Mash Direct in New Waitrose Deal on their 14th birthday

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Comber farm, Mash Direct, have landed a new deal to supply one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains, Waitrose, with their convenient vegetable side dishes.

The listing will see Mash Direct’s Carrot and Parsnip Mash go into over 330 stores across England and Wales starting today (on the 11th April 2018) on the 14th anniversary of the family farm’s diversification.

Quality and provenance are key attributes of the Waitrose ethos, which is why Mash Direct have proven so popular after receiving its 19th Great Taste Award last year.

Director, Jack Hamilton said: “This is such a great opportunity for us to showcase the heritage varieties of vegetables on our family farm, grown specifically for their superior flavour. We already have a strong working relationship with Waitrose and supply then in Scotland, the Channel Islands and the UAE and we are looking forward to building our reputation in these new stores.”

“In Northern Ireland, we thrive in doing the simple things well but we can be quite humble when it comes to getting out there and telling people about it.  I believe that there is a great future ahead for the local agri-food industry if we can seize the opportunities, home and abroad as well as being able to get out there and market them.  “

From humble beginnings on a small family farm in County Down, Mash Direct now supply over 5,000 stores around the world and in addition to the new Waitrose business, started exporting to the US last month.

The new listing will increase the presence of Mash Direct in the south east of England, the heartland of Waitrose.  This is a key growth area for Mash Direct as Londoners in particular are increasingly looking for high quality vegetables at affordable prices but don’t have the time to prepare them themselves.

Allianz Garden Show Ireland blooms bigger with more flowers, food and family fun

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MARKING the start of spring, Northern Ireland’s largest gardening festival is back with a bloomin’ great line-up of activities for all of the family.

 Taking place on the 4th – 6th May at Antrim Castle Gardens, this year’s Allianz Garden Show Ireland returns bigger than ever and will be a celebration of flowers, food and fun family entertainment.

 Celebrating local produce is high on the menu during the three days and there is a foodie feast in store at this year’s Show. Whether you want to learn about growing unfamiliar fruit or vegetables, create unusual growing spaces, source local produce, or just soak up the atmosphere whilst stopping to indulge on artisan foods, then this year’s Allianz Garden Show Ireland will take you through a mesmerising trail of food!

 A show staple, the Food NI Food Market is back and will be filled with artisan food stalls and local producers championing home-grown produce, from craft beer and cheeses to chutneys and cupcakes, tempting visitors with their mouth-watering tasty dishes.  Resident-chef Paula McIntyre will be taking to the Food NI Pavilion stage demonstrating ways to use fresh ingredients that celebrate Northern Ireland’s rich edible heritage in enticing new recipes, as well as some interesting takes on intoxicating desserts. Grower, food writer and cook, Lia Leendertz will be serving up live demos and talking about unusual vegetable growing spaces and demonstrating the extra ‘zizz’ that herbs can bring to a dish.

 Eating from your garden and surrounding your house with all-year colour will be recurring themes at this year’s show. Renowned gardener, food writer and chef, Mark Diacono of River Cottage fame and notorious author and horticulturist Geoff Stebbings will be engaging in a debate on “Ornamental versus Edible.” Chaired by Pamela Ballantine the celebrity gardeners will be offering advice and sharing their experiences on how to create both edible and ornamental gardens.

 NEW at this year’s Allianz Garden Show Ireland will be the Artisan Flower Craft Pavilion.  Visitors will be able to learn about growing their own flowers for their flower arrangements with local growers, Cherry Townend from Kilcoan Gardens and Alison Drennan from Beechfield Flower Farm – aka the “Farmer Florists” – and then try their hand at Botanical Art with local Artist, Alison Walker.

 Also new for 2018 will be demonstrations by professional tree climbers. Using some of the magnificent trees in Antrim Castle Gardens’ parkland they will be advising how to look after the trees in our gardens.

 From feature areas including a ‘Meditation Garden’ – created by 2017 Chelsea gold-medallist, Ian Price; eco-garden displays, handmade crafts and fun gardening activities for the kids, it’s truly a superb three-days that attracts everyone from garden enthusiasts to families, spanning three generations.

 To buy tickets and keep updated on news, follow the Show on Facebook and Twitter or visit www.GardenShowIreland.com

JAWBOX SMALL BATCH GIN CHECKS IN TO WORLD DUTY FREE

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The award-winning Jawbox Small Batch Gin has secured a listing with World Duty Free and will provide its gin at George Best Belfast City Airport, London Stansted Airport and John Lennon Liverpool Airport from today.

Jawbox Small Batch Gin, produced in Northern Ireland, launched just two years ago but has already secured a cult following of gin-lovers across the globe. Today’s announcement, which comes just a year after the brand’s first airport listing at Belfast International Airport, will see over 35 million passengers a year have the opportunity to experience its unique character and flavour profile.

The Ards Peninsula, Co. Down is home to both The Jawbox Distillery and the fields where its grain is grown and harvested. A careful selection of botanicals feature in the gin including heather from Black Mountain, a sprawling hill that surrounds the city.

George Best The World Duty Free store at Belfast City Airport will play host to sampling activity allowing travellers to experience The Perfect Swerve, an unpredictable and refreshing pairing of Jawbox Gin and ginger ale, garnished with lime.

Founder of Jawbox Small Batch Gin, Gerry White said, “We’re particularly excited by today’s announcement as airport retail is an incredible platform for a growing brand like ours. Not only will it increase awareness with travellers, supporting our export potential, our presence will also see domestic and international travellers enjoy even more choice.

“We’re looking forward to working with World Duty Free and developing the new partnership into a lasting relationship. To kick-off the activity with sampling, staff training and strong visibility is extremely motivating and we’re very grateful to World Duty Free and the individual representatives at each site.”

The gin category is one of the travel retailer’s outlet’s most popular and Irish gin is emerging as a firm favourite.

Kathryn Kindness, Commercial Manager at World Duty Free said, “At World Duty Free we’re incredibly pro-active in ensuring we have the best offering across all of our categories. Spirits is a particularly exciting category at the moment, with gin at the very heart of that.

“Our gin offering at World Duty Free is unrivalled, providing an incredible array of provenance and style. Irish gin is emerging as one of our most popular categories and given its success to date, its strong brand story and its unique flavour profile, we’re delighted to welcome Jawbox Small Batch Gin to our ever-expanding portfolio of the world’s most-awarded, most-loved gins.”

Using its platform to showcase local produce with domestic travellers and international tourists is also important to George Best Belfast City Airport.

Kathryn Kindness, Commercial Manager at World Duty Free said, “At World Duty Free we’re incredibly pro-active in ensuring we have the best offering across all of our categories. Spirits is a particularly exciting category at the moment, with gin at the very heart of that.“Our gin offering at World Duty Free is unrivalled, providing an incredible array of provenance and style. Irish gin is emerging as one of our most popular categories and given its success to date, its strong brand story and its unique flavour profile, we’re delighted to welcome Jawbox Small Batch Gin to our ever-expanding portfolio of the world’s most-awarded, most-loved gins.”

Joanne Deighan, Commercial Manager at Belfast City Airport, said: “We are thrilled to welcome yet another local brand to the shelves of World Duty Free, to be sold not only in Belfast City Airport but also in London and Liverpool.

“Jawbox Small Batch Gin has become such a popular choice amongst gin lovers and now our passengers can bring a taste of Northern Ireland with them when flying home or flying to visit family or friends. Whilst Belfast City Airport has a primarily domestic route network, we see significant numbers of international passengers arriving in Belfast through hubs such as Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Manchester so it’s really exciting that Jawbox Small Gin will be enjoyed by passengers from all over the world.

“At Belfast City Airport we are huge supporters of local producers and work really hard with our commercial partners to ensure these brands are represented in the airport. We’re really proud of the success of homegrown products such as Jawbox and I’m delighted that World Duty Free will be providing a platform for the Small Batch Gin.”

Jawbox Small Batch Gin will be available at George Best Belfast City, London Stansted and John Lennon Liverpool outlets from 4 April 2018.  World Duty Free RSP: £25 for 70cl. Abv 43%.

For more about Jawbox Small Batch Gin visit jawboxgin.com or @jawboxgin on social. To discover the full gin portfolio at World Duty Free visit uk.worlddutyfree.com.

Northern Ireland success in World Marmalade Awards

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Two Food NI members have featured in the annual World Marmalade Awards 2018 at the Dalemain Marmalade Festival in Cumbria.

The successful Northern Ireland companies are Baked in Belfast of Enniskillen, county Fermanagh and Brambleberry Jams of Lisburn in county Antrim.

Baked in Belfast won silver for its Mojito Marmalade and for its Pina Colada Marmalade in the Marmalade with Interesting Additions.

Baked in Belfast, owned by husband and wife team Keith and Suzanne Livingstone, who formed the small business in 2011, also won bronze awards for its gin and tonic marmalade, vodka and orange marmalade, and Irish whiskey marmalade. There were commendations too for its soda water and lime marmalade and mango marmalade.

The small batch producer, all made by hand in a unit near their home in Lakeland Fermanagh, has won 16 World Marmalade Awards since 2015.

Suzanne Livingstone, commenting on the awards, says: “We are delighted to have gained these prestigious awards in a competition that attracted over 3,000 marmalades from around 300 producers including major businesses. The awards are a marvellous endorsement of the quality and originality of our jams.”

Brambleberry Jams, established by Alice McIlhagger in her home kitchen in 201, was commended for its unique Paddington2 marmalade with a medium cut Seville oranges and three fruits.

Alice McIlhagger says: “The commendation is a tremendous boost for my small business and will help as I seek to grow sales in delis and other retailers in Northern Ireland.”

Both Northern Ireland companies have also won UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards.

The 2018 Awards were a celebration of quirkiness and individuality in marmalade making.

Jane Hasell-McCosh, founder of the awards, said: “I think this is a very exciting time to be making preserves, as we are seeing how people’s love for marmalade and creativity have led to a true embracing of the versatility of the preserve, with all sorts of interesting flavours and ingredients being incorporated.

“The fact that the traditional flavours continue to flourish amongst their more inventive counterparts is proof of their quality, and I am equally delighted to see the traditional Seville continuing to do so well as I am to see such wonderful new flavours.

The awards are sponsored by Fortnum & Mason, Thursday Cottage and eviivo and are proud to raise money for palliative care around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne: Suzanne Livingstone of Baked in Belfast in Fermanagh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brambleberry: Alice McIlhagger of Brambleberry Jams, Lisburn

 

 

Northern Irish artisans combine to create innovative ice cream flavour

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Two Food NI members have joined forces to create a novel ice cream for the forthcoming peak season.

The two companies are Morelli’s Ice Cream, Northern Ireland’s most successful producer of Italian-style ice cream for over a century, and the more recent Irish Black Butter, a unique sweet/savoury spread.

Irish Black Butter is rippled through Morelli’s multi-award-winning double vanilla ice cream. Both companies are based in Northern Ireland’s picturesque north coast, a magnet for holidaymakers and tourists, Morelli’s at Coleraine in county Derry and Irish Black Butter nearby in Portrush, county Antrim.

Arnaldo Morelli, managing director of Morelli’s, commenting on the new product, launched at Northern Ireland’s biggest food and drink industry exhibition, says: “We are always seeking to develop innovative flavours especially using local ingredients as well as milk sourced from local farms.

“It made sense, therefore, to see how the recently launched Irish Black Butter would work with our highly acclaimed double vanilla. It’s made from bramley apples from county Armagh. It has proved to be popular in our taste tests, feedback which encouraged us to include it among our extensive range of original flavours,” he adds.

Alastair Bell, the founder of the Irish Black Butter Company last November, continues: “I was delighted when Morelli’s, one of Ireland’s best-known and most respected producers of ice cream and sorbets on the island of Ireland. Working with Morelli’s on the creation of the new ice cream, which adds an important new dimension to my product, was a tremendous experience.

“It’s great to see such a longstanding success in the local food industry embracing a new product as an ingredient in the creation of an innovative ice cream. I believe this will also encourage other processors to consider Irish Black Butter consider it for other new and exciting products,” he adds.

Morelli’s has been producing award-winning ice cream in Northern Ireland since 1911 and now sells its range of products, including low-fat sorbet and frozen yoghurt across the island of Ireland. Major retailers such as Tesco Ireland list the company’s ice cream.

The family owned and managed business has won a string of UK Great Taste Awards, National Ice Cream Championship titles and Blas na hEireann awards for its ice cream and frozen yoghurt.

Irish Black Butter, launched last November, is on sale in around 50 delis in Northern Ireland and has recently signed distribution agreements with Centaur in Bristol and Sheridans Cheesemongers in Dublin.

New ginger ale celebrates Belfast’s heritage in soft drinks

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Longbridge Drinks, a recently launched soft drinks business in Northern Ireland, has launched a new Belfast Ginger Ale based on a product originally created in the city in 1825.

Longbridge, named after the bridge that spanned the city’s River Lagan in the 19th century, is a new trading style developed by Papas Minerals, a successful craft producer of small batch soft drinks including award winning cordials.

Belfast Ginger Ale is the result of research work over three years by Wayne Adair, Longbridge founder and a director of Papas Minerals and has been influenced by original recipes from original producers using artesian spring water from Cromac Wells, near Belfast City Centre.

“In keeping with the original Belfast style of ginger ale it is slightly darker than pale varieties,” Mr Adair says. “This comes from the combination of natural ginger flavour and lime juice which would have been used traditionally many years ago. This ensures a subtle flavour and heat, coupled with a fine aroma,” he adds.

The main ingredients are carbonated water, sugar, lime juice from concentrate, extract of ginger, ginger flavour and natural caramel. The new Belfast Ginger Ale is initially available in 20cl bottles, a 30cl bottle is also being planned.

“The new ginger ale is an ideal mixer for gin and especially the craft gins now being distilled in Northern Ireland,” Mr Adair continues. “It revives the heritage of ginger ale processing in Belfast. The first carbonated ginger ale was produced by Dr Thomas Cantrell, a chemist with Grattan and Co in Belfast.

“Cantrell created a rich and dark golden ale for Grattan in 1825. He subsequently set up Cantrell and Cochrane with Henry Cochrane, an established producers of minerals. It was being exported worldwide from Belfast by 1866

A senior employer of Cantrell and Cochrane, WA Ross, left to set up Ross’s Mineral Waters to produce Royal Ginger Ale. In 1890, John McLaughlin, also a chemist, developed a Belfast Style Ginger Ale that contributed to the introduction of Canada Dry Ginger Ale.

“Our Belfast Ginger Ale is designed to revive interest in a soft drink created here back in the 1820s,” he adds.

Papas Minerals, based in Bangor, county Down, is an artisan producer of craft minerals and cordials such as non-alcoholic ginger wine, traditional clove cordial and elderflower cordial. Mr Adair established the small business in 1999 and has won UK Great Taste Awards and Blas na hEireann awards.