The Walled City Brewery’s “LegenDerry Food Experience” showcase event last night was the perfect setting for Derry City and Strabane District Council to announce details of its ambitious plans to build on the city and district’s unique food offering in order to position Derry~Londonderry as the number one food destination on the island of Ireland by 2025.

The Local Food and Drink Strategy Action Plan for 2019-2025 was officially launched at a local food showcase event that saw over 70 guests including food stakeholders from across the island of Ireland gather to celebrate and promote the city’s food offering.

The Strategy, which is funded by the NICHE EU INTERREG Project, aims to build on the City’s existing reputation as a stand out food destination within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland having secured numerous awards, delivered international scale festivals and events, unique food experiences and award winning restaurants and producers.

The ambition is to grow the existing LegenDerry Food brand, establish a food and drink network with local businesses and further develop a strong food culture where local produce is prioritised by hospitality, retail and consumers. Key actions include plans to develop up to 50 new food and drink products, 20 new food and drink experiences as well as develop a full calendar of food events throughout the year.

Launching the Strategy, the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr John Boyle outlined details of its ambitious targets for growth that include doubling food and drink related visitor spend to £33m by 2025 in line with the Council’s Tourism Strategy.

He said: “The strategy highlights the unique selling points for development which include the Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster, Unique Food Heritage, A Cultural and Vibrant Food Scene and further positioning the Walled City as the gateway to the wider food experience.”

In addition to the Strategy being launched, guests were encouraged to sign up to be part of the newly established LegenDerry Food and Drink Network. This is an informal network of businesses and organisations within the sector who will work in close collaboration to represent, promote and develop the local food & drink offering within the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. They will work in partnership with Council and the Strategic Food Group to support with the delivery of the Local Food and Drink Strategy.

It will also afford local businesses a range of opportunities to be part of best practice trips, gain access to tradeshows, and networking events as well as taking an active role in shaping the activity that will grow the city and region as the leading food destination on the island.

James and Louise Huey, owners of the Walled City Brewery said they were delighted to host ‘A LegenDerry Food Experience’ saying the event highlighted why uniquely positioning the city and region’s authentic food and drink products and interacting with customers can create an experience that will leave a lasting impression.

James said: “This event was the perfect opportunity to launch the strategy and provided us with a fantastic forum to showcase our produce. I am really excited to play a part in the newly formed Food and drink network and look forward to working with Council and all those in the food sector to really drive the City forward as the number one Food Destination on the island of Ireland.”

Welcoming the commitment by Council to work with the sector to double visitor spend to £100m by 2025 and create up to 1000 additional jobs,

Mayor Boyle said: “The food and drink scene in Derry and Strabane is second to none and over the past number of years it has been part of an exciting and inspirational journey to successfully showcase our award winning produce, talented chefs, unique food experiences and award winning restaurants. The investment by a number of local artisan food and drink producers has successfully stimulated business and this has been key to our success. We hope that our continued collaborative approach to provide a unique food and drink experience will set us above the rest in terms of food tourism that will in turn encourage visitors to visit and stay longer.”

Jennifer O’Donnell Tourism Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council explained that in devising the Strategy officers looked at other locations that are benefiting from food tourism including San Sebastian in Spain and Melbourne in Australia.

“Food Tourism is a significant area of growth, with visitors increasingly seeking out unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. Food really connects people to a place and we want to continue to grow this element of our tourism offer. This strategy now provides a roadmap to do this.”

“We have a number of key propositions that include our Lough Foyle Irish flat oyster, a unique food heritage and a truly vibrant food scene which set us apart from other destinations. We believe this Strategy is ambitious, but achievable and the vision clearly sets out where we want to be positioned in the market place,” she concluded.

Concluding the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council said he was confident the Strategy would create a flourishing food and drink sector that will be successful in driving tourism growth both in visitor numbers and spend.

“This Food Strategy has the potential to showcase our wider destination offer that reflects our local heritage and unique culture.”

The Food and Drink Strategy is a Niche EU funded INTERREG project.

 

Farmageddon Craft Brewery, a Food NI member company, in Comber is brewing an innovative beer with hemp.

The new Hemp IPA is brewed with hemp juice and pulp grown on a family farm in County Monaghan which grows organic hemp. The brew contains the CBD associated with medicinal cannabis.

Eoin Wilson, one of the founders of Farmageddon, says blending hops and hemp is not as strange as it may sound.

He added: “The two plants are actually genetically related and would have smells and aromas that are similar depending what hops you are using.

“The hemp would be more like Simcoe or Columbus hops, that are piney and resinous. But as for the CBD in it or any medicinal benefits, we are not making any claims because we haven’t tested it for exact levels.

“What it was about for us was making an old school really hoppy beer. There’s been a trend lately towards sweeter New England style IPAs, but this is definitely more bitter and dry.

“The hemp certainly added flavour and bitterness. On the IBU [beer bitterness] scale it is 50, but it tastes more like 70.

“It’s a great tasting beer that’s been selling exceptionally well. The first batch was 1,800 litres and was snapped up fast.  We’ve since brewed another batch of about 2,000 litres.”

Farmageddon worked with Kama Hemp which is based near Clones and say their juice is the only organic hemp juice in Europe. Kama Hemp has been producing hemp juice since 2013. And is the only organic hemp juice grown in Europe. It features naturally occurring CBD Cannabidiol, a nutritional source of CBD.

Farmageddon, a brewing co-operative has developed a portfolio of craft beers. The co-op comprises seven home brew fans who got together from the martial arts and punk rock scene in Belfast and began initial brewing in 2012. The name of the brewery reflects its location on the small farm and the longstanding interest of its founders in horror and zombie movies!

 

 

 

Liberty London, the luxury and iconic department store in the capital’s Regent Street, has launched four original rapeseed oils created with Broighter Gold, Northern Ireland’s multi-award-winning producer of oils cold-pressed from a family farm in Co Derry,

 

The four rapeseed flavours featured by Liberty – original and three infused oils, lemon, garlic and chilli – are the result of collaboration with Broighter Gold’s managing director Leona Kane over the past year.

 

“I was thrilled when such a prestigious retailer as Liberty London approached us to provide four of our culinary oils for sale under its highly respected brand,” says Mrs Kane. “I worked with the Liberty team and the store’s marketing people on the oils and labelling. It’s a marvellous endorsement of the flavour and premium quality of our rapeseed oils in a key market, Great Britain, in which I’ve been working to strengthen our position.

 

“Furthermore, the store attracts thousands of tourists every year from across the world,” she adds.

 

The oils are now available in store and from the retailer’s popular website, the first from Northern Ireland to win such important business with Liberty, which has been at the heart of retailing in London since 1875.

 

Broighter Gold is based on the extensive family farm of Richard Kane, Leona’s husband, at Broglasco, near Limavady overlooking Lough Foyle.

 

The golden oils are widely used by leading chefs in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It has also been endorsed by UK celebrity chef James Martin in his new BBC television programme, which produced hundreds of orders from Britain for the products which have won UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards.

 

Other high profile customers of the oils include La Grande Epicerie in Paris, Brown Thomas in Dublin and Sainsbury’s.

 

Mrs Kane established the rapeseed business in 2010 as a farm diversification project. It’s now among the most successful farm-based businesses on the island of Ireland.

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Rapeseed has become a popular alternative to olive oil because of the high content of Omega 3,6,9 and Vitamin E and also because it is probably the most versatile cooking oil. Broighter Gold oil also has half the saturated fat of olive oil.

 

The successful 800-acre farm grows high yielding crops of wheat, barley, oilseed and potatoes. Ireland’s greatest find of gold artefacts from the Iron Age of the 1st century BC was found on the farm and is now held by the national Museum of Ireland. The company takes its name from the historic find.

 

In addition to the development of rapeseed oil, Broighter Gold, which employs four people, has expanded into industrial tourism by developing an exhibition centre through the international EconoMusee network that enables visitors to see how the oils are produced and used in cooking.

Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, County Down, has exclusively shared its newly re-purposed events spaces to over 100 guests from the events and hospitality sector at a grand preview event.

The showcase on Tuesday 26 February, was an opportunity for Hillsborough Castle to introduce the venue to new clients ahead of the official public launch in April 2019. This follows a major five-year £20 million investment project by independent charity Historic Royal Palaces to transform this historic site into a major visitor attraction.

The Castle event spaces were beautifully dressed, as guests explored the State Dining Room, Red Room and the magnificent Throne Room. Surrounded by interiors and artwork steeped in history, guests enjoyed sumptuous local produce provided by Yellow Door, the Castle’s newly appointed catering company.

Uniquely local dishes incorporated local produce from Rustic Pork & Pheasant Terrine with Hillsborough Pear Chutney to Rhubarb & Custard Eclairs.

Jazz music from The Swing Gals created an elegant atmosphere to accompany cocktails throughout the evening. Expert insight into the Castle’s history came from the Hillsborough Castle team, showcasing the intricate details that make it such a bespoke venue.

Debbie McCamphill, Events and Household Manager at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, said, “We were delighted to host this exclusive showcase of our stunning event spaces before the Castle officially launches in April and to say thank you to existing clients and industry partners for their ongoing support.

“This promises to be an exceptional year, with exciting dates for the diary already announced, including the Hillsborough Castle and Gardens Food Festival in July.

“As with any event held at the Castle, we are always looking at how we can raise the bar for our guests, creating unique bespoke events whether that’s offering the perfect setting for Corporate Gala Dinners, award ceremonies, intimate business meetings and conferences, as well as an ideal backdrop for fairytale weddings.”

Suppliers included Yellow Door, catering; Blue Moon Event Design; North Down Marquees; JN Wine; Shortcross Gin; Moss Rose Vintage, florals; The Swing Gals, music; James Patience, harpist; Bradley Quinn, photography, and The Nooks, music.