Gold Ambitions for Causeway Coast and Glens Producers at Irish Food Awards

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There’ll be a strong flavour of the Causeway Coast and Glens at next weekend’s Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards.

Five local producers from the area have been shaortlisted for the prestigious accreditation – which is much sought after by both producers and consumers alike.

The winners will be revealed in Dingle next Saturday (September 30th) and representatives from Corndale Farm and Broighter Gold in Limavady, Ballinteer Farm in Macosquin, Lacada Brewery in Portrush and Glenballyeamon Eggs in Cushendall will make the long journey to County Kerry to find out if their products are among the best in Ireland.

The weekend will also feature a series of networking events and workshops, giving the producers unrivalled access to potential new buyers and markets.

The five finalists are all members of Causeway Coast and Glens Food Network. Established by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, it aims to transform the reputation of food from the area, by acting as a gateway to support avenues and market knowledge.

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Joan Baird OBE, said: “I’m delighted to see that our region so well represented at these much-respected food awards. Our Food Network is a terrific example of partnership working, and I know our producers greatly value its support. The provenance of our food and drink is becoming more and more important, and the Causeway Coast and Glens area has much to celebrate in this regard. I wish the finalists all the very best.”

Meet The Finalists

Broighter Gold
Broighter Gold rapeseed oil is a family business, growing one single variety seed on one type of soil.  Oils are pressed to ensure a milder, golden purity. Ran by husband and wife team Richard and Leona Kane, the business is part of the Économusée network, allowing visitors a chance to get a unique perspective on a truly artisan product. Between 2012 & 2016, Broighter Gold won eight Great Taste Awards. In 2015, it was named Enterprise Ireland Home Based Business of the Year and Best New Product (small business) at the NI Food & Drinks Awards 2015.

The Broighter Gold Cold Pressed Pure Oil is a finalist at the Blas na hEireann awards in the Savoury Sauces, Condiments & Pantry category.
Ballinteer Farm

Ballinteer Farm is a third generation family farm dedicated to locally produced, high quality quail meat and eggs. It’s the only quail farm in Northern Ireland.  Birds on the farm are housed in spacious aviaries providing a natural environment with maximum comfort.  The quail eggs are flavoursome with a delicate creamy texture and their meat is succulent with some mild gamey notes. Ballinteer Farm was last year’s Best Food Start Up business at the Grow Make Eat Awards and Artisan Producer of the Year at the Farming Life/Danske Bank Awards.

In the Blas na hEireann food awards, Ballinteer Farm is a finalist in the Poultry category.
Corndale Farm
Established in 2012, Corndale Farm produces top quality, high welfare, free range pork. Based on the outskirts of Limavady, at the foothills of Binevenagh Mountain, it adopts the field to fork approach and full traceability can be ensured in all their products. The farm’s free range charcuterie style products include chorizo, salami, pancetta and air dried meats. Last year, The Irish Food Guide Blog declared it the Best Irish Charcuterie. Proprietor Alastair Crown was shortlisted in both the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category at the Farming Life Awards and Artisan Food Producer of the Year at the Enterprise NI awards. The farm was runner-up in the Henderson Foodservice Flavour of the North competition and shortlisted in the People’s Choice category at the NI Food & Drink Awards.

At the Blas na hEireann food awards, Corndale Farm is a finalist in the Cured Meat and Charcuterie category.
Lacada Brewery
This community owned co-operative brewery was launched in October 2015. Its artfully produced craft beers take their names from landmarks and stories on the Causeway Coast, tying the product firmly with the visitor experience in the area. Last year Lacada was named Best New Brewery in Northern Ireland at ratebeer.com and received a Gold Star from the Guild of Fine Foods. He also received a bronze medal at this year’s Dublin Craft Beer Cup.

Lacada Brewery is a Blas na hEireann food awards finalist in the Beers, Ales, Lagers and Stouts category.
Glenballyeamon Eggs
Glenballyeamon Eggs is a friendly family run business based in the beautiful Glens of Antrim. It’s dedicated to creating the best possible environment for hens, which can then produce delicious free range and fresh farm eggs. The business has won a number of awards over the years, including Great Taste awards in 2016 2017 for its free range eggs.

Glenballyeamon Eggs is a Blas na hEireann food awards finalist for both its free range and barn eggs in the Chef’s Larder category.

For further information about the Foot Network go to www.causewaycoastand glens.gov.uk/foodnetwork. You can also find us on Facebook (CCAG Food Network) or follow us on Twitter @ccagfood.

Straight from the Field to Comber Farmers’ Market

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This October the 5th, the popular monthly Comber Farmers’ Market will celebrate the ‘Harvest’, recognising that all products at the popular artisan food event can be traced back to the field and the earth.
Everything on offer Comber Farmers’ Market is connected to the land, the products available at the market are all reliant on local yield.

The meat from Forthill Farm, Kennedy Bacon and Broughgammon Farm is grass fed; the wheat used for baking by the Krazi Baker, Farm House Treats, Mange Tout Deli and Go Yeast comes from Northern Ireland flour mills and the fruit and vegetables from Horner’s Farm Shop and Helen’s Bay Walled Garden are harvested from local soil.

Locally grown Winter bedding plants will be available from McCutcheon Landscapes.

With free range eggs, fresh fish, chutneys and jams, chocolate, iced coffee, home baked goods and so much more on offer the market gives visitors the perfect chance to support local producers and to really taste the difference.

As well as having the very best fresh produce from across Northern Ireland at the award-winning artisan food event, Comber Farmers’ Market is a great morning out where visitors can meet new people and talk to the friendly bunch of traders before enjoying a morning tea in St Mary’s Church.

As the popularity of Comber Farmers’ Market grows, the town is quickly becoming one of Northern Ireland’s top food destinations, ‘The Home of Great Taste’.

Held in St Marys Church car park of Comber Square the first Thursday of every month from 9am to 1.30pm, 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.

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

LacPatrick Dairy Co-Operative Celebrates Surge in Dried Milk Sales

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Column by Michele Shirlow for Farm Week (21 September)

There was some very significant news last week for Northern Ireland food and drink companies from Gabriel D’Arcy, the chief executive of LacPatrick dairy co-operative at a briefing about the company’s £30 million high-tech milk powder drier complex at Artigarvan in Tyrone.

Mr D’Arcy revealed that the co-operative, formed in July 2015 by the merger of Town of Monaghan and Ballyrashane co-operative in Coleraine, has seen a surge in business –  around 25 per cent – in Britain in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Many food manufacturers there, he indicated, have been taking steps to realign their supply chains especially if there’s to be a hard Brexit and the imposition of tariffs and other bureaucratic obstacles on the import of the powders and other ingredients from established suppliers in other parts of Europe.

Mr D’Arcy is the latest business leader to warn that a complete withdrawal from the EU, including the Single Market and Customs Union, would have adverse consequences particularly for Northern Ireland.

The LacPatrick experience also demonstrates that there are significant opportunities in Britain for our companies arising from the concerns developing among manufacturers there over both short and long term security in the supply of ingredients as well as other products and services they require.

There’s also been a similar warning from Mike Coupe, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, that Brexit could lead to extensive supply chain disruption from possible customs controls that’s “not fully recognised” by the UK government. He added that anything disrupting established food supply chains, currently governed by EU customs arrangements, would be “detrimental”.

Anything that encumbered trade has two effects, it adding cost, and impacting freshness. He presented a grim picture o fresh food left rotting at the British border if strict customs controls for EU goods are put in place after a hard Brexit.

Could Northern Ireland suppliers step up to the plate and plug any developing supply gap?  I believe that we could substantially increase the products we supply to manufacturers, retailers and consumers there.

As our success in national awards such as Great Taste demonstrates, Northern Ireland has the potential to do so. We’ve a vast range of quality food and drink that’s outstandingly tasty, wholesome, nutritious offering great value for money. And the products are exceptionally close to the market. We can supply customers there in a matter of hours.

We clearly need, therefore, to be alive to these opportunities, which demands a much greater engagement with the food and drink industry and consumers in Britain, a key policy thrust for Food NI in our well-received Taste the Greatness action strategic action plan.

We really do need to be involved to a much greater extent in discussions in Britain.  Other regions are actively involved. Scotland, for example, is demanding that the government must urgently set out how it will protect funding for its food and drink, especially fish and seafood, post-Brexit or risk undermining Scotland’s food and drink success story.

What about Northern Ireland?

Enter Your Cheese In The World Cheese Awards

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What are the World Cheese Awards?

Celebrating its 30th year, the World Cheese Awards is the largest cheese competition on the planet, attracting 3,000 entries from 30 different countries.
With an international judging panel made up of 250 experts, including retailers, buyers, cheesemakers and food commentators, and results promoted to cheese lovers across the globe, the World Cheese Awards gives cheese from six continents the chance to shine on the world stage in front of a truly international audience of experts and consumers.
Judges work in teams of four, identifying any cheeses worthy of a bronze, silver or gold award.

Following a record-breaking year in San Sebastián, the World Cheese Awards returns to London in 2017. Taking place at Taste of London Festive Edition at Tobacco Dock on Friday 17 November, the world’s finest cheeses will be judged just in time for Christmas and you can be involved.

Entry Details

Please find details below on how to enter this year’s World Cheese Awards.

1. Enter online at http://gff.co.uk/awards/world-cheese-awards/ (early entry is recommended).
2. Pay via your online account.
3. Wait for Delivery Instructions via email and deliver to your allocated consolidation point. (Sample sizes will be specified in this communication and will range between 500g – 2kg, unless the whole cheese needs to be staged).
4. Check your results: If you win an award, use WORLD CHEESE AWARDS promotional material to let all your customers know and make sure your stockists are using your award to sell your cheese.

Key Dates & Costs

Please take note of the following dates before entering this year’s World Cheese Awards.

11 October: Closed for entries (unless entry cap reached before this date)
November: Cheese delivered to consolidation points
17 November: World Cheese Awards judging day
18-19 November: World Cheese Awards talks and tours at Taste of London: Festive Edition

Entry Cost: £45 (+VAT) per entry

You will be emailed delivery labels. Please do not send samples before you receive these.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend Farmers Praised For Efforts

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Farmers who participated in Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend 2017 were officially thanked for their efforts this summer at an event held at CAFRE Greenmount last night.

Sixteen farms opened their gates and fields on Saturday 17th June whilst on Sunday 18th June, 13 farms participated across Northern Ireland. Farms also opened their gates to Primary School children on Friday 16th June allowing pupils to learn more about the farm to fork journey of their food.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend Chairman and UFU President Barclay Bell said, “We were blessed with wonderful weather over the weekend which helped to bring out the public and many families enjoyed getting out and about on our farms. We know their experiences were positively enhanced by the effort the farmers went to arranging displays, demonstrations and activities to help adults and young people understand the industry and get a better appreciation of where their food comes from.

“We owe a big thank you to all our farmers and their families, for the time they devoted to getting their premises ready for the public. They all make a wonderful effort to ensure members of the general public have safe and informative visits, enhanced with warm hospitality via food and drink tastings.

“From our visitor evaluation feedback, we know that 42% of our visitors attended BOIOFW for the first time, so in our sixth year, it is great we are still attracting new audiences. Many visitors visited multiple farms giving them insights into various sectors. An overwhelming majority said they would visit a farm next year proving there is a huge demand for this initiative that keeps growing from strength to strength.”

Agri Manager for Bank of Ireland UK, Richard Primrose, added, “As title sponsor, we want to add our thanks to this year’s hosts of Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend. Once again, our visitor feedback was extremely positive with 69% rating their visit a 10/10 and 17% 9/10. This is a reflection of the enthusiasm the farmers showed in making them feel welcome and giving them free and transparent access to the agri-food supply chain.”

During the evening, farmers were presented with a commemorative plaque to display on their premises. Planning is underway for the 2018 event with dates confirmed as Friday 15th (schools day), Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend is delivered by Ulster Farmers’ Union and is sponsored by Bank of Ireland UK and supported by The Prince’s Countryside Fund, NFU Mutual and ASDA. The weekend would not be possible without the help and resources of Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster, CAFRE, DAERA, the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, Food NI and the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme.

For more information, visit the website www.openfarmweekend.com. You can also follow on Twitter @BOIopenfarm and like Open Farm Weekend on Facebook.

Brunel’s Restaurant Announces Exciting New Chapter

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AWARD-WINNING Newcastle restaurant, Brunel’s, has just announced the relocation of its premises to a larger, 70-seater restaurant, leading to the creation of 15 new jobs.  Due to open in mid-October, a significant sum has been invested in the new restaurant, with upwards of £100,000 allocated to creating a state-of-the-art kitchen.

Retaining its original name of Brunel’s, named after the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – designer of the SS Great Britain which ran aground in Dundrum Bay in 1846 – the restaurant will upgrade from its current 40-seater capacity to occupy a 2,700 sq. ft unit located the Downs Road in Newcastle, employing 25 staff in total.

The venture sees Head Chef and Director, Paul Cunningham team up with newly-appointed Co-Director and General Manager, Fiona Davey for this new chapter for Brunel’s.

Speaking about the decision to relocate, Head Chef, Paul Cunningham, explains:

“Since opening in 2014, Brunel’s has established a loyal clientele, who enjoy fine and innovative dishes, created from the best of local and seasonal produce.  As we built our reputation for creating good food from the heart and our customer-base grew, it became apparent that we needed more space so when the opportunity  arose to move to a new location that was more central, and larger in size, we knew that it was time for the next chapter for Brunel’s.” 

Co-Director and General Manager, Fiona Davey, adds: “I am thrilled to have joined Brunel’s at this pivotal point in its journey. Having worked in the hospitality industry for many years, in some of County Down’s finest restaurants, the time was right to return to my hometown and be part of this exciting new phase.

“Aligned with Brunel’s reputation for exceptional food, we have paid great attention to detail throughout our new restaurant. From our incredible menu, to the stylish interiors and high spec of the kitchen, we’ll be offering an unforgettable dining experience to customers, both old and new.”
 

Officially opening in mid-October, Brunel’s will feature an open plan kitchen, a dedicated cocktail bar and will offer an exclusive list of wines that are unavailable in any other restaurant in Northern Ireland.

Brunel’s restaurant & wine bar will be open seven days a week from 14th October 2017.

For further information, please visit www.brunelsrestaurant.co.uk, facebook.com/EatAtBrunels or call the restaurant on 028 437 23951.