The first Year of Food and Drink Awards saw Derry City & Strabane District Council chosen by a panel of expert judges as Destination Delicious, Northern Ireland’s leading food destination.

Derry City & Strabane District Council furthermore, won the award for the Best Food Event or Festival for its hugely successful LegenDerry Festival organised by the regional council as part of a programme of initiatives for tourism and food and drink. Highly commended were the Speciality Food Fair, Moira, organised by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, and Comber Earlies Food Festival, an initiative by Ards and North Down Borough Council.

Derry’s Foodovation Centre, established by North West Regional College, was chosen as winner of the Growing for the Future Award for its work to promote and assist innovation among food and drink companies in the North West. The Journey to Market Programme from Causeway Coast and Glens Council was highly commended in this category.

Food Heartland, an initiative by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, gained two awards – the Roots to Market Award and the Best Food Story Award. Highly commended were Cavanagh Free Range Eggs, Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh and Causeway Coast and Glens for its Food Network.

Highly commended in the Best Food Story category were The Walled Garden Helen’s Bay and Belfast Metropolitan College, who recently celebrated 110 years of training in Belfast and the launch of the Linen Lounge, Yard and Scullery restaurants and their ‘Made at the Met’ Cookbook.

The Best NI Local Market was won by Comber Farmers’ Market, which is organised by Comber Regeneration.

The Eel-Eat promotion of Lough Neagh eels, created and implemented by the Lough Neagh Partnership, gained the Best Marketing Initiative, while Tayto Taste of Home, Tandragee, Co. Armagh and Launching the Spar Enjoy Local Meat Range were highly commended.

 

Sperrin Cycle Far and Wild, a popular cycling tour of the Sperrins, which visits Dart Mountain Cheese among others, won the Best NI Tours and Trails. The award recognised the rapid growth of tourism tours across Northern Ireland – there are now 17 such tours operating here. Highly commended were Belfast Food Tour, Taste and Tour Ltd and Catch and Sea, a collaboration with The Causeway Lass and Babushka, The Harbour Portrush and Causeway Coast Foodie Tours

Mash Direct, the Comber-based producer of convenience foods, clinched the Food Innovation Award for its Crispy Vegetable Bakes product. Highly commended were The Kitchen from the Henderson Group, Newtownabbey, and Smoked Lough Neagh Eel from Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative.

The Year of Food and Drink Awards were organised by the Belfast Telegraph in association with Tourism NI, Food NI and Invest NI. Other category sponsors were the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Moy Park, Spar NI and Sodexo.

The awards were held to celebrate the achievements of Northern Ireland’s first ever Year of Food and Drink and to mark the huge contribution of tourism and food and drink to the local economy.

The judges were Charles Campion, MasterChef judge, top Irish food writer Georgina Campbell, Professor Una McMahon Brown, Ulster University, and Belfast Telegraph, Food Writer, Joris Minne Michele Shirlow, Food NI chief executive, commenting on the awards, said: “I congratulate all the award winning, those who were highly commended as well as those shortlisted. The awards showcased the dynamism and innovation now underpinning the key tourism and food and drink industries here.

“Both industries, which are crucially important to the local economy and especially in predominantly rural communities, are poised for even faster growth in the year ahead and indeed well into the future. With 90 entries, the awards emphasise the close connection between Food and Tourism and the impressive collaboration and cooperation between all the stakeholders in both. Food NI will continue to play its part in initiatives to build on this hugely important development.”

Demanding diners in some of Tokyo’s 5,000 exotic sushi bars could soon be enjoying one of Japan’s prized herbs that’s now being grown near Portadown!

Wasabi plants, said to the world’s most expensive and difficult to cultivate – even in Japan – are now sprouting in a huge polytunnel near Laurelvale in Co. Armagh.

Hoping to harvest the benefits of a growing demand from top chefs in Japan and other parts of Asia for wasabi is part-time farmer Dr. Sean Kitson. His day job is in biomedical science in one of Northern Ireland’s biggest pharmaceutical firms. Wasabi is served with sushi either as leaves or grated into a bright green paste.

Dr. Kitson says wasabi is in huge demand because traditional growers in Japan are scaling back in production because of high labour costs involved in the cultivation and processing of the herb that’s usually added to sushi to provide a hot ‘kick”. “Much of the wasabi used today is not produced from the plant but from horseradish. It’s part of the Brassica family, which also consists of horseradish mustard and cabbage.

“Even in Japan, the demand for real wasabi is so high that chefs often use a horseradish paste instead, with little, if any, real wasabi mixed in. What we are nurturing at Laurelvale is genuine wasabi that will appeal to Japan’s discerning sushi chefs,” he adds.

A top local chef is already interested in being able to create original dishes of local ingredients including wasabi from Armagh.

The highly prized herb is generally to be found in the mountain streams of Shizuoka Prefecture, where it grows best with its roots in sparkling, nutrient-rich, running water from the snow-shrouded slopes of the towering Mount Fuji, Japan’s sacred mountain.

Kitson, a father of two, has virtually recreated the exacting conditions in Japan using pioneering hydroponics technology that enables plants to be grown in water. He’s also become the first grower in Europe to germinate wasabi from seeds.

Why did he decide to start growing such a challenging herb in Northern Ireland? “I started growing wasabi to help my son, Zac, fight a serious medical condition,” he says. “I used my knowledge of biomedical technology to research a number of plants and found that wasabi had anti-inflammatory properties for joints and muscles.

“It’s a potent plant that has also been shown to help increase protection against bacterial infections in the body and mouth. Some research suggests the plant can be used to fight cancer and also aid heart health. Wasabi, furthermore, is rich in antioxidants that help to boost the immune system and can aid in removing harmful toxins from the body,” Dr. Kitson explains.

Wasabi cultivation stretches back to the ancient Japanese who were enjoying the spicy plant around 14,000 BC with their fish and seafood.

He’s found the soil in Armagh, Northern Ireland’s ‘Orchard County”, ideal for the for the hundreds of plants he imported last year. The first full-scale harvest of Northern Ireland’s most unusual herb is due next year. “This may seem a long time, but it does take two years to grow top quality wasabi rhizomes, as the stem is known to botanists. The good news, however, is that leaves and stems will be for sale later this year.”

To develop the crop’s potential, he set up Wasabi Crop, a small firm, last year. It’s the only commercial grower of wasabi in Ireland and one of a handful outside Japan.

“The rhizome is the most valuable part of the plant and is used to produce freshly grated wasabi paste that Japanese chefs love. After much research into cultivating wasabi, we have mastered germination and the plants are growing fast. Our wasabi is authentic. There’s a lot of fake wasabi on the market at the moment,” he adds.

Freshly grated wasabi, he continues, can be added to a variety of recipes and other food and drink including ice cream and spirits such as vodka. It has a pungent and hot taste that’s said to be very different from chilli. The wasabi ‘kick’ is a zingy and refreshingly hot flavour. “Wasabi is both a herb and a medicinal plant that provides health benefits due to its key component of allyl isothiocyanate which releases during the grating process. The isothiocyanates enable wasabi to produce associated antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiparasitic properties.”

He continues that it’s a great source of dietary fibre and vitamin C and a provider of vitamin B6 in addition to the elements of calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese.

Mash Direct, a specialist in the development, manufacture and marketing of convenience meals and vegetable side dishes, won the Food Innovation Award at a gala event to celebrate Northern Ireland’s first-ever Year of Food and Drink.

The company, which is based on a family farm at Comber in county Down and is a Food NI member, lifted the innovation award for its Crispy Vegetable Bakes at the prestigious event organised by the Belfast Telegraph newspaper in association with Tourism NI, Food NI and Invest Northern Ireland. The innovation award was sponsored by Food NI.

The awards were held for the first time to celebrate the success of the year-long initiative last year to showcase the quality, innovation and flavours of Northern Ireland food and drink and to promote the region as an ideal tourism destination.

Tourism NI chairman Terence Brannigan said Year of Food and Drink had “surpassed all expectations”. The success of the initiative had placed food and drink at the core of Tourism NI’s efforts to promote Northern Ireland as the perfect destination for international visitors.

The Northern Ireland award for Mash Direct’s Crispy Vegetable Bakes follows the Gold Award for Innovation last year at the international SIAL Middle East food exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The Northern Ireland company also won the coveted Food Manufacture Excellence Award last year.

Mash Direct, established by husband and wife team Martin and Tracy Hamilton in 2004, is now among Northern Ireland’s most successful, innovative food and widely respected businesses. It has an impressive track record in new product development and supplies most of the leading supermarkets in the UK and Ireland. In addition, the company has significant export business in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

Tracy Hamilton, Mash Direct commercial director, commenting on the Northern Ireland innovation award, says: “We are delighted to have achieved this recognition from the food and drink and tourism industries in Northern Ireland. It reflects the longstanding commitment of the business to innovation in products, processes and people.”

The company is the market leader in the production of a highly innovative and rapidly developing portfolio of delicious quick-serve potato, vegetable and cabbage products.

An emphasis on provenance and traceability means that the family farm produces the majority of the raw materials with the rest being meticulously sourced throughout the UK and Ireland to produce a range free from artificial additives, preservatives or colourings.

Mash Direct has also won recognition in other major competitions such as the UK Great Taste Awards and the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards.

Highly commended in the innovation category were Smoked Eel from

The innovation category was among nine awards for a range of initiatives including food tours. Highly commended in this category were: Smoked Lough Neagh Eel and Spar’s The Kitchen Range of Convenience Foods.

The other awards were:

• Best Food Story – Food Heartland Forum, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council (Sponsored by Invest NI)
• Best NI Food Event or Festival – LegenDerry Food Festival (Sponsored by Dept for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)
• Belfast NI Local Market – Combers’ Farmers’ Market (Sponsored by Belfast Telegraph)
• Growing for the Future – Foodovation, Derry (Sponsored by Spar NI)
• Roots to Market – Food Heartland Initiative, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council (sponsored by Sodexo)
• Best NI Tours and Trails – Sperrin Cycle Far and Wild (Sponsored by Tourism NI)
• Best Marketing Initiative – Eat Eel – Lough Neagh Partnership (Sponsored by Moy Park and Food NI
• Destination Delicious – Derry-Londonderry and North West

The Mayor Alderman Hilary McClintock has congratulated Derry City and Strabane District Council, the Foodovation Centre at North West Regional College (NWRC) and Cycle Sperrins-Far and Wild after the North West swept the boards at the NI Food and Drink Awards last night with the region also winning the overall title of ‘Destination Delicious.’

It was a feast of celebration for all three North West finalists who scored a hat-trick of prestigious category awards topped off with the announcement of a special award for Derry as Northern Ireland’s key food tourism and hospitality destination at the gala banquet held in the Culloden Estate & Spa.

Derry City and Strabane District Council’s popular LegenDerry Food Festival won Best NI Food Event at the black tie evening held to celebrate a stellar year showcasing the best of our food and drink and the people and passion that go into rearing, making, cooking and serving it.

Council’s role as lead partner for Tourism NI’s 12-month themed Year of Food and Drink 2016 programme underpinned by its ‘LegenDerry and Local’ message, was further recognised by the judging panel in awarding the highly prized ‘Destination Delicious’.

Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Alderman Hilary McClintock, who attended the awards with representatives from Council and Visit Derry, said she was immensely proud of the North West’s achievements in winning three of the eight category awards and the overall award at the glittering ceremony which was attended by around 300 representatives from the food and tourism industries.

Mayor McClintock continued: “I am thrilled that the judges have awarded us the title of ‘Destination Delicious’ as I know how much hard work and dedication has gone in by all involved in setting out our stall as a foodie destination and, I am confident that the legacy of our investment in the Year of Food and Drink will ensure that these sectors grow from strength to strength.

“I would like to pay tribute to all involved in achieving this success and acknowledge the dedication and commitment of Council’s Tourism Development Manager, Mary Blake, and her team over the past year in particular. The LegenDerry Food Festival attracted more than 36,000 visitors to the city last year and we now look forward to hosting this year’s event which will take place in Guildhall Square and the Guildhall from March 17-19 as part of the St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival programme.”

The Mayor also congratulated the new state-of-the-art Foodovation Centre at NWRC which won the ‘Growing for the Future’ award collected by manager, Chef Brian McDermott and, Cycle-Sperrins/Far and Wild whose award for ‘Best NI Tours and Trails’ was jointly accepted by director Lawrence McBride and Kevin Hickey of Tamnagh Foods.

NWRC Foodovation Centre Manager Brian McDermott said it was an honour to accept the ‘Growing for the Future’ award. He added: “This award is recognition of the hard work by the team at North West Regional College to develop a state-of-the-art business centre of excellence for food. We are particularly delighted to have won the ‘Growing for the Future Award’ because our ethos is to encourage and nurture small to medium sized food businesses, as well as provide artisan and industry specialists with the technical advice to ensure their route to market is successful and sustainable. Our Foodovation Centre is an extension of the College’s commitment to invest its resources to support the food and hospitality sector.

“I would like to thank all our clients, stakeholders and funders, such as Department for the Economy, Connected NI and Invest NI, who have helped make the centre so successful.”

Congratulating the North West winners, Terence Brannigan, Tourism NI Chairman, said: “The Year of Food and Drink surpassed all targets and that is due to the great partnership approach to the initiative showcased in Derry City and Strabane District Council entries for the Belfast Telegraph Food and Drink awards. The collaboration between the Council, tourism, agri-food and hospitality sectors has enhanced the visitor perception of the North West and will continue to drive national and international visitors to this must see destination.”

Michele Shirlow, Chief Executive of Food NI, added her congratulations “to the home of LegenDerry, who over the past six years have grown their reputation as a foodie destination.” She continued: “From unpretentious beginnings the region has worked together as a team to promote local produce, home grown chefs and food events. From the largest manufacturing businesses to warm and friendly restaurants, the region grasped the concept of Year of Food and Drink to help put this area on the map and build our reputation as an international food and drink destination.”

Odhran Dunne, General Manager of Visit Derry said he was also delighted with the North West’s success and looked forward to working with Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland to further develop the region’s reputation as an international visitor destination.

The NI Food and Drink Awards judging panel included food critic Charles Campion and food author Georgina Campbell – writer of the definitive guides to eating out and hospitality in Ireland – Belfast Telegraph restaurant critic Joris Minne and Professor Una McMahon-Beattie, head of the department of hospitality and tourism management at Ulster University.

George Best Belfast City Airport has partnered with Food NI and all local councils to launch the search for Northern Ireland’s Best local food and drink product – offering a staggering prize of £30,000 free marketing support and brand visibility at the airport for the winner.

Article written by Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow 

It’s great to see agri-food recognised as one of the six sectors in the draft economic plan, Economy 2030, with the potential for world-class performance. It’s still our biggest manufacturing industry and one which has the ability to continue to compete successfully abroad through a sharp focus on innovation particularly in terms of smart products for market opportunities developing in national and international markets.

Overall, it’s an industry driven by the market and particularly shoppers, an industry that’s well used to coming up with fresh ideas for retailers, often on a seasonal basis, and an industry that works closely with retailers in creating solutions for their requirements.

Few other industries here face such pressure to deliver new products offering consistently high quality, outstanding taste, great value for money, especially at this time of austerity, and delivered on time, every time.
We certainly have a number of established world-class companies involved in food and drink exports to upwards of 60 countries worldwide and we clearly need to encourage and support a great many others, especially the younger businesses, to start looking for sales outside Northern Ireland. It’s an industry that can grow exports fast.

We are fortunate in having some excellent smaller firms, inspirational role models, which are now exporting successfully and, above, all profitably. Others interested in business abroad could learn a great deal from their example.

Food NI is well positioned to broker relationships between established smaller exporters and those keen to follow their example. For instance, we recently brought three successful chocolatiers from the influential Academy of Chocolate to Northern Ireland to advise our burgeoning artisan chocolate sector here on how best to improve performance and overall competitiveness. We’d like to see more developing a presence in Britain in the high-end niche markets. I am confident that a number will during 2017.

In the past, we’ve also introduced our cider processors to a team of experts from Britain. As a result of visits here by experts that we’ve hosted, there’s a now a greater recognition of a key characteristic of our cider – its focus on pure apple juice rather than concentrates favoured by many cider markets in Britain.

And we’ve supported targeted initiatives for the bakery sector. In addition, we are proactively assisting smaller companies to increase awareness of their products particularly in Great Britain, still the most important market for our products – and likely to grow in even greater importance in the post-Brexit era – through the media contacts we’ve cultivated before during and since Year of Food and Drink.

Food NI, furthermore, is keen to work with other bodies on using our standing with entrepreneurial companies on addressing the productivity and skills issues also identified in the draft consultation paper. Interestingly, many food and drink companies are also harnessing expertise from other target sectors such as digital and creative technologies. They are among the most active on twitter and instagram.

Agri-food is probably the only one of the six industries pinpointed in the document with a reach across Northern Ireland and it is very well positioned to contribute very positively to the economic wellbeing of rural communities. It’s extremely important to acknowledge that food tourism, which is growing very rapidly, has a spin-off in terms of exports.

The spirit of the agri-food sector was clearly demonstrated in the Year of Food and Drink 2016, as the industry rose to the challenge in every art and part across the region. This demonstrated the exciting creativity and tremendous determination which is driving our food and drink industry from good to great.