Entry to the 2017 Great Taste Awards is open!

There’s an entry cap of 12,500 products so don’t wait too long! Enter> http://bit.ly/1Cm7jnb

The Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food are open again – for their fifth year.

The Awards were launched in 2013 to celebrate the nation’s bread baking skills and have gone from strength to strength. New categories this year will include the Tiptree Patisserie Trainee Baker category, supported by the National Bakery School, Muntons Malt Bread category and the Irish Wheaten Loaf category, supported by Food NI. We are also delighted that this year Brook Food will sponsor our most popular category, Sourdough. Scotland Food & Drink also join our family of partners, as do Andrew Ingredients.

In 2016 the Awards attracted almost 600 entries to the Judging Day at Cathedral Hall, Westminster Cathedral, where boxes, bags and baskets containing a variety of delicious smelling loaves, all eager to please the palates of our 90 judges were delivered throughout the morning.

The stellar 2017 judging panel includes star of BBC2’s Victorian Bakers, Duncan Glendinning and John Foster, as well as contestants from the Great British Bake Off, and a host of baking industry legends.

“The Winners’ Harvest Supper at St John’s Hyde Park in October has fast become an important fixture in the bakers’ year,” says Caroline Kenyon, Director of the Awards. “It is a wonderful coming together of judges, Finalists and foodie press to pay tribute to a fantastic industry.”

Tiptree, the famous fruit growers and preservers, have been headline sponsor since the Awards’ inception. Brook Food, the leading bakery equipment suppliers are supporting sponsor. KitchenAid continue to sponsor the Young category for our talented next generation.

Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food – open for entries from 1 February 2017 until 6 September 2017.
http://www.worldbreadawards.com

Article written by The Bowtie Blogger – 24th January

Right so you’ll find a few of these appearing on the blog this year and hopefully beyond. I love Northern Ireland Food (if that wasn’t abundantly clear already!). Our producers are passionate, our products and produce are high quality and behind every one there’s a real story, and I love that.

So every now and then I’ll be featuring a local food or drinks company. And here’s the first of them, Hollah.

I first met Trudy Hodkinson of Hollah Preserving late last year at the Christmas Market in Belfast City Hall. She was in her Chalet along “Food NI Lane” and I was just wondering along having a nosey to see who was there (as I often did). We got chatting and I introduced myself. Unbelievably, she had heard of me! I left with a very kind gift of a jar of chutney and having heard the Hollah story, thought it was worth sharing.

“Our ethos is preserving food, preserving friendships and preserving sanity”
Trudy Hodkinson & Paula Latuske

Back in the Autumn of 2014, 2 good friends, 2 busy Mums who had taken some time off work to raise their Families, watched their youngest daughters head off to start school. A huge change and a big step for any little one. But Trudy Hodkinson and Paula Latuske, having had enough of the rat race, also decided it was time for a change of their own.
So Hollah was born. Taken from the start of each of their Surnames. They were already making the chutney, a past time of Paula’s, made using apples from the tree in her garden. Put together with some local craft ale and they had their first flavour in what would continue to be quite an adventurous range (with quite a few involving alcohol!).
“We want Hollah to be something that people bring to the table each day so that every day is a ‘Hollah’ day”
Trudy Hodkinson

Their kitchens became the base of the business and more flavours soon followed like the staple red onion chutney and chilli jam. The official launch was in the Fat Gherkin in Moira, the first place to stock and sell Hollah along with The Meat Merchant just up the road.

Superb with steak: Sirloin with baby leaf & rocket, tomato & red onion on fresh white bloomer, and a big dollop of Hollah Dawg, outstanding!

Within the first year Hollah grew in both size and popularity. So much so that their homes were no longer fit to meet the demand of the evidently chutney-loving public. So a trusted manufacturer was chosen to allow the company to grow even more.

What I love is the ethos that both Trudy and Paula took from the start. “Preserving food, preserving friendships and preserving sanity”. Choosing to do their own thing, creating something that they love with an attitude that people can relate to.

The Hollah family now includes Vodka & Cranberry, Strawberry, Chilli & Prosecco, Hollah “Dawg” Pickle Relish (my fave) and Bucky BBQ Sauce containing what else but Buckfast! Think what you want but it bagged them a Great Taste Award last year.

They’ve rebranded to an eye-catching ‘sun’ design with the help of Three Creative and there are 2 brand new flavours on the way in February!

Good things ahead then for Hollah and hopes of soon becoming a household name.
Thank you so much to both Trudy and Paula for their time.

Award winning Comber Farmers’ Markets’ returns on Thursday 2 February 2017, after a short break in January to allow traders to recuperate after two incredibly busy markets in December.

As always, the products on offer at Comber Farmers’ Market all originate from surrounding producers in Northern Ireland and the quality of the fresh produce available cannot be questioned.

With February being the month of love, visitors to the market can pick up a special gift for that special someone for Valentines.
Or perhaps no excuse is needed to spoil loved ones with a romantic meal of the very finest local produce.

The first Thursday of the month, Comber Farmers’ Market hosts around 25 stalls who individually show off their locally grown and sourced items such as home baked goods, chutneys, freshly baked breads, free range eggs, raw jersey milk, oils, meats and fish, chocolate, plants and more.

New this month popular cheese producer City Cheese will be returning to the market and Lynda’s Sticky Toffee Pudding will provide a delectable treat for visitors also.

On the evening of the 2nd Comber Farmers’ Market then will attend the Belfast Telegraph and Food NI Year of Food and Drink awards were they have been shortlisted as the Best NI Local Market in these prestigious awards.

Alderman Deborah Girvan who helps to run the market on behalf of Comber Regeneration Community Partnership said:
“I am absolutely delighted that Comber Farmer’s Market has been shortlisted for the Best NI Local market in the NI Year of Food and Drink category. All the volunteers have worked so hard to build up the market which has been running for two and a half years on the first Thursday of the month. To be shortlisted against such formidable competitors is a great tribute to all the volunteers whose commitment and hard work have helped to make the market such a success. “

The market can be found in St Mary’s Church Hall car park in Comber Square. Nearly car parks at Parkway and First Comber Presbyterian Church are open to market attendees.

More information on Comber Farmers’ Market can be found at combermarket.co.uk, and regular updates are posted on the Facebook, Twitter pages and Instagram pages.

The Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock, has hosted a civic reception for Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge to celebrate their prestigious award of being named ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’ by Restaurants Association of Ireland for the second time.

This award recognises the standard of fine dining which Browns produces at its Bonds Hill restaurant under the guidance of Chef Patron, Ian Orr, and the excellence in service provided by the superb front of house team. The group first won the title in 2013 during the UK City of Culture year.

Alderman McClintock said: “I would like to congratulate Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge on being named ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’. There’s something even more special for the city to have a restaurant here named ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’ in a year in which we celebrated Northern Ireland Food and Drink. It’s a great legacy for a locally owned business to take forward into 2017.”

Marcus Roulston, owner of Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge, said: “We strive to serve award winning food every day in our restaurants and for our staff to provide an unforgettable dining experience. Everything in our kitchen is locally sourced and handmade and this accolade for Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge is testament to the effort that the team puts into every dish we plate.

“It’s an honour for us to be welcomed by Alderman McClintock to the Guildhall and to be congratulated on winning the Restaurants Association of Ireland ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’ award.

“We are delighted to present a restaurant of this quality for the people of the city and the wider northwest region to enjoy. I’d like to thank our loyal customers for their continued support over the years.”

The Restaurants Association of Ireland Awards are the most sought after in the country due to the fairness of the judging process. To be named ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster 2016’ the restaurant was initially nominated and then progressed through the robust judging process which included mystery dining and judging by an industry panel overseen by international accounting firm BDO.

Browns Restaurant Group stable includes Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge, Browns In Town, Browns on the Green and Barnhill Bar & Grill in Letterkenny, Ardtara Country House Hotel in Mid Ulster and ‘Browns Anywhere’, the newly launched bespoke outside catering business.

To book a table in the Best Restaurant in Ulster, tel Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge on tel +4428 7134 5180.