Ellen Manning wins Best Food/Drink Blogger at the Midlands Food Drink & Hospitality Awards 

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Congratulations to Ellen Manning on winning “Best food/drink blogger at the Midlands Food Drink & Hospitality Awards (MFDH).

Ellen said “This week, much to my surprise, this little slice of WordPress Wonderland won the Best Food/Drink Blogger category in the Midlands Food Drink & Hospitality Awards (MFDH). I was up against four other bloggers who are all very good in their own right. I read all their work, I follow them, I get inspired by places they go and often follow in their footsteps. I didn’t expect to win, but I did.

The thing about awards, much like opinions on restaurants, is that they’re subjective. The MFDH Awards involve a public vote but also a panel of judges. Ultimately, it’s they who decided who won, as they did for those restaurants, bars, chefs, sommeliers and other hard-working members of the food and drink industry. And for whatever their reasons, they decided to give it to me this year. I don’t think it’s necessarily because I’m better than the other finalists, but I guess the judges decided I wasn’t worse. Either way, they recognised the work I’ve put into this blog, they recognised the votes you guys gave, and they gave me a lovely certificate, a trophy and a title I can bandy around until next year’s worthy winner is announced.”

 

Check out Ellen’s latest blog on:

‘LUNCH AT HADSKIS, BELFAST AND WHY I SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE’

 

Comber Farmers’ Market Celebrates 4th Birthday

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A birthday is always a special occasion and award winning Comber Farmers’ Market will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate its fourth birthday on Thursday 5th July.

The artisan food event has grown in size and popularity since 2014, with foodie folk from all over Northern Ireland travelling to Comber on the first Thursday of every month.

The market has the very best local produce on offer every month with a selection of meat and fish, dairy, bread and baked goods, locally grown plants, jam and chutneys, and freshly picked fruit and vegetables and more.

Adding to the celebrations the Edible Flower Company will be doing food demonstrations for children, showing how local produce can create healthy, tasty and fun tortillas.

There really is so much more to Comber Farmers’ Market than meets the eye.

Visitors can expect an interactive experience from the moment they arrive with the smell of freshly baked soda coming from the griddle and the aroma of bacon drifting up the market. 

Chair of the Comber Farmers’ Market committee Alderman Deborah Girvan said, “We are delighted to be celebrating Comber Farmers’ Market’s fourth birthday. The success of the market can be attributed to the commitment, dedication and hard work of the volunteers who give up their time to work at the market every month. Four years ago we started with 12 traders and four volunteers and we now have 26 regular traders selling local produce and 35 volunteers. I would like to thank both traders and volunteers for their ongoing support and helping to make Comber Farmers’ Market the best food market in Northern Ireland!”

Dunlop Homes is delighted to be sponsoring the Comber Farmers’ Market 4th Birthday event. The Market is a great opportunity to meet and support award winning artisan food producers from the local area.

Andrew Dunlop, Managing Director of Dunlop Homes, says ‘We’ve been building new homes at the Mill Village for the last 3 years so we know Comber is a great place to live, with so much to do right on your doorstep. We are proud to be supporting the Comber Farmers’ Market with its excellent reputation for the quality of local food, drink and plant products – it’s wonderful to have a monthly event like this in the heart of the town’.

Held in St Marys Church car park in Comber Square on the first Thursday of every month from 9am to 1.00pm, Comber Farmers’ Market is well worth a visit.  Car parking is available in nearby public car parks, at Parkway on Killinchy Street and the car park of 1st Comber Presbyterian on High Street.

The next market then celebrates Northern Ireland meat with cooking demonstrations from Chef Jasper Castell on the Big Green Eggs on Thursday 2 August and a special evening market then takes place on Thursday 16th August from 5pm to 8pm.

Find out more about the popular monthly food event at www.combermarket.co.uk or on the market’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages.

Photo: Alderman Deborah Girvan, event sponsor from Dunlop Homes Andrew Dunlop and market volunteer Richard Moore celebrate 4 years of Comber Farmers’ Market.

Nine for final of Delicious Produce Award

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Nine products from eight Northern Ireland companies, all Food NI members,  have qualified for the final stages of the prestigious Delicious magazine’s Produce Awards 2018 at Borough Market in London.

Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative in County Antrim had two products listed for the finals – pollan and smoked eel, both of which are from products with EU protected product status.

The other Northern Ireland foods, mostly from artisan producers, to reach the finals later in the year are:

Abernethy Butter of Dromara in county Down for its new black garlic handcrafted butter;

 

Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle, county Antrim for an innovative goat bacon;

 

Cavanagh Free Range Eggs from Newtownbutler in county Fermanagh for its free-range eggs;

 

Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt from county Down, a single herd creamy Greek-style yoghurt;

 

Dart Mountain Cheese Company, Dungiven, county Derry for its Sperrin Blue pasteurised cow’s milk blue cheese;

 

Mash Direct, Comber, county Down for beer battered chips; and

 

Rooney Fish, Kilkeel, county Down for its Mill Bay Oysters farmed on Carlingford Lough.

Rooney Fish received top marks for their Millbay Oysters.

 

Good luck for the Finals at Borough Market in October.

 

The successful companies were chosen by a team of expert judges supervised by chef Valentina Harris from taste testings during the recent Irish Game and Country Fair at Shane’s Castle in Antrim.

 

The annual awards are organised by the influential Delicious consumer food magazine, the largest UK publication of its type.

 

Picture:

 

Lough Neagh has two products in the final of the Delicious awards – smoked eel and pollan fish

Hillsborough Farmers Market

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Dark Walk Lane at Hillsborough Fort

Hillsborough

Co Down

BT26 6AE

When:

Saturday 30th June, 10am-3pm

Saturday 28th July, 10am-3pm

Time: 10am-3pm

Entry is free

Parking: Hillsborough Forest Car Park or Ballynahinch Street Pay & Display

 

The popular Hillsborough Farmers’ Market returns for another summer series of farmers’ markets in the historic and picturesque village of Hillsborough. Set against the tree-lined Dark Walk Lane which leads to Hillsborough Fort, this makes for a lovely day out.

The market will be filled with over 30 stalls of the finest artisan food from across Northern Ireland for you to discover and try.

We can promise you an hour or two of chilled weekend vibes and lots of friendly banter! Expect to find fresh, local and seasonal food, from speciality meat, fruit and vegetables, bread, cakes, artisan cheeses, jam, chutney, olives, pesto and tapenades, charcuterie, oysters and smoked salmon, to plants and flowers, coffee, chocolate, ice cream, street food and more besides, including a small horticultural, natural skincare and artisan crafts selection.

So, come along to experience and discover the diverse range of artisan foods being produced from across Nort

hern Ireland – many of them critic acclaimed and multi-award winning, such as Ispini Charcuterie, Harnett’s Oils, Ke Nako Biltong, Ballyriff Buffalo, Cavanagh Free Range Eggs and Deli Muru.

 

 

 

For more 

information and updates, please visit

https://www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enjoylisburn/

Twitter: @VisitLisburn   Instagram @visitlisburncastlereagh

 

First Comber earlies – digging starts a full month later than normal

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This week marks the start of the Comber Earlies’ harvest. But it’s a full month behind schedule.

“We have the very cold Spring, which extended right through April, to thank for this,” said Lewis Cunningham, manging director of Wilson’s Country.

“Planting was extremely late this year and the cold weather, which followed, severely hampered crop growth rates.”

Digging of First Earlies got underway on the Comber farm of Hugh Chambers this week.

“The recent spell of good weather has helped to bring crops on immensely. Yes, we are a full month later than normal in getting potatoes out of the ground. But, the good news for consumers is that crop quality is very promising.”

Hugh grows all his early potatoes for Wilson’s Country. The company’s agronomist Stuart Meredith is a regular visitor to the Chambers’ farm.

“It has turned out to be a very late spring,” said Stuart.

“However, soil temperatures started to increase, once we got into the month of May.

“Early potatoes are a difficult crop to grow, mainly because the weather can be so unpredictable at this time of the year.”

Comber earlies have always been regarded as a delicacy by local consumers. This has been officially reflected in the attainment of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for these unique potatoes under an EU scheme which promotes and protects names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs.

Stuart Meredith again:

“PGI status officially sets Comber Earlies apart as a unique product with distinct eating characteristics.

“This extremely welcome development gives the local potato industry a tremendous opportunity to further promote the qualities of these unique potatoes. And Wilson’s Country will be playing an active role in this regard over the coming weeks and months.”

He added:

“New potatoes can be quickly boiled in their jackets and enjoyed as part of a main course or included in salads.

“Consumers want to get back to basics and potatoes allow them to do this in a very satisfying manner. The reality is of course that people in Northern Ireland love their spuds and especially that new season flavour of Comber earlies.

Picture: Wilson’s Country chairman Angus Wilson (left) and company agronomist

Stuart Meredith assessing new season crops in North Down. Initial digs

would indicated that yields of varieties such as Dunluce and Home Guard

are well over a third down on normal. This is because of the current dry

spell and the very cold, wet conditions at planting.

 

‘Chef Mulholland’ Head Chef at Novelli’s at City Quays

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Earlier this month, Jean-Christophe opened the doors of Novelli at City Quays, at the new £25m AC Hotel Belfast, developed by the city’s Harbour Commissioners and operated by Marriott. Set on Belfast’s waterfront, the 112-seat restaurant has a double-height glazed facade and open-air terrace, as well as a kitchen designed and built to Jean-Christophe’s specific requirements, with a rotisserie oven to enable him to produce his signature roasts.

The four-star, contemporary-luxe hotel is the first Marriott in Northern Ireland and the first AC Hotels by Marriott® on the island of Ireland.  It is also the first property in the international lifestyle brand’s 100+ global portfolio to feature a signature restaurant – Novelli at City Quays – which is spearheaded by Jean-Christophe Novelli and marks the multi-Michelin-starred celebrity chef’s Ireland debut.

Jim Mulholland’s many years of experience working in Northern Ireland means that the menu at Novelli at City Quays will focus on local produce, with some of the region’s best known producers amongst the suppliers, including Abernethy Butter, Hannan Meats, Ewing’s Seafood, Yellow Door and North Down Group. Even the charcuterie board features homegrown chorizo and salami, produced by Limavady-based Corndale Farm. “It has always been my passion and my mission to source whatever I can locally,” says Jim, “and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience to introduce our amazing local produce to such a globally celebrated chef as Jean-Christophe and to see him, in turn, become its champion.”

The hotel is the first newly built-to-specification AC Hotels by Marriott in the UK.  On the basis that purposeful design improves lives, every detail has been mindfully curated to provide what guests most need and value.

Capturing the contemporary, elegant and European-inspired essence of the brand, bespoke-for-Belfast features include an open-air terrace designed to capitalise on its spectacular location, 360-degree waterfront and wider cityscape views, and the custom-built Novelli kitchen and restaurant.