Leading UK food company Moy Park has been recognised for outstanding product quality and an innovative approach to marketing at the UK Quality Food and Drink Awards and the CIM Ireland Marketing Awards.

Moy Park’s branded ‘Roast in the Bag Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffed’ whole bird was named overall winner in the ‘Ready to cook’ category, at the prestigious UK Quality Food and Drink Awards, which celebrate the finest food and drink products from across the UK.

 

Moy Park’s Brand Marketing team was also awarded ‘Best Marketing in FMCG’ for the launch of Moy Park’s ‘Share the Goodness’ advertising campaign and ‘Best Marketing Team (in company)’ at the CIM Ireland Marketing Awards.

Commenting on the recent awards success for the Moy Park Brand, Briege Finnegan, Moy Park Brand Marketing Manager said:

“Winning these awards is testament to the ongoing hard work and dedication of the new product development and brand marketing teams, who work to ensure the Moy Park brand not only delivers high quality, tasty products but also communicates effectively with consumers.

“It’s fantastic to receive these prestigious awards and we are delighted to be endorsed for our work by respected industry bodies.”

Nine venues and four individuals crowned at top hospitality awards

The search to find Northern Ireland’s top hospitality hot spots came to a dramatic conclusion last night, as the cream of the local hospitality industry gathered at the Plaza Hotel, Belfast for Hospitality Ulster’s Pub of the Year Awards 2016.

Following a record number of entries from pubs, hotels and restaurants, a total of 46 shortlisted premises and individuals from right across Northern Ireland went head to head to be named the toast of the trade.

A total of 13 awards were presented at the glamourous ceremony, which was hosted by U105 presenter Frank Mitchell and attended by VIP guests.

New for 2016, Hospitality Ulster introduced a Food & Beverage Manager of the Year Award, which was open to entrants from pubs, restaurants and hotels and the prestigious title was picked up by Morgan Watson from Horatio Todd’s in Belfast.

In recognition of the great diversity of pubs in Northern Ireland, there were three separate Pub of the Year Awards, recognising the best City, Urban and Rural pubs.

After a hotly contested competition the three Pub of the Year winners were:
• Pub of the Year City – The National & Sixty6, Belfast
• Pub of the Year Urban – Kiwi’s Brew Bar, Portrush
• Pub of the Year Rural – Matties Meeting House, Cairncastle

The Awards once again recognised the growing importance of locally sourced food, through three Commitment to Local Food Awards for pubs, restaurants and hotels (in partnership with Food NI/Taste of Ulster). With fierce competition in this category, the eventual winners were:
• Commitment to Local Food (Pub) – The Taphouse, Enniskillen
• Commitment to Local Food (Restaurant)- NATIVE by Yellow Door, MAC, Belfast
• Commitment to Local (Food Hotel) – Bushmills Inn Hotel, Bushmills

The Barperson of the Year Award (in association with Sunday Life) recognised truly exceptional individuals and was entered via nominations through the Sunday Life. Pub-goers across Northern Ireland embraced the opportunity to share their appreciation of their favourite barperson and Paul Rocks from Aether & Echo in Belfast clinched the winning title, with Feargal Shannon from Crowes Nest in Enniskillen being highly commended.

Meanwhile, Hotel Bar of the Year 1, 2 and 3 Star was awarded to the Ivanhoe Inn & Hotel in Carryduff whilst the Galgorm Resort & Spa in Ballymena scooped the Hotel Bar of the Year 4 and 5 Star title.

The Hospitality Ulster Rising Star award (in partnership with Ulster University) went to Hollie Ford – an exceptional young student, who graduated in July with a first-class honours degree in Culinary Arts Management from Ulster University and is currently working as a pastry chef in Deanes EIPIC.

A Commitment to the Community award was presented to the Front Page Bar in Ballymena for the second year running, recognising its outstanding contribution to local charities, good causes, cross community initiatives and efforts to increase industry standards.

The final award of the night was the Industry Legend award (in partnership with Hospitality Review NI). The award was presented to Mid Ulster hospitality entrepreneur, Henry McGlone, owner of Dorman’s, Mary’s Bar and Secrets Nightclub in Magherafelt for his outstanding contribution to the local hospitality industry.

Commenting on the awards, Olga Walls, chairman of Hospitality of Ulster, said: “Our Awards recognise and reward excellence and the important contribution local venues make, not only within their own communities, but to the hospitality industry as a whole.

“This year we further developed our award categories to ensure we recognise all the people and businesses, from the rising stars to seasoned pros that make Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry world-famous. Standards were higher than ever this year, which is a real indication of the high quality and diversity of the sector.

“I would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners and commend all of our shortlisted venues and finalists; to reach the final of a competition of this calibre is no mean feat; each and every one should be proud to be counted amongst the best in Northern Ireland.”

Hospitality Ulster’s Pub of the Year Awards are the only industry recognised awards. After rigorous judging by the panel, the shortlisted premises from across Northern Ireland were put through their paces with mystery shoppers visiting their premises, ensuring they adhere to best industry standards before the winners were decided.

This year’s Awards are supported by Britvic, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Dillon Bass, Drinks Inc., Henderson Foods, Molson Coors, Richmond Marketing, Tennent’s NI, United Wine Merchants, and media partners, Sunday Life, Hospitality Review NI and U105.

For further information about the Pub of the Year Awards 2016 and for the full list of winners, shortlisted venues and finalists, visit www.nipuboftheyear.org

Stephen Jeffers is the latest Northern Ireland chef stage to make an impact on the international stage. Stephen, who runs the Forestside Cookery School in Belfast, was named International Chef of the Year at the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

Many other local chefs including Michael Deane and Danni Barry, Niall McKenna, Noel McMeel, Steven Toman, Emmet McCourt and Sean Owens have been involved in initiatives, many led by Tourism Ireland, to boost tourism here by showcasing the outstanding quality of our exceptional food and drink.

Stephen was in Toronto with Tourism Ireland, one of the sponsors of the popular agricultural show in Toronto – an annual event celebrating agriculture and local food. With about 320,000 visitors each year, it proved to be ideal platform to highlight our superb food to a wide audience of Canadian residents, many, of course, had strong Ulster connections.

Stephen’s culinary demonstrations were part of a busy schedule that also included a breakfast for a top Canadian food and lifestyle journalists and a high profile slot on a major breakfast television show. The objective was to promote tourism and business relationships between Northern Ireland and Canada, a nation with which we have historic links stretching back many generations. In fact, some 48,000 Canadian visitors came here last year, up five per cent on 2014, according to Tourism Ireland, which has organised an impressive and very successful programme of such events to support our successful Year of Food and Drink initiative.

A key aim for us will be to build on this programme and the good contacts made during 2017. It’s essential that all the progress made during Year of Food and Drink is built on next year and beyond to ensure the growth of food and tourism, two strategically and largely locally controlled industries with immense potential to create additional employment opportunities and enhance prosperity particularly in rural communities.

Food and drink and tourism are probably the only two industries that reach virtually every part of Northern Ireland. And both are proving to be highly innovative and increasingly customer-focused. Belfast ‘Twilight Market’, for instance, is a great example of innovation and customer focus aimed at promoting food and drink to local people and as another attraction for visitors to the city.

The City Council is now running the market twice a year – early summer and late autumn. The event, held over two days last week, was another outstanding success, a marvellous opportunity for smaller producers and street vendors to reach a wider audience. Both nights were successful and contributed substantially to one of the key objectives of Year of Food and Drink and Food NI – reconnecting producers and local people for the long-term benefit of our most important manufacturing industry, one which is continuing to show good growth particularly in terms of business in key markets such as Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

The outstanding success of the recent BBC Good Show in Belfast also enhanced our reputation as a region producing excellent food and drink and also demonstrated the appetite here for such events.

Other markets beyond these shores, I am delighted to say, are developing and opportunities harnessed by our friends in Invest NI. It was great to see two Food NI member companies, Irwin’s Bakery of Portadown and Tandragee’s Tayto Crips, securing new business at the recent Hotel Asia event in Shanghai.

As our first Year of Food and Drink draws to a close, it’s clear that this important initiative has achieved all its objectives and has helped to position the food and drink and culinary industries here for further initiatives to accelerate growth at home and abroad. We now have to continue to build our reputation to become habitually recognised as a great food producing region.

Abernethy Butter, the Northern Ireland producer of gourmet handmade butter, has won business with The Ritz, the iconic hotel at the heart of London.

And the successful Northern Irish artisan business has also begun supplying its natural products to Ashford Castle in county Mayo, one of the Republic of Ireland’s most respected hotels.

Both hotels are now serving Abernethy’s award-winning salted and unsalted butter products, which have won a string of quality endorsements including UK Great Taste Awards, to guests in their restaurants.

Allison Abernethy, who runs the business with husband Will, the butter maker at Dromara in county Down, says the orders followed direct approaches from top chefs in the two five-star hotels.

“We were delighted to have been approached by the chefs about supplying two of the three butters in our range,” she says. “The Ritz in particular is among the world’s best known and most exclusive hotels. It’s great to see our salted and unsalted butter being served to guests from all over the world. Ashford Castle, located near Galway, is also one of the most popular with international tourists to Ireland.

“The new business is very exciting and is a tremendous endorsement of the consistently high quality and outstanding taste of our handmade and hand rolled butter,” Allison adds.

Formed in 2005, Abernethy Butter has developed into one of Northern Ireland’s most successful artisan businesses with top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, Marcus Wareing and Andy McFadden among its high profile customers. It’s available in major stores such as Fortnum and Mason, Harrods and Selfridges in London and Fenwicks in Newcastle as well as delis throughout the UK.

The enterprising couple use only traditional techniques on their 66 acre Beechtree Farm, which has been in Will’s family for generations. They source cream for the butter from cows grazing in the lush green pastures of the Lagan Valley in County Antrim. All that is added to the natural butter is a pinch of salt.

Abernethy Butter was the only Northern Ireland artisan business included in the UK Food Stars initiative, which aims to strengthen the UK’s reputation internationally as a good food nation. It showcases small businesses which are driving innovation across Britain and is focused on helping the stars grow sales abroad.

A former stock trader now based in the North West has swapped her career as a high-flying investor in the financial markets to invest in her own business producing natural and nutritious traditional beef and chicken stock using local ingredients.

Carol Banahan is the first business client based in the new Foodovation Centre at North West Regional College in Derry whose high-tech facilities have enabled her to expand production of her product line, Carol’s Stock Market, which has no additives or preservatives.

Her traditionally made natural stock products sold out at the recent Slow Food Festival organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council as part of its programme of events supporting Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016.

A native of Dublin, Carol enjoyed a successful career with the investment management arm of one of Canada’s largest banks before moving back to Ireland three years ago. She now lives in Greencastle, Co Donegal with her husband Neil McParland from Derry who is a therapeutic radiographer at the state-of-the-art new radiotherapy unit which is scheduled to open soon at Altnagelvin Hospital.

While she may have retired from the cut and thrust of the investment banking world and stepped away from the stock trading desk, Carol has no intention of slowing down her stock making and the Foodovation Centre under the direction of Chef Brian McDermott has become her new workplace coinciding with Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016 which is celebrating its ‘Legacy and Learn To’ theme during the month of November.

Carol, who lived for many years in Toronto before spending six years in Vancouver, continued: “I had an entirely different life in Canada but had enough of that world. I had a burning desire to move back home to Ireland and do something different. I have always had a serious passion for food and nutrition and just under three years ago myself and my husband left everything behind to move back.

“With making such a massive life change I had to take some time to figure out what I wanted to do. I spent my time going to cookery school and learning nutrition. As I was in investment management all my career I wanted to have some credentials because I knew I would ultimately get into some kind of food business.

“I set up Carol’s Stock Market because I absolutely love making stock. I have made my own stock for many years and knew there was a gap in the market as I couldn’t get any natural stock anywhere; there are plenty of stock cubes on the market and other processed products. I thought long and hard about it and decided to give it a try. I started to do my own research and that took several months as well.”

Carol completed a certificate course at the Dublin Cookery School two years ago and last year she studied with the Irish Institute for Health and Nutrition in Wicklow, achieving an Advanced Diploma in Health and Nutrition Coaching. She also completed a Start Your Own Food Business course with the support of the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal in 2015.

“I made my first foray into selling my stock at Letterkenny Artisan Market last March. At that point I had gone through all the Environmental Health hoops and was able to produce it from my home kitchen. I did various markets including Harry’s in Bridgend. I ultimately realised this could have its limits as producing stock is a very long process; it is very much a Slow Food product and I decided this business won’t survive if I don’t get into a commercial grade kitchen.

“You can’t live around here and not know who Brian McDermott is and before I even knew anything about the North West Regional College I contacted Brian last April/May; we arranged to meet for a chat and I brought him some samples. I left his house that night full of optimism and excitement because he said no-one else was doing this in the North West and probably not in the whole country to any great extent. He said it was a good product and told me about the Foodovation Centre. He said I would be a really good candidate for the Centre.

“He was fantastic, he kept in touch over the summer and came to see me making the stock. He could see the passion I have as my stock is made in a very traditional way. We worked on putting a recipe together; he was so giving of his time and that really encouraged me to move forward. While waiting for the Foodovation Centre to open I was selling and delivering my stock locally through word of mouth but was very limited to how much I could produce.”

Since moving into the Foodovation Centre just over a month ago, Carol has been able to substantially upscale production in its custom built kitchen which is fitted with the latest high-tech equipment, chilling and laboratory facilities, together with product development mentoring and support.

She explained: “I do need ongoing support and there have been several other people at the College in addition to Brian who have been extremely helpful in helping turn this into a viable business rather than just a hobby in my home kitchen. It is still early stages, we are still working through certain logistics but it is going very well and the amazing support from the College has opened up a whole new market to me.”

Carol’s Stock Market – which comes in smartly designed 500mls spout pouches for easy pouring – is available in a number of local butchers and delis, with plans for expansion nationwide. As it is freshly made, the stock has a short shelf life but can be frozen without losing any of its flavour or nutritional value.

Carol continued: “I have my eye on the whole Irish market and have to spread my wings to really get the word out there. The product has so much potential, it could be a product for chefs to use in the kitchen and at demos. I am keeping a very open mind and very receptive to all sorts of ideas. Being a stock broker is a different kind of area of investment but I am a businesswoman and that comes in handy when starting your own business, even if it is a different line of work. It is very humbling for me and an absolute joy to be learning something new every day. It has been a great journey, even to this stage.”

Carol anticipates that demand for her product is likely to double as production increases. “I am ready for the next stage. I am absolutely passionate about the product but also the fact that Derry, Donegal and the whole Irish food scene in the North West is going from strength to strength. The timing for a product like this is good; people are starting to look at healthier alternatives and this has a massive health angle as it is such a healthy and healing type of product which has no salt or sugar and is gluten-free, dairy-free and syn-free.

“There is a massive amount of salt and sugar in processed stock, even in some of the organic products. There are two to three different forms of sugar in some stock cubes and sugar really has no business being in soups or stews. I source my chicken from Inishowen and my beef bones are sourced from Donegal animals. As the business grows it will always be Irish ingredients.”

Mary Blake, Tourism Development Manager at Derry City and Strabane District Council which is actively supporting Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016, said she was delighted that the new Foodovation Centre was now available to assist innovative businesses like Carol’s Stock Market with product development and enable them to reach new commercial markets.

“The state-of-the-art Foodovation Centre under the expert guidance of Chef Brian McDermott and North West Regional College’s Business Support Centre team is a fantastic asset to have here in the city and we look forward to exciting developments for new and established entrepreneurs bringing their products to market,” she added.

For more information, visit www.carolsstockmarket.com or on Facebook or Twitter. You can also contact Carol or place an order by emailing her on carolsstocks@gmail.com. For details of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s programme of events supporting Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016, visit www.derrystrabane.com/food

Spicy spuds from Comber, County Down achieved scorching awards success last night in London as fiery export sales won the Quality Food Award for Mash Direct. Mash Direct’s Chilli Baby Bakes showed that the judges preferred their spuds with a kick, taking home the Quality Food Award at the prestigious award ceremony in Mayfair, London.

In 2016 alone Mash Direct has exported six times as many Chilli Baby Bakes as have been sold in supermarkets at home showing both the innovation of the family farming enterprise as well as reflective our more conservative tastes here.

Sales of the Chilli Baby Bakes have more than doubled since last year for the Comber family farming business with England and Scotland rocketing up 212% since last year. Mash Direct also export their Chilli Potatoes to Dubai, selling over 18,000 dishes there this year so is the spicy food revolution due to hit these shores next?

The Quality Food Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates and commemorates food products in the UK for their outstanding flavour and ingredients. With over 300 products being shortlisted for the awards, it was tough competition for the family-run farm based in Comber, Northern Ireland and they share their win with the likes of retail giants, Marks & Spencer and Aldi.

Jack Hamilton picked up the award in London and said “Our tastes are always changing and we have found that our Chilli Baby Bakes are a big hit in Dubai with European expats as well as Indian and Pakistani expats looking for the tastes from home with a twist. As we continue to see more world food trends here at home we are working hard in the kitchen to innovate and give shoppers the taste and variety that they want on their kitchen tables”.

Does this mean then that our taste buds in Britain are evolving to match those of our exotic cousins? It seems that we Brits prefer different ways to eat our traditional veg and Mash Direct have certainly have kicked up a fuss with their spicy spuds.

Celebrity chef, author and TV personality Simon Rimmer presented the award at the prestigious Grosvenor Hotel in Mayfair, London. The event was invaded by Stormtroopers as the half time entertainment was provided by Britain’s Got Talent stars, Boogie Storm, who wowed the crowd with their popular dance show.