Northern Irish chef named ‘best female chef’ in the world

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Picture: Northern Irish chef Clare Smyth in San Sebastian, Spain, before the announcement of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018. Photograph: EPA/Gorka Estrada.

Congratulations to Northern Irish chef Clare Smyth who has been named “best female chef” in the world at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. At a ceremony in Bilbao on Monday night, the Antrim-born chef was given the award for her debut restaurant, Core by Clare Smyth, in Notting Hill in London.

Meanwhile, Italian chef Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana was named the best restaurant in the world at Monday’s ceremony. His restaurant, which opened in 1995, was awarded the top spot for the second time – it also came first in 2016.

In second place, chef Joan Roca’s El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, climbed one place from last year, as did Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur restaurant in Menton, France, which moved from 4 in 2017 to third in 2018. Eleven Madison Park in New York, which won best restaurant in 2017, dropped to fourth place after it closed for renovations for four months last year, while Gaggan in Bangkok climbed from 7th in 2017 to 5th for 2018.

Smyth moved to the UK from her family’s farm in Northern Ireland when she was 16, to study catering at Highbury College in Portsmouth. She went on to work at Terence Conran’s Michelin House restaurant and completed stages at the French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York before going on to work as chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsey in 2007 – where she became the first and only female chef to run a restaurant with three Michelin stars in the UK.

She opened her Notting Hill restaurant in July 2017, which has since been named Best Restaurant at the 2018 GQ Food and Drink Awards.
However, the “best female chef” award has been a controversial addition to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants accolades.

Why—at this point in history—do we need a “Best Female Chef” special designation?

Smyth – whose own restaurant was omitted from the top 50 – told the World’s 50 Best Restaurants: “We still have a real lack of women recognised at the top of the industry and we have to do something about that – we’re not going to change it by ignoring it… to separate [male from female chefs] for me is strange, but we don’t see enough women coming through at the top and we need to do something about it.

“I would love to see very soon that we don’t need gender specific awards because women will have recognition and there will be a balance in the industry. Hopefully we’ll see plenty of women on the 50 Best list and there won’t be a need for that award.”

Article by The Irish News

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE NOVELLI TO MAKE STAR APPEARANCE AT COMBER EARLIES FOOD FESTIVAL

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Artisan food, interactive cookery demonstrations with French cookery aficionado Jean-Christophe Novelli as well as lashings of family fun are just some of the activities on offer as part of the Comber Earlies Food Festival 2018 taking place at The Square and St Mary’s Church Car Park in Comber on Saturday 23 June.

Held in honour of the fabulous flavour of Comber Earlies which is loved across the whole of Northern Ireland and beyond, the Festival is firmly established on Northern Ireland’s culinary calendar as one of the finest free food and drink events of its kind in the Borough. It is organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council in partnership with Comber Earlies Growers, Food NI and DAERA.

There’s artisan food to sample and take home, cookery demonstrations as well as fun for all the family including a tractor display, haybale picnic area and children’s barn dance among a host of other activity throughout the day.

Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, Cllr Richard Smart, said: “Whether you’re a regular foodie who has an appetite for local food and regional specialities, or just want to pick up some tips and soak up the atmosphere you’ll definitely enjoy both the gastronomic offerings and entertainment on offer as part of the Festival. This event showcases the quality, diversity and wholesomeness of locally and regionally produced fresh food and drink and celebrates its provenance and we are delighted that it continues to attract growing numbers each year.”

The uniqueness of Comber Earlies, the potato grown around the town of Comber in Co Down, has earned it Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in Brussels. PGI is awarded by the European Commission to protect and promote named regional food products that have a reputation or noted characteristics specific to an area.

The one-day event is again being supported by a week-long Comber Earlies Fringe Festival taking place from Friday 15 to Sunday 24 June with back-to-back activity throughout the week including producers sharing food skills, live music, BBQ’s, tea dances, bake offs as well as entertainment for all the family with kids barn dances, storytelling and school olympics.

The Festival opening times are 10pm to 4pm on Saturday 23rd June with the Fringe Festival taking place from Friday 15 – Sunday 24 June.

A personalised video from Jean-Christophe can be found on our Facebook page via the following link https://goo.gl/j6oLUk.

For updates as the Festival draws near visit www.ardsandnorthdown.com/events/comber-earlies-food-festival

For media enquiries:

Ards and North Down Borough Council Corporate Communications, on 028 9127 8052 or email nicola.cully@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk or pamela.beatty@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Congratulations to Tim Hayward on winning the Restaurant Writing Award (sponsored by FoodNI (Taste of Ulster) and Hannan Meats) at the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2018.

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Photo credits: Miles Willis Photography

Congratulations to Tim Hayward on winning the Restaurant Writing Award (sponsored by FoodNI (Taste of Ulster) and Hannan Meats) at the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2018.

Tim Hayward won his award for his work published in FT Weekend Magazine.

The annual Awards ceremony, held on Monday 18 June at Opera Holland Park, celebrated the best of British food writing and broadcasting.

The prestigious event is organised by the Guild of Food Writers, the UK’s professional association of food writers and broadcasters.

Guild President Xanthe Clay, who presented the Awards, said: ‘The world of food writing and broadcasting is dynamic and diverse, and our winners (from Joanna Blythman and Tim Hayward to Reem Kassis and Meera Sodha) represent the cream of the crop. It’s a perfect precis of what you need to read, watch and listen to this year.’

The Guild presented a Special Award to Anna Hicks the widow of the renowned and universally beloved fruit-and-vegetable expert Charlie Hicks; Charlie died earlier this year and was an inspiration to many in the food world.

The Award Winners are as follows:

  • Grand Dishes won the Food Blog Award

 

  • The Food Writing Award went to Joanna Blythman for work published by the Sustainable Food Trust and in The Guardian and Sunday Herald.

 

  • The Campaigning and Investigative Food Work Award went to Foodism: Issue 21 (Sustainability special issue)

 

  • The Cookery Writing Award went to Meera Sodha for work published in The Guardian’s Weekend magazine

 

  • The Food and Travel Award went toTasting Georgia A food and wine journey in the Caucasus by Carla Capalbo(Pallas Athene)

 

  • The Restaurant Writing Award went to Tim Hayward for work pubished in FT Weekend Magazine

 

  • The British Food Award went to Sue Quinn for work published in Dorset Magazine

 

  • The First Book Award went to The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis (Phaidon)

 

  • The Food Broadcast Award went to food programme Leah Chase: The cook who changed America presented and produced by Dan Saladino (BBC Radio 4)

 

  • The Food Magazine or Selection Award went to Market Life magazine, edited by Mark Riddaway

 

  • The Food Book Award went to The Hungry Empire: How Britain’s Quest for Food shaped the Modern World by Lizzie Collingham (Bodley Head)

 

  • The Cookery Book Award went to The Modern Cook’s Year By Anna Jones (4th Estate)

Special Award

Charlie Hicks (1957–2018)

Lifetime Achievement Award

Anne Willan

Congratulations to all those that won at The Guild of Food Writers Awards.

 

Causeway Coast Chef Steering Day June 2018

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Thank you to everyone who was involved in the Causeway Coast Chef Steering Day, especially to:

  • Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council
  • Islander Kelp
  • Broughgammon Farm
  • Ocho Tapas Bistro
  • Morelli’s Ice Cream
  • Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil
  • Corndale Farm
  • Lacada Brewery

We started off our day on Rathlin Island foraging kelp with the Islander Kelp team.  We were shown the different kelp products including noodle cut, tagliatelle cut, salad cut, minced and whole leaf kelp and got to sample each type of kelp.

We then moved on to Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle were we sampled some delicious goat meat tacos. We met the animals and heard the background stories of them all.  Broughgammon Farm have their own artisan on-site butchery, they run seasonal cookery classes and have a little farm shop selling excellent of Northern Irish and Irish produce.

For dinner we headed to Ocho Tapas Bistro in Portrush and were hosted by Trudy and Sean Brolly. We had some delicious seafood paella and sampled Broighter Gold’s new rapeseed oil flavours, as well as Corndale Farms new chorizo products and Lacadas new beers.

For the last stop of the journey, we went to Morelli’s in Portrush where we sampled some of their amazing new flavours introduced for summer.

Food NI would like to say a huge thank you to Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council for their support and sponsorship of the Causeway Coast Chef Steer group day. This support made the day possible and is appreciated by all who attended the Chef Steer Group Day

Thank you to everyone who attended. Keep an eye on the Taste of Ulster newsletter for details on the next steering day.

You can find photos of the Chef Steering Day at: https://www.nigoodfood.com/gallery/north-coast-chef-steering-day-2018/

 

Foodie Destinations 2018 Applications Open Now!

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The Restaurants Association of Ireland are pleased to launch Foodie Destinations 2018, with applications being accepted from 12 noon today!

If your town, village, suburb or region thinks you have a unique food tourism offering and would like to apply, please head over to www.foodiedestinations.ie where you will find the entry criteria as well as a template of the application form.

The Foodie Destinations 2018 winner will be a destination that actively promotes itself through joint promotional activities such as food festivals, gourmet trails or farmers’ markets as well as great dining experiences for locals and visitors alike. They will have established a local producer/supplier network which is utilised and promoted by local businesses. Plans for future growth and investment into the food and hospitality industry at a local level will also be taken into consideration by Foodie Destinations judges. Education, training, development and employment will be key components of the ultimate food Foodie Destination. Collaboration is of utmost importance – we want to see communities working towards a common goal.

This year, not only will there be a ‘Foodie Destination’ winner, there will also be the addition of a new category ‘Foodie Town’. This new category refers to both towns and villages. Tourism or vacationing should be a primary component of the local culture and economy. These towns offer a stand-alone, unique food and tourism visitor experience which does not expand out to the surrounding areas.

We are delighted to welcome back FBD Insurance for a second year as our official sponsor. John Reade, Head of Business Insurance at FBD Insurance has this to say: “FBD Insurance is a proud sponsor of The Foodie Destinations Award and it is our pleasure to be associated with an event supporting the agri food industry and wider business community. For 50 years FBD Insurance has been proud to support local community initiatives and as Irelands only indigenous Insurer we are delighted to see so many communities developing their own food culture offerings and contributing to the wonderfully diverse food culture in Ireland.”

All final applications must be submitted online via https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdATCh2HOvpVLJHAgS-o8E79afdZ-JM_xKMH282R0y189DjNg/viewform

The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Thursday 12th of July

If you have any queries at all please contact Shauna on 00 353 (1) 677 9901 or shauna@rai.ie

Restaurants Association of Ireland

Novel bread developed in schools’ challenge

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Primary school pupils have been learning how to make and sell a novel potato bread, one of Northern Ireland’s traditional craft breads, as part of a ‘Growing for the Future’ initiative to encourage children to grow and enjoy a healthy diet of fresh vegetables and fruit.

Assisted by award-winning bakery and deli, Yellow Door in Portadown, county Armagh, a Food NI member company,‘The Potato Bread Enterprise Challenge’ was developed as a result of the successful ‘Growing for the Future’ resource, an innovative collaboration between Northern Ireland’s Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) and Tourism NI. It’s also a legacy of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink in 2016.

The successful desk top food entrepreneurs came from McKinney Primary School in Dundrod, county Antrim with a novel sweet potato, bacon and chive potato bread.

Yellow Door owner and respected chef Simon Dougan assisted the pupils in the development of the new artisan bread. As well as creating the new potato bread, the pupils costed, priced and had the chance to sell it in the Yellow Door deli.

The initiative aims to connect children with local and seasonal food – how it is grown and produced – and also to encourage them to consider careers in the fast growing food and hospitality sectors.

The challenge was hosted by Yellow Door and supported by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) and Tourism NI. CCEA advises government on what should be taught and assessed in Northern Ireland’s schools and colleges.

Melanie Mulligan, CCEA’s Curriculum and Assessment Primary Education Manager, says: “Through CCEA’s partnership with Tourism NI, we were delighted to be able to bring education and the food industry together.  The ‘Growing for the Future’ resource, available for all schools, allows pupils to engage with issues such as food provenance and sustainability, which are huge issues both locally and across the world.

“The challenge is an extension of this work which culminated in the enterprise challenge intended to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship amongst our primary school pupils,” she adds.

Carolyn Boyd, Industry Development Manager, Tourism NI, continues: “The ‘Growing for the Future’ project was grown from the seeds of the innovative gardener Jilly Dougan who has written ‘Sow, Grow, Munch’ to encourage primary school children to better understand food generally and growing food in particular.

“There is an amazing world of future opportunities in the agri-food, hospitality and tourism sectors in Northern Ireland. If we are to continue to attract global visitors then we need to encourage dynamic young people like we see today into our industry; there’s no better time to encourage an understanding and appreciation for real food, develop a palette and get interested in sustainable sourcing and cooking from scratch than in primary school.”

Yellow Door’s Jilly Dougan says: “We can see that there are emerging food entrepreneurs in primary schools. We were excited by the quality of their submissions and the level of thought that went into these. This is how food innovation works!”

Top Northern Ireland chef Simon Dougan of Yellow Door Bakery and Deli, working with the primary school pupils on developing the novel artisan bread. Also pictured is CCEA’s Melanie Mulligan.