The best biltong in Ireland is produced near Ballyclare in Co Antrim by Ke Nako Biltong, an artisan business producing premium cured meats.

Food NI member Ke Nako Biltong, a small business established by chef/butcher Ilse van Staden, originally from Pretoria in South Africa, and lecturer Alanagh Chipperfield in 2012, won the gold award for its richly flavoured and hand cured biltong at the influential Blas na hEireann, Irish National Food Awards in Dingle.

BBC Award

The award follows their success in winning BBC TV’s Top of the Shop series earlier in the year.

The artisan business, based on Ballylagan Organic Farm, has developed an impressive portfolio of authentic South African cured meats including biltong, Droewors, chilli bites and stokkies, a low-fat, high protein snack.

“We were thrilled to receive the Blas gold. It was a marvellous endorsement by an expert judging panel of the quality and outstanding taste of our biltong. It’s great to see our biltong being acclaimed as Ireland’s best,” says Alanagh.

What Ilse has done is to use her knowledge and experience as a chef to create a new role as a food producer specialising in the cured meats she grew up loving in South Africa. “I looked at the local food industry and spotted an opportunity to create authentic biltong and other cured meat products from South Africa,” Ilse explains.

“Biltong has long been popular in South Africa as a snack in particular because it’s rich in protein and especially popular with rugby players and other sports people as an aid to recovery after training and games,” she continues. “This is because it’s an excellent source of vital minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium and vitamin B-12; all essential for the body to function,” she adds.

Together they have created a unique biltong recipe using organic beef that’s been cured in organic red wine vinegar with a rich blend of spices from salt, black pepper, coriander seeds, nutmeg, and cloves before being air-dried in premises on the farm.

Working closely with three local farmers they use quality organically reared beef such as brisket, topside and silverside.

The biltong, and other cured meats, is now being marketed to delis and farm shops in Northern Ireland and through internet sales from their website www.kenakobiltong.co.uk.

Noel Allen, founder and manager of Food NI member Noisy Nuts, has been named among the top 35 New Talent 2018 by the influential Grocer magazine.

Top New Talent celebrates emerging talent in food and drink across the UK and also includes developing managers in many of the leading producers and retailers such as Cadbury owner Mondelez International, Lucozade, Premier Food, Kellogg, Sainsburys and Morrisons.

Mr Allen, from Ballygowan, launched Noisy Nuts in 2017 as tasty peanut snacks for craft beers, a market-first taking the craft beer trend to a new level of snacking. The range was launched nationwide across the UK, Northern Ireland and Europe during April.

The range features an artisan peanut kit with flavoured seasonings that “pair with craft beers, and help to elevate characteristics, note and flavour palates within the beers”.

The product has been designed to offer the choice in how to season the peanuts – consumers can pour the whole packaging of seasoning in and shake the pot giving a strong flavour, or season as you go to fit with their beer drinking taste.

The range is available in four variants – Chilli and Lime (pairs with IPA), Chill and Beef (pairs with Stout), Chocolate Orange (pairs with Orange IPA), and Pickled Onion (pairs with Lager)  – all in handy 95g packs.

Mr Allen commenting on The Grocer listing says: “I am thrilled to be listed among the top new talent of 2018. With 400 different craft beer breweries in the UK alone and more than 3,500 different craft beer products on sale I knew there was an opportunity to produce a complimentary interesting snack for this buoyant and increasingly growing market. Craft beer drinkers are all about taste and we’re giving them a product that will enhance their drinking experience.”

Brambleberry Jams, an award winning producer of home-made luxury jams, sauces and relishes in Northern Ireland, has won business in the Republic of Ireland.

The small company, which is based at Lisburn in county Antrim and is a Food NI member, is supplying its multi-award winning sea salted caramel sauce to outlets on Achill Island in county Mayo.

Alice McIlhagger, owner of Brambleberry Jams, explains: “The business in Achill is the result of a longstanding relationship with the island’s sea salt company. It harvests and processes the pure salt I use in my sea salted caramel sauce. It means that the sauce is now available in the shop on the island as well as from the salt company.”

Brambleberry has won a string of major awards from UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann, the Irish National Food Awards, for its products including sea slated caramel.

It has also recently secured business from Dugard and Daughters in London for its raspberry jam.

Mrs Mcilhagger established the small business in 2013 to pursue her passion for gourmet food and has enjoyed considerable success. She recently featured on BBC TV’s popular ‘Top of the Shop’ series with chef Tom Kerridge.

She develops the original recipes herself and uses quality produce, mostly from her own garden, in her successful range of products now widely sold throughout Northern Ireland.

The sauces are used by other artisan producers, especially Glastry Farm Ice Cream in Kircubbin, county Down, for its sea salted caramel and lemon meringue ice creams.

The unique lemon meringue ice cream won gold at this year’s Blas na hEireann Awards.

Brambleberry’s range includes raspberry and prosecco, rhubarb and orange, and summer mixed berry jams, as well as savoury bramble jelly, roast tomato relish, red onion jam with organic balsamic vinegar, sea salted sweet chilli sauce with lime.