Article written by Sam Butler

En-Place Foods, Northern Ireland’s artisan producer of culinary oils and other products, has launched a range of small batch fruit vinegars for cocktail mixologists and chefs.

The highly innovative En-Place range is based on Armagh Bramley cider vinegar with berry infusions. The novel range features Apple and Elderflower, Wild Blueberry, Elderberry, Blackberry and Hawthorn, and Rhubarb.

The fruit vinegars are available in one litre containers and distinctive 200ml bottles. While the small batch vinegars were targeted initially at foodservice, the products have been attracting business from mixologists and cocktail bars.
Paul Clarke, En-Place managing director and a leading chef, says several leading mixologists in London are already using the small batch vinegars in cocktails. “They work extremely well with gin for instance. The vinegars, in addition, can be used as ‘shrubs’ when mixed with soda or sparkling water for a very refreshing and fruity drink,” he adds.

“The high fruit content of the small batch vinegars makes them ideal for glazes and sauces as well as a dressing for salads and desserts. The rhubarb infusion, for example, works really with ice cream.

“The vinegars are also attracting interest from high-end retailers and delis in Britain because of their versatility and rich flavours. A number of chefs are also now using the infusions for their dishes,” he says.

En-Place is one of Northern Ireland’s most innovative companies operating primarily in foodservice. The small company produces a successful range of culinary oils, jams and sauces for chefs. Retail products include jams, sauces and relishes under the Moyallon brand.

The company has won a cluster of prestigious awards for innovation in both foodservice and retail. These include Ambient Product of the Year in the UK Great Taste Awards for its three-star Sea Salted Caramel with Fennel Pollen and a Top 50 Foods award for its Sea Buckthorn and Lime Jelly. Other national awards followed for its Black Garlic Moustrada and a selection of chilli infused hot honeys.

As well as production of its own multiple award winning products the team at En Place also undertakes product development work for other artisan producers and start-ups targeting the speciality food market.

Yardsman, one of Northern Ireland’s most successful craft beer brands, has launched an American Pale Ale using a range of hops sourced from US suppliers.

The Belfast-based brewery has crafted the new ale (ABV4.7%) from Amarillo, Chinook, Cascade and Mosaic hops and is avallable in 500ml bottles.

The new dry hopped beer joins Yardsman’s existing four-strong portfolio of brews that are all handcrafted and filtered using a unique technique featuring traditional Irish linen cloth.

Yardsman is the popular brand created by Niall McMullan, who founded Hercules Brewing Company in February 2014 to revive craft beer production in the city, once one of biggest brewing centres in the British Isles. Hercules was the first craft beer company to open in Belfast in more than a century. Yardsman is a recognition of the city’s engineering and manufacturing traditions of shipbuilding, linen production and rope making.

Mr McMullan brought extensive experience with international companies in alcoholic and soft beverages to Hercules, an identity that has its roots in brewing history in Belfast. The original Hercules Brewery was located on Hercules Street in the centre of the city.

“The new American Pale Ale is a light, crisp and refreshing Pale Ale beer,” says Niall McMullan. While I’ve used American hops in other beers I wanted to create a distinctive product from hops sourced exclusively from the US for a lighter and citrus flavour.

“The new APA is the outcome of research over many months to create an original recipe that will appeal to craft brewing enthusiasts here. We have been keen to develop a wide range of beers and stout to reach various market segments.

“As is the case with all our products, the new American Pale Ale is produced without any additives, preservatives, stabilisers, or chemicals. Our focus is on the finest ingredients sourced from long established suppliers. We use a strain of yeast that we’ve developed. It’s also vegan friendly.

The company’s portfolio comprises Yardsman Lager, Yardsman IPA, Yardsman Belfast Pale Ale and Yardsman Original Double Stout. The small batch beers and stout are now widely available in Northern Ireland in bars, restaurants, hotels and through off-sales.
Distribution arrangements are also in place to export the beers to US, Ireland, Britain and other parts of Europe.

The small brewery, which employs seven people, is located at the heart of Belfast’s Harbour.

Lacada Brewery, one of Northern Ireland’s leading craft brewers, has launched a new beer to celebrate a wave that draws surfers from around the world to Portrush in county Antrim, where the small business is based.

East the Beast, the new IPA from Lacada, is, according to marketing director Heather Quiery “a surfer’s wave, beloved and feared, that barrels and dredges the East Strand of Portrush from powerful north Atlantic waves”.

She describes the new ale, developed by Lacada’s head brewer Laurie Davies, as a “single malt crush under a mass of hops that breaks into a fruity IPA (6%ABV). It is available in 500ml bottles.

“It gives an aroma of mango and pineapple with a great sparkling head. There’s a nice, smooth mouthfeel before the bitterness kicks in and the citrus and fruity tastes, from Mosaic and Citra, linger on the palate for quite a while,” she adds.

The brewery, formed as a community co-operative in May 2014, has started the year with a flourish. After being rated the ‘Best New Brewery Northern Ireland 2016’ by consumer website/apps ratebeer.com the company gained a bronze medal at the Dublin Craft Beer Cup for its unique Stranded Bunny Porter.

The new beer follows the successful launch of its unique Devil’s Washtub Dark Ale that is aged d in Irish whiskey barrels. The craft brewery developed the stout in an oak barrel once used to mature a 60-year old single malt whiskey and is part of the brewery’s Salamander series of special beers.

Lacada is derived from Liach Fada which means ‘the longstone’ and refers to a rocky outcrop about 300 yards east of the world famous Giant’s Causeway in county Antrim. The names of the three-strong core range of beers are all drawn from local features. Other beers in the brewery’s core range of brews also use names from local landmarks such as The Giant’s Organ in the iconic Giant’s Causeway.

The Salamander Series, in addition, is taken from a gold, ruby encrusted salamander recovered from a Spanish Armada warship which ran aground at Lacada Point, near Portrush, in 1588.

Article written by Sam Butler

Specialist sourdough baker Go Yeast in Northern Ireland has developed a new range of white and wholemeal breads featuring heritage grains.

The company, which is based at Donaghadee in county Down, supplies its sourdough breads to delis and restaurants in Northern Ireland. They are also on sale at local farmers’ markets.

The new sourdough range, developed by experienced baker Ken McNaull, includes loaves baked using flours from ancient grains such as Egypt’s Emmer, Iranian Khorason and Einkorn grains from Turkey. They have been used to create new white, Italian herb and Emmer wholemeal sourdoughs.

Mr McNaull says: “I’ve been looking at heritage flours to give our sourdough different flavours and with increased nutritional values from higher protein and greater content of essential minerals. I was keen to source flours that are not over processed. The breads are all free from sugar and dairy, low in gluten and are vegan friendly.
Eikorn, for instance, is one of the earliest forms of cultivated wheat. Emmer was the first widely cultivated domestic wheat, produced initially in Egypt. Khorason, named after a region in Northern Iran, is produced from an ancient variety of Durum wheat and provides a wholemeal flour. Some people with intolerances to modern wheat varieties have found they can enjoy products made with Khorason flour.

Mr McNaull left a successful and lengthy career in accountancy to pursue a passion for bread-making especially sourdough. He now runs the artisan bakery with wife Anne.

“I’d always been keen on cooking and food and became fascinated by various types of artisan breads,” Ken says. “I jumped at an opportunity to take this longstanding interest a stage further by setting up a micro bakery in Donaghadee,” he adds.

“Naturally fermented sourdough breads are regarded as being healthier because they are more digestible than standard loaves and more nutritious. Lactic acids make the vitamins and minerals in the flour more available to the body. The acids slow down the rate at which glucose is released into the blood stream and lower the bread’s glycaemic index (GI), so it doesn’t cause undesirable spikes in insulin. They also render the gluten in flour more digestible and less likely to cause food intolerance.”

He studied sourdough techniques at the School of Artisan Food at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire.
He uses only stoneground, organic products from specialist suppliers such as Shipton Mills in Gloucestershire and Dunany Farm near Dundalk.

An enthusiastic supporter of the Real Bread Campaign and Real Bread Ireland, Ken now produces a range of sourdough, rye and malted products that he handcrafts and packages for distribution. He developed a unique breakfast bread coriander, fennel and orange zest.

With Easter on the horizon, Fermanagh-based Cavanagh Free Range Eggs is celebrating winning a contract with Asda to stock its new 12 pack of medium locally-farmed free range eggs across all of the retailer’s NI stores.

A previous participant of Asda’s Supplier Development Academy, Asda already sells Cavanagh’s 6 pack of extra-large and 6 pack of large eggs, with the new 12 pack offering a cost-effective option for families and bakers.

The family-run business currently has eight employees and five hen houses with plans to expand in the upcoming months.

“We are delighted that Asda is the first retailer to stock our new 12 pack range,” Company Director, Eileen Hall, said.

“At Cavanagh Eggs, we produce 13 million free range eggs each year and our ethos is that contented hens produce the tastiest eggs! Our recent ‘Highly Commended’ at the NIFDA Awards, alongside two Gold Stars in the Great Taste Awards 2016, is certainly proof our strategy is working.

“By meeting consumer demand for ethically produced free range eggs in a convenient pack size, we are not only able to deliver for Asda customers but grow our business too.”

Brian Conway from Asda NI’s Local Sourcing Team added:

“It’s great to see Cavanagh Free Range Eggs, a graduate of our Supplier Development Academy, continue to expand its range of top quality, fresh eggs. All of the eggs on-sale across Asda’s 16 Northern Ireland stores are locally sourced, which really appeals to our customers. Cavanagh Eggs continue to be really popular with our shoppers so we’re delighted to bring another option to the shelves.”

Cavanagh Free Range Eggs 12 pack medium is now available at Asda stores across Northern Ireland.

Deanes Belfast is celebrating 20 years in business in the city. At a celebration dinner on Thursday 30th March in Deanes Flagship premises on Howard Street; Michael Deane recreated a signature menu from his Michelin starred ‘Restaurant Michael Deane’ which opened in 1997 and held a star for 13 consecutive years; the longest ever in Northern Ireland. On the menu were classic dishes such as Chicken Ballotine with Lobster, Scallop with Black Pudding & Potato Bread and Beef Fillet with Marrow.

While Restaurant Michael Deane no longer exists, Deanes still holds a Michelin Star in Deanes Eipic, the most prestigious of the 7 restaurants in the city which Michael Deane has developed. Over the 20 years, Michael himself and Deanes Restaurants have achieved a string of accolades including Restaurant of The Year in Ireland, Restaurant of The Year in Scotland & Northern Ireland and Michael Deane was hailed as Entrepreneur of the Year in Ireland last year.

At the celebration dinner Michael Deane said, “From my earliest days I wanted to set a standard for the best quality and best value eating out experience possible. Over the years I have come to learn that it is the customers, not the critics who decide if you are a success and that is very humbling. Indeed, it’s our loyal customers and our dedicated team of staff that have made possible this wonderful celebration of 20 years in business”.