NORTHERN IRELAND NAMED WORLD’S BEST FOOD DESTINATION

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Northern Ireland has been named the world’s Best Food Destination in 2018 at a major travel and tourism awards in London!

The entry from Food NI, Northern Ireland’s food and drink promotion body, won gold last night (6th November) at the prestigious International Travel and Tourism Awards in for Northern Ireland as The Best Food Destination in 2018.

Food NI pipped other global food destinations, including San Sebastian/Donostia in Spain, to lift the prestigious award for Northern Ireland for its organisation of the highly successful Year of Food and Drink in 2016.

The awards were held as the showpiece of the annual World Travel Market in London, the world’s leading global travel trade event, which attracts over 50,000 travel professionals from around the world. Entries were invited from across the world.

The coveted award was presented to Michele Shirlow, Chief Executive of Food NI, who said:

“I am thrilled to receive this strategically important award which positions Northern Ireland internationally as the leading destination for premium quality and innovative food and drink. This international award is a marvellous accolade for our industry and local producers in particular and should be a major benefit for our rapidly developing tourism industry as it seeks to attract even more visitors from across the world and in particular golf enthusiasts for The Open in Portrush in 2019.”

Food NI played the central role with Government departments including the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland and Invest NI in delivering Northern Ireland’s first year-long Year of Food and Drink in 2016, a celebration of outstanding food and drink and the people who produce it and provide it.

The awards were held for the first time during the the three-day show. The awards attracted 70 entries from across the world.

A carefully selected independent panel of judges made the awards a reality. Every judge was a prominent member of the travel community, with the right experience and know-how to select the very first International Travel & Tourism Awards winners.

Raising the profile of Northern Ireland food and drink and the hospitality sector in a key objective in Food NI’s Taste the Greatness strategy. #TastetheGreatness

Morelli’s completes major investment

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Morelli’s Ice Cream, a Food NI member, has completed the final phase of a three-year investment programme with support from Ulster Bank.

The family-run business has invested £350,000 to expand its Coleraine base, including expanding its production and storage facilities, adding 3,300 sq ft to the now 10,000 sq ft north coast factory, and modernising its head offices.

The latest phase forms part of a £700,000 investment drive launched by Morelli’s in 2015.

Arnaldo Morelli said: “Following an extensive three-year investment programme, our newly expanded Coleraine facility is now fully operational. We were operating near to full capacity, producing 700,000 litres annually. The investment has enabled us to almost treble production capacity to two million litres per year.”

The company is now looking to expand into new export markets.

Arnaldo added: “As well as our own family stores, we supply supermarkets and hundreds of independent retailers across Northern Ireland.  This investment will enable us to increase exports to ROI and explore new markets in GB, safe in the knowledge that we have the capacity to fulfil growing consumer demand.”

Rhonda McClelland, business development manager at Ulster Bank, said: “The Morelli brand is steeped in tradition and a shining example of Northern Ireland’s growing list of quality food and drink producers.

“We’re extremely proud to support the Morelli family as they expand their business and explore export opportunities to new markets.”

The Morelli family has been making ice cream in Northern Ireland since 1911.

Food NI Members Win UK Quality Food and Drink Awards

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Four Food NI member companies were successful winning coveted UK Quality Food and Drink Awards in London.

The awards

Launched in 1979, the Quality Food Awards recognise and reward the best in retail, wholesale and foodservice food and drink products available in the United Kingdom.

Seeing the blue Q logo on pack alerts consumers to how special a product is, given that this is an independently verified mark of quality.

The awards are also monitored closely by major UK retailers seeking new suppliers with a track record for quality and innovation.

The Quality awards are based on a rigorous judging process which is entirely independent and comprises over 400 industry experts.These include nutritionists, dietitians, chefs, chef-lecturers, home economists, food writers, consultants, restaurateurs, food technologists and developers, category experts, brewers, distillers, Masters of Wine, company CEOs, packaging gurus and retail professionals.

Every entry gets written feedback from the judges, making for a completely transparent process.

Winning a Quality award is a mark of distinction.

The Food NI winners

Avondale Foods – Lurgan for its Edamame Bean Salad for Asda in Fresh Produce Salad – Prepared;

Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt – Bangor for its Greek Style Yoghurt in the Dairy-Yoghurt category;

Jawbox Gin – Belfast in Best UK Gins; and

Prep House – Crossgar for its Irish Seaweed Dressing in Sauces and Dressings.

Michele Shirlow, Food NI chief executive, welcoming the achievements of member companies, says: “We are thrilled to see some many companies coming out on top in such a prestigious competition for outstandingly tasty, quality and innovative food and drink.

“Significantly, most of the winners from Northern Ireland are smaller companies which are manifestly able to hold their own against much bigger producers.”

 

 

Sizzling success in annual British Sausage Awards!

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Two Food NI members have been successful in the annual British Sausage Awards – a central feature of UK Sausage Week!

The Event

The event is held to celebrate and promote the great British sausage!  The competition attracts butchers from all over the UK!

It runs from 29th October to 4th November.

The promotion is supported by Meat Management magazine.

Companies throughout the UK are provided with promotional material. They can use this on their packaging and labelling.

This includes the official UK Sausage Week poster and logo!

It also produces recipes for delicious sausage dishes.

 

The Awards

Successful in the category for Northern Ireland independent butchers were:

Traditional – Traditional Thin Pork Breakfast Sausage (Gluten Free) – Hannan Meats of Moira, Co Armagh

Innovative – Blackgate Signature Honey Roast Pork Sausages – Finnebrogue Artisan of Downpatrick, Co Down

 

 

Hannan Meats and Finnebrogue at British Sausage Awards
Food NI members  Hannan Meats and Finnebrogue Artisan with their winners certificates! Congratulations!

 

The prestigious awards were announced at a major event in London on Monday.

Butchers, manufacturers, retailers and trade associations in the UK are promoting the great British sausage during the week.

This includes hosting their own sausage events, special promotions, new product launches, competitions and tastings for the sausages.

 

For more information on the awards and winners – click here : https://uksausageweek.com

For more information on Hannan Meats – click here : https://www.nigoodfood.com/producers/hannan-meats/

For more information on Finnebrogue Artisan – click here : https://www.nigoodfood.com/producers/finnebrogue-artisan/ 

Irish whiskey marmalade from Erne Larder Preserves

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Erne Larder Preserves

Enniskillen based company, Erne Larder Preserves have launched a new Whiskey based marmalade.

 

They “specialise in classic & new age preserves as well as pestos, curds & sauces, we cater for retail & catering customers. The number one seller & most unique product is the dry cured smoked bacon jam.”

 

For more information on Erne Larder Preserves – click here : https://the-erne-larder-preserves.business.site

 

The business is owned by experienced chef, Declan O’Donoghue. O’Donoghue, already renowned for his Irish Bacon Jam and Irish Bacon Ketchup, set up Erne Larder Preserves in 2016.

 

In addition to supplying local shops in Northern Ireland –  Erne Larder has recently began business with German discounter Lidl. Lidl will be stocking the unique bacon jam in the North and South of Ireland.

 

The Product

The marmalade, features an Irish whiskey.

Declan O’Donaghue has said he hopes to replace the Irish whiskey, with Enniskillen’s Boatyard Distillery’s Whiskey – as soon as it becomes available.

 

The Boatyard Distillery is only a 20 minute drive from Erne Larder Preserves – you can’t get much more local than that!

For more information on the Boatyard Distillery – click here : https://boatyarddistillery.com

 

“It’s not a traditional marmalade,” Mr O’Donoghue says. “My version is based on my own recipe and a modern production technique.”

 

Looking outside of the North and South of Ireland, O’Donoghue has turned his focus to tourists. Especially those from the USA – he realises the potential and the huge consumer market they could provide.

 

“I believe the new jam is an ideal souvenir from Ireland for visitors and it also makes a great gift,” he says.

Innovation award for Finnebrogue Artisan!

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Denis Lynn has won the Innovation Category in the Director of the Year Awards 2018. Lynn is the chairman of Lynn’s Country Foods and Finnebrogue Artisan.

Food NI member – Finnebrogue Artisan is the UK market leader in sausages. They have become a pioneer of flexitarian (plant based with some meat) products for major retailers, in recent years.

Mr Lynn established Lynn’s Country Foods in 1985. The business subsequently developed a range of venison products before diversifying into sausages.

The Products

Mr Lynn won the prestigious award for his development of the revolutionary Naked Bacon. Naked Bacon is an e-number and nitrite-free bacon! The release of the bacon was closely followed by the release of Naked Ham and Naked Sausages.

 

“Despite being the country’s leading top tier sausage maker, we had never made a single rasher of bacon or slice of ham because we couldn’t work out how to do it without adding nitrites. For more than a decade I have insisted we not touch bacon or ham until we could make it better and safer ~ and now we have.”

– Denis Lynn

 

The judges chose Mr Lynn for a “brilliant product development for world better health”.

The product “showed a different approach to challenges, good business growth”.

Finnebrogue Artisan, based in Downpatrick, launched the Naked Free Bacon with major UK retailers, including Marks and Spencer, in January. The products are now on sale throughout the UK by the main supermarket chains.

 

Finnebrogue Artisan Naked Bacon Wins Award

The Awards

The Director of the Year Awards are organised by the Institute of Directors.

The finals of the Director of the Year Awards attracted some of Britain’s top business talent and recognised exceptional leadership and good governance.

The occasion brought together the winners and directors across the business spectrum from all over to establish the ‘best of the best’ in British business.

A panel of judges chose the winners. This panel is filled with experienced individuals with years of expertise. The judges come from IoD and the wider business community to  celebrate the awards.

For more details about Naked Bacon – click here : http://www.finnebrogue.com