Calling All Food and Drink Producers

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Studio Lambert, the makers of the BAFTA-winning Gogglebox and The Great Interior Design Challenge are making a brand new competitive programme about artisan food and drink producers.

They are looking for amateur and small scale producers of meat, cheese, drinks, sweets, baked goods, jams and chutneys to take part in the new BBC2 series.

If you would like more information about potentially appearing on the programme contact foodproducers@studiolambert or 020 304 06846 asap.
You can also fill out an application form online.

Loaves to London!

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Food NI are delighted to be collaborating with Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food for the forthcoming judging day at Cathedral Hall, Westminster Cathedral, London in September.

This year’s awards will include a brand new category for bakers to enter  – Best Wheaten Bread.
Food NI will act as the bread hub for entries from Northern Ireland, and will ensure that your loaves get to London for the judging day on Wednesday 27 September 2017.

For more information please contact Michele Shirlow on michele@nigoodfood.com or Rachel Quigg on rachel@nigoodfood.com and visit the World Bread Awards website for entry details.

Bushmills takes off at Dublin International Airport

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Leading Irish whiskey brand Bushmills, which is produced in Northern Ireland, has partnered with Aer Rianta International, the airports operator in the Republic of Ireland, to launch a multi-sensory pop-up store at Dublin Airport to promote the historic brand.

The activity, housed in Aer Rianta International departure lounge at Terminal 2, aims to target a “younger” whiskey drinker.

The installation brings together objects and materials found at The Old Bushmills Distillery in county Antrim – Ireland’s oldest working distillery – including charred wood, chalky brick and black slate.

Promotional staff are dressed in clothing inspired by the coopers at the Old Bushmills Distillery, which can trace its roots back to the 17th century.

To mark the opening of the store master distiller Colum Egan presented a whiskey tasting experience and personally signed the first purchased bottles.

He said: “We’ve been making triple-distilled Irish whiskey on the North coast of Ireland for more than 400 years. It’s a magical place and we’re delighted be able to share a little bit of this magic with duty free shoppers.

“This pop-up experience is designed to capture the real character and authenticity of Bushmills Irish whiskey, as well as bringing to life our heritage, creativity and innovation in a powerfully engaging story-telling experience.”

The activation will be open throughout June, and depicts the history of Bushmills using video content and sample tastings.

Proximo global travel retail director David Phelan added: “The investment we have made in this installation at Dublin Airport demonstrates our passion and commitment to enhance the whiskey category.

“This multi-sensory experience not only provides us with an excellent platform to showcase our passion for craft and educate shoppers on our heritage, but it is an important step as we look to recruit new consumers and grow the brand’s presence in the travel retail channel.”

Award Success for Northern Ireland Beer and Cider

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Beer and ciders from Northern Ireland were successful at the recent all-Ireland awards held at Kilkenny in county Kildare. The three successful producers are Food NI members.

Organised by Beoir, an industry organisation that supports craft beer and cider producers, the Champion Beer of Ireland Competition took place at the Killarney Beer Festival.

Almost 150 craft beers were judged by a panel of experts including Melissa Cole, Des de Moor and Tim Webb from the UK along with André Brunnsberg from Finland, Jan Lochota from Poland and Carl Kins from Belgium.

Northern Ireland’s Hillstown Bewery, based on a family farm near Ballymena in county Antrim, struck gold for its quirky Goat’s Butt brew in the German Wheat Beer category. It was the only beer from Northern Ireland to be recognised.

Nigel Logan, the founder of Hillstown Brewery on his farm, said: “We are delighted to have this important award for our distinctive wheat beer. It will be immensely important as we seek to grow business throughout the island of Ireland.”  He founded the brewery as part of a project to develop Wagyu-style beef on the small farm. The craft brewer not has a portfolio of 10 beers and recently launched IPA in cans.

There was greater success for Northern Irish cider producers, the top awards going to Tempted of Lisburn, county Antrim, a business formed by cider enthusiast Davy Uprichard.
As well as winning the Champion Cider competition for his dry cider, he took home three other awards with the dry cider coming best in category, Tempted Elderflower awarded best fruited cider and Tempted Sweet took second place in the non-dry category.

Mr Uprichard, a first generation cider-maker with eight years’ experience, is rightly pleased with his cider’s success: “I knew my cider was good – it’s won plenty of awards before but to receive this award on my home turf and beating a lot of other cider-makers who I respect makes it more meaningful.”

There were awards too for Mac Ivor’s Cider from county Armagh. The producer came third in dry ciders and was highly commended for its medium cider. It was second in fruited ciders for its plum and ginger cider.

The competition was organised by Steve Lamond, cider liaison officer for Beoir, the Irish Beer Consumers Association. “I wanted to showcase the breadth and depth of ciders available on the island of Ireland and give the recognition to those producers that is well overdue.”

Susanna Forbes, one of two lead judges alongside Pete Brown, added: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to judge the first Champion Cider of Ireland competition. Quality overall was commendable, with a few exceptions. Beoir is to be congratulated on this positive initiative to welcome entries north and south of the border. As it becomes further established, I’d welcome seeing further cider makers in the competition in future years.”

Food Glorious Food! The Foodie Destination Awards Is Back!

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The Restaurants Association of Ireland are proud to launch Foodie Destinations 2017 in association with FBD Insurance.

They are on the search for Ireland’s premier Foodie Destination – one that offers a sense of community spirit, collaboration and support for local businesses. The winner of Foodie Destinations will be one that actively promotes itself as a Foodie Destination to locals and tourists alike.

With nearly half a century of experience, FBD Insurance is one of Ireland’s largest insurers, looking after the needs of consumers, farmers and business owners. FBD has 33 branch offices throughout the Republic of Ireland and has a staff of over 850 employees who work on behalf of over 500,000 loyal and satisfied customers. When it comes to business insurance FBD are uniquely positioned to tailor policies to suit your business needs. The cornerstone of the company is the belief that they are here to protect.

Aoife Carrigy, Chairperson of the Irish Food Writers Guild and Foodie Destinations Judge said: “The Foodie Destinations Award is an important testament to just how far Ireland has come in developing an authentic, unique and sustainable food culture. It is also a timely recognition of the dedicated graft of so many far-sighted local communities in order to claim their place in that developing food culture, and make it their own for the generations to come”.

Applications will be accepted from 12 noon on Thursday 15th of June and the deadline is 12 noon Thursday 13th of July

 

All final applications must be submitted through an online form.  To download a template of the form please visit www.foodiedestinations.ie
Any supplemental materials provided with an application should be in digital format only (dropbox folder, email attachment etc.)

 

Whitewater Opens State-Of-The-Art Brewery

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Whitewater Brewing Company, the leading Northern Ireland independent brewery, has began production at a new state-of-the-art brewery that the the company has developed to increase capacity for export growth.

The new 15,000 sq ft brewery is located at Castlewellan in county Down in the foothills of Northern Ireland’s iconic Mourne Mountains and also features an extensive visitors’ centre. It is Northern Ireland’s most modern independent brewery.

The new brewery, developed by owner Bernard Sloan, an engineer who is also the master brewer, has the capacity to produce around 40,000 litres a month and has scope for further expansion. Included is a complex of high volume fermented, designed by Mr Sloan and custom-made, with a keg filling and bottling systems.

“As well as a huge investment in the new brewery to expand capacity, we’ve  developed R&D projects that will also increase our overall competitiveness,” he adds. “We have other beers in the pipeline over the next few months.

“Our strategic focus is on expanding our market share in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and growing sales in Great Britain and further afield. We now have substantially increased volume capacity and scope to add further fermenters and other equipment to produce this up to two million litres a year. There’s also scope to expand the building for even greater growth.

“I believe there are significant opportunities outside Northern Ireland for our expertise in beers with outstanding taste and provenance,” he adds.

The brewery was originally formed in 1996 by Mr Sloan at Kilkeel in county Down, just a few miles from the new premises.

Whitewater Brewing has a portfolio of award-winning ales, lagers and stouts, several of which have won international acclaim including International Brewing Challenge medals and UK Great Taste Awards for products such as its Belfast Brew (ABV4.6%) and Germanic style Hoppelhammer (ABV6%).

Most of the products are on sale in holets, bars and off-licences in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, Whitewater has won business in Europe and China. The family-owned company has also been approached to consider supplying its beers to the US.

The company produces bottle-conditioned beers and ales and also supplies products in kegs to customers throughout Ireland.

A recent launch, Maggie’s Leap, an IPA (ABV4.7%) is proving a major market success, attracting business from China. Mr Sloan describes the latest brew as “a hoppy beer packed with citrus flavours ideal for accompanying spiced foods”.

The brewery sources spring water from the Mourne Mountains which is blended with American, Australian and New Zealand hops to create best-selling beers.

“We are finding that people are interested in the provenance and stories associated with our products. Maggie’s Leap, for instance, is named after an almost mythical figure in the Mournes, a daughter of a renowned poacher. She was reputed to have had red flowing locks, an hourglass figure and an engaging smile, the stuff of legend and the sort of tale of interest to visitors. An area in the Mournes was named after her and is a popular visitors’ attraction. It gives our beer a distinctive character and personality.”