a problem, there are several reasons why food may need to be recalled. For example, if the allergen information on a label is inaccurate, or if there are concerns around food poisoning bacteria such as salmonella.

 

Dr Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at the Food Standards Agency, said: “We’re very pleased to be supporting World Food Safety Day. One of the key ways we help ensure food is safe is through publishing food alerts which tell you about products that have been removed from sale, so you can take action to keep safe.

 

“We issued 72 food recalls and 103 allergy alerts in 2018 and we make every effort to make sure we publish our alerts as soon as we can and with information that is both useful and clear. Our advice to people is always based on the best science and evidence available. I’d encourage everyone to sign up for our food alerts service, to get immediate updates when product recalls and allergy alerts are published.”

 

Steve Wearne, Director of Science at the Food Standards Agency and Vice Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, said: “We are proud to be celebrating the first ever World Food Safety Day, it is great to have an international day to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks.

 

“Today is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure the food we eat is safe. Food Safety is everyone’s business, whether you produce, process, sell or prepare food, then you have a role in keeping it safe. We are pleased to play our part in making sure people can trust their food, particularly through working with local authorities and food businesses when a recall is required.”

 

Sign up to the food alerts and allergy alerts, so you can be the first to hear if there is a recall, here: www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/subscribe