Food NI member Krazi Baker, Northern Ireland’s award winning baker of traditional Northern Irish griddle breads, has added the flavours of Italy to his range or original breads.

The artisan bakery business, owned by Mark Douglas and based in Dromore, county Down, is developing focaccia breads.

He’s just launched successfully his first traditional focaccia featuring roasted peppers and onions with rosemary and a light sprinkle of rock salt.

“I’ve baked the focaccia bread in response to requests from people here especially those visiting my stalls at markets around Northern Ireland. I’ve always baked them at home and decided to make them available to existing and potential customers keen on focaccia.

“My business is based on responding quickly to customers for different baked goods,” he says.

“I launched the focaccia bread at a recent market in Northern Ireland and they proved to be extremely popular. I was sold-out very quickly and have now decided to add focaccia to my range of breads,” he adds.

The focaccia breads follow the introduction of his own sourdough bread for shoppers more than a year ago.

Krazi Baker is known throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for premium griddle breads such as traditional Northern Irish favourites potato bread, soda and treacle farls and potato apple baked fresh on-site at markets. He has also developed award winning shortbread and oat flake biscuits, including a low sugar variety.

An experienced baker, Mr Douglas has also developed original products with other local ingredients such as cheese, chorizo and guanciale.

Two Food NI members have joined forces to create an original, hand baked and tasty Irish oatcake biscuit.

The award winning Heatherlea Bakery, which is based in Bangor, and Irish Black Butter from Portrush have developed the innovative Irish Black Butter Oatcakes.

The new biscuits also contain oats from another Northern Ireland artisan business, also a Food NI member, White’s Oats in Tandragee, Co Armagh.

The new oatcake is a collaboration between Paul Getty, managing director of Heatherlea Bakery, and Alastair Bell, the founder of Irish Black Butter, a unique savoury/sweet spread made from Bramley apples, treacle, spices with a hint of brandy.

Heatherlea Bakery is renowned for its traditional Irish breads, biscuits, traybakes and ‘pound’ cakes. The company, which has won several UK Great Taste Awards, is owned by Mr Getty and wife Patricia.

They have owned the bakery since 1990 and currently bake products for retailers, including their own successful bakery/deli/café, as well as wholesalers.

Irish Black Butter was launched in November 2017 by Mr Bell to offer “a new taste of Ireland” based on the country’s PGI accredited Bramley apples from county Armagh. In addition to selling the premium spread to delis and independent retailers throughout Ireland and through a distributor in Britain.

Commenting on the new oatcakes, Mr Bell says: “I was thrilled when Paul Getty agreed to use the black butter as an ingredient for a new oatcake product.

“Paul and his bakers have done marvellous job in creating a delicious hand baked Irish oatcake, a bakery product long synonymous with Ireland.

“I see opportunities to market the oatcake as a traditional Irish product both here and in global markets. It makes a great gift for tourists in particular,” he adds.

Irish Black Butter is already being used as an ingredient in ice cream, yoghurt and in charcuterie, all from Northern Irish artisan producers.

Food NI member Cloughbane Farm is now supplying its recently launched ‘Cloughbane Little Farm’ range of children’s meals to Aldi Ireland.

The range, specifically designed for children, will be launched in 67 Aldi stores across the Republic of Ireland with plans to roll out to remaining stores in 2019.

Based on a family farm near Pomeroy in county Tyrone, Cloughbane is an award winning manufacturer of a range of convenience foods especially pies.

The company describes the deal as “a progressive first step for Aldi into the children’s ready meal market”.

Lorna Robinson, managing director of Cloughbane, says: “We are very excited to play a major by offering a range of high-quality children’s meals using local ingredients, which do not compromise on taste or nutrition while still offering the convenience of being ready in minutes.”

It was becoming a granny that reminded Lorna, how hard it can be for busy parents – and grandparents, to give their child healthy, nutritious meals. So Cloughbane developed the range with this in mind; sourcing the best local ingredients, including vegetables within the meals and also designing packs that fit with our farming ethos and are visually appealing to children.

“The meals have also been rigorously tested throughout the development process and we are delighted with the result. Independent sensory analysis compared Cloughbane Little Farm products to other market leaders in children’s meals and the results show that panellists preferred the taste, appearance and texture of our range in every instance.

“As parents and grandparents ourselves, we appreciate the importance of healthy balanced food is for young children, so these results are extremely important to us.

“We are proud to have created a range that helps busy families, care for their children health and at the same time having more time for fun.”

The company, established in 2002, on a  180-acre family farm owned and run by Sam and Lorna Robinson and their sons, is now among the most successful and progressive farm diversification businesses in Northern Ireland. It draws its meat, mostly from Aberdeen Angus and Limousin cattle, raised on rich pastures in county Tyrone.