Donegal chef Brian McDermott will be a popular figure at the National Ploughing Championships where he will be cooking at the National Dairy Council’s stand. The Ploughing Championships are one of the biggest events of the year in Ireland and take place from Tuesday September 20 to Thursday September 22 in Screggan, Tullamore, Co
Offaly.

Dropping in to help Brian in the kitchen over the course of the three days will be a number of big names from the world of sport and fitness with Henry Shefflin, Rob and Dave Kearney and Operation Transformation’s Karl Henry all hoping they can lend Brian a helping hand.

Brian will be performing daily cookery demonstrations over the three days and the popular chef is delighted to be back at the event; “The Ploughing Championships are a fantastic three days and I love working with the
National Dairy Council who do a fantastic job in educating people on the goodness and quality of our dairy produce,” Brian explained before adding

“Dairy is a key ingredient in so many of the dishes closest to my heart. I think it illustrates everything that is good about honest Irish cooking.” The Innishowen based chef is looking forward to the opportunity of cooking with Henry Shefflin, the Kearneys and Karl Henry; “It will be good to have people just as fit as me in the kitchen,” joked Brian before continuing in a more serious vain; “Getting the guys into the kitchen will be great and I think it shows that dairy is vital and necessary part of a healthy diet.”

Brian runs his own cookery school in Moville Donegal where he says local produce is the key to all the cooking that he does and expanding on this theme the RTE and BBC chef stated that the Ploughing Championships will be full of ‘brilliant’ local producers; “As Chefs we have the easy task of simply applying heat and common sense to quality
produce. Less should be more with cooking in 2016 as we should allow the ingredients speak for themselves. My cooking is good honest healthy cooking made easy but for me it’s the farmers and producers who do the hard work.
Our meat, our dairy, our seafood, our vegetables and rapeseed oils now have us riding high in acclaim for our ingredients and without doubt we have the best producers creating superb produce,” Brian explained before appealing to people to ‘buy Irish.’ “We need to ensure we buy Irish produce and support the complete Irish food chain as we are seeing Irish food and produce enjoying world renown.”

Ballycastle-based Broughgammon Farm, a Food NI member, gained a major award in the influential British Street Food Awards 2016 in Birmingham today. The farm-based business gained the Best Snack Food Award for its highly original goat tacos from a panel of expert judges.

Broughgammon Farm, a family business, came out on top of a field of 17 street food businesses from across the United Kingdom. It was the first time win for a Northern Ireland food business. The finalists also included Pheasant’s Hill Farm from Downpatrick. Both reached the finals in Birmingham followed their success in the recent Northern Ireland regional heat held as part of the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival.

Becky Cole, Broughgammon’s marketing manager, says: “We are delighted to have won the award for our goat taco with chorizo and bacon crumb. It’s a product that we’ve developed to offer a great taste, something completely different. The judges at the Belfast Street Awards have clearly recognised this.

“It’s great to be bringing the award to Northern Ireland for the first time. It will raise our profile substantially in Britain as well as in Northern Ireland, where we’d like to have the opportunity to cook our meats at Belfast’s St George’s Market in particular.”

Welcoming Broughgammon’s success in the British Street Food Awards Final, Michele Shirlow, Food NI chief executive, said: “This is a tremendous achievement for Broughgammon Farm, now among the most innovative of smaller food businesses in Northern Ireland.

“The Cole family in Ballycastle is spearheading the development of Cabrito meat and dishes in Northern Ireland and has been immensely successful in creating a consumer awareness of the quality of their ever-growing range of goat and veal products.

“It’s another tremendous boost for our Year of Food and Drink especially in Great Britain and will help to enhance further our reputation in our most important market as a primary source of premium food that combines innovation, superb taste and provenance. Broughgammon has also been among the biggest supporters of Year of Food and Drink and has become a regular feature at food festivals across Northern Ireland.

“Increasing the profile and quality of Street Food here is one of the most important objectives of Year of Food and Drink. We saw a need to support the expansion of food festivals throughout Northern Ireland by encouraging those interested in a service that has long been a feature of many global cities and helps to reinforce the tourist experience.

“We want visitors to Northern Ireland to enjoy our street food and to rate in on a part with cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Bangkok. We have the quality ingredients and enterprising people to succeed in what has become a very exciting industry that’s reckoned to be worth an amazing £600 million a year and is growing annually by 20 per cent.”

The British Street Food Awards was launched in 2009 by UK food journalist Richard Johnson who had enjoyed delicacies from around the world and wanted to encourage the industry’s growth in Britain. He subsequently won the backing of celebrity chefs such as Mark Hix and Marco Pierre White as well as respected food writers including Tom Parker Bowles. Xanthe Clay, the Daily Telegraph’s food expert was among the judges.

This October the 6th, the popular monthly Comber Farmers’ Market is joining the ‘Harvest’ month celebrations as part of the NI Year of Food and Drink, taking the opportunity to showcase the very essence of the artisan event.

Everything on offer Comber Farmers’ Market is connected to the land, the products available at the market are all reliant on local yield.

The meat from Forthill Farm, Kennedy Bacon and Broughgammon Farm is grass fed; the wheat used for baking by the Krazi Baker, Farm House Treats, Mange Tout Deli and Go Yeast comes from Northern Ireland flour mills and the fruit and vegetables from Horner’s Farm Shop and Helen’s Bay Walled Garden are harvested from local soil.

Locally grown Winter bedding plants and perennials will be available from McCutcheon Landscapes and the market Producer of the Month, the Uncommon Garden Company.

With free range eggs, fresh fish, chutneys and jams, chocolate and so much more on offer the market gives visitors the perfect chance to support local producers and to really taste the difference.

So whether you are a market regular or if you have never been before, you are invited and encouraged to head down to St Mary’s Church car park of Comber Square and support local producers at Comber Farmers’ Market.

More information on Comber Farmers’ Market can be found at www.combermarket.co.uk and features and competitions run regularly on the markets’ Facebook and Twitter pages.

Eighteen Food NI member companies gained a string of top endorsements at the prestigious Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards in Dublin.

Heading the local successes was Genesis Crafty, the artisan bread and cake business, which gained at top Christmas Q Award for its Exquisite Mince Pies supplier to discounter Aldi. Genesis, a family-owned and managed business, also won the Wheaten and Soda Bread category for its Sean Brown Soda Bread produced for SuperValu and Centra.

One of Northern Ireland’s smallest companies, Camran Crafts of Carrickfergus was also named Dunnes Stores Simply Better Small Producer of the Year for its Orange, Mango and Gin Marshmallow. The company is a partnership between two friends.

The two companies were among 25 from Northern Ireland to be named among the winners and commendations in the annual celebration of the best of Irish food and drink.

Northern Ireland artisan producers swept the awards in key categories such as Cider, Ales and Porter and Liqueurs. Tempted Irish Cider, based in Lisburn, county Antrim, gained the platinum award for its recently launched Elderflower Cider.

There were other major awards for McCann’s Ciders in Portadown and Farmageddon, a brewery co-operative from Comber, county Down gained a platinum award for its Pale Ale and good for its Irish Export Porter. Niche Drinks in Derry was awarded gold for its Tesco Finest Salted Cream Liqueur.

The revival of the historic Irish Lumper potato gained Glens of Antrim Potatoes a category award in the Unprepared Salads category. The potato dates back to the 1840s.

There were category wins for other Food NI members as follows:

Avondale Foods, Lurgan – Cook at Home Potato Gratin for Dunnes Stores- Side Dish. Avondale Foods also received Highly Commended for their Dunnes Stores Simply Better Potato, Mint Yogurt Salad and Commended for its own brand Country Kitchen Sweet Chilli Noodle Salad in the Salad – Prepared Category.
Golden Wonder, part of Tayto, Tandragee, county Armagh, for its Select Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar Crisps for Spar in Bagged Snacks – Savoury;
Dale Farm, Belfast in Cheese- Hard for Rathdaragh Irish Extra Mature Cheddar for Lidl;
Mash Direct, Comber, county Down for Veggie Burgers in Free-From Chilled

Irish food and drink producers were honoured at the fourth awards during a ceremony hosted by Ballymaloe chef and cookery writer Rachel Allen at the Mansion House in Dublin.
“Winning the Christmas Q and a category award were marvelous endorsement of the quality of our breads, cakes and pies,” said Brian McErlain, managing director of Genesis Crafty.

Michele Shirlow, Food NI chief executive, added: “I am delighted to see so many of our member companies successful in the highly influential Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, a competition that’s closely monitored by leading retailers in both Ireland and Great Britain.
“Winning an Irish Quality Food and Drink Award has proven to be a tremendous marketing tool that will help our companies extend sales with major retailers in the Republic of Ireland and increase awareness in Britain of the superb food and drink now being produced in Northern Ireland.”
The awards themselves are organised into two distinct sections: Irish Quality Food Awards — products for the multiple and independent grocery retail market — and the Irish Quality Drink Awards: Alcoholic drinks for the retail sector.

The Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards are partnered with trade magazine Easy Food. The awards are also sponsored by the Coeliac Society of Ireland, Dairymaid, Invest Northern Ireland, and the Italian company Sacla.

Food NI Winners in Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards 2016
GOLD WINNER – CHRISTMAS Q
Aldi Exquisite Mince Pies
Genesis Crafty, Magherafelt, county Derry
DUNNES STORES SIMPLY BETTER SMALL PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Orange, Mango and Gin Marshmallow
Camran Artisan Crafts, Carrickfergus, county Antrim
Bagged Snacks – Savoury
SPAR Select Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Crisps
Golden Wonder, Tandragee, county Armagh
COMMENDED:
Aldi Brasserie Thai Sweet Chilli Crisps
Golden Wonder, Tandragee, county Armagh
Bread – Wheaten and Soda Breads
SuperValu & Centra Sean Brown Soda Bread
Genesis Crafty, Magherafelt, county Derry

Cereals – Porridge
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Lidl Deluxe Organic Wafer Oats
Whites Speedicook, Tandragee, county Armagh
Cheese – Hard
Lidl Rathdaragh Irish Extra Mature Cheddar
Dale Farm, Belfast
Christmas Q – Bakery & Desserts
Aldi Exquisite Mince Pies
Genesis Crafty, Magherafelt, county Derry
Coffee
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Continental Coffee
Johnsons Coffee, Hillsborough, county Antrim
Free From – Chilled
Vegetable Burgers – Mash Direct, Comber, county Down
Free From – Frozen
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Pizzado Gluten Free Cheese and Tomato
Choice Pizza, Portaferry, county Down
Meat – Beef Steaks
COMMENDED:
Lidl Hereford Fillet Steaks
Linden Foods, Dungannon, county Tyrone
Meat – Innovation
COMMENDED:
M&S BBQ Grill Louisiana BBQ Spatchies
Moy Park, Craigavon, county Armagh
Meat – Poultry
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
M&S BBQ Grill Jamaican Jerk Spatchcock
Moy Park, Craigavon, county Armagh
Pizzas
COMMENDED:
Pizzado Pepperoni
Choice Pizza, Portaferry, county Down
Salad & Vegetables – UnPrepared
Irish Lumpers – Glens of Antrim Potatoes, Cushendall, county Antrim
Crispy Onions
Milgro, Coleraine, county Derry
Side Dish
Avondale Foods, Lurgan – Cook at Home Potato Gratin for Dunnes Stores- Side Dish. Avondale Foods also received Highly Commended for their Dunnes Stores Simply Better Potato, Mint Yogurt Salad and Commended for its own brand Country Kitchen Sweet Chilli Noodle Salad in the Salad – Prepared Category.
Soups
COMMENDED:
Vegetable Soup with a Spud
Morrow Foods, Cookstown, county Tyrone
Irish Quality Drink Awards
Ciders
PLATINUM:
Tempted Elderflower Cider
Tempted Cider Company, Lisburn, county Antrim
BRONZE:
Lidl The Crafty Brewing Company Crafty Dry Cider
McCanns Cider, Craigavon, county Armagh
Lidl The Crafty Brewing Company Crafty Medium Cider
McCanns Cider, Craigavon, county Armagh
Pale Ales & IPA
PLATINUM:
Farmageddon Gold Pale Ale
Farmageddon Brewing Co-Op, Comber, county Down
Stouts & Porters
GOLD:
Farmageddon India Export Porter
Farmageddon Brewing Co-Op, Comber, county Down
Liqueurs, Speciality Spirits & Fortified Wines
GOLD:
Tesco Finest Salted Caramel Cream Liqueur
Niche Drinks Co, Londonderry, county Derry

Mash Direct have brought their farm to Donegall Square North in Central Belfast, transforming a bus stop into a field of fresh Comber carrots! Commuters will be able to take pictures from inside the famous Mash Direct tractor and upload them to social media for a chance to win a £50 Tesco voucher on the opening day of Tesco Taste Festival in Belfast.

The top of the roof has been transformed into the rolling drumlins of County Down to bring a piece of the ‘culchie life’ to the city centre as we enter harvest season in the Northern Irish Year of Food and Drink.
Jack Hamilton, Marketing Director of Mash Direct said “We had a lot of fun trying to think of ideas of how to bring the farm to the city without anyone getting held up behind a tractor. We have been farming for six generations but I am pretty sure that we are the first generation to have the carrots up on the roof of the bus stop.”

The ‘culchie life’ campaign to bring the farm to the city is the launch of Mash Direct’s single serve range for those in the city living a fast-paced life and looking for food on the go. In response to huge customer demand, Mash Direct have now launched their 200g range to cater for the ‘big city appetite’.

So far 2016 has been a very successful year for Mash Direct with a number of new listings in over 1,000 new stores as well as a hatful of national awards. Last week their Crispy Vegetable Bakes won an Irish Quality Food Award and they have been nominated for 3 major awards in London in the coming two months. Hamilton said “we are very excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us”.

Article by Michele Shirlow for Farmweek 15/09/2016

We could scarcely have imagined that Year of Food and Drink 2016 would see the most important accolade in the European food and drink industry return to Northern Ireland. Last week the Supreme Champion title in the highly influential Great Taste Awards was won by a Northern Ireland company, Hannan Meats of Moira.

This inspirational company, headed by dedicated foodie Peter Hannan, is now the first business ever to win the industry’s top award for the second time. This meant competing against 10,000 entries to reach pole position. Much has already been written about this small company’s extraordinary success. Thanks to Ulster Bank who supported the awards, I was privileged to be in the audience at the award ceremony for the first time. The awards followed a spectacular dinner, including Abernethy smoked butter, which also represented Northern Ireland in the final top 18 products.

Unprecedented in the 22-year history of Great Taste, Hannan Meats’ second Supreme Champion accolade follows the producer first lifting the prize in 2012 for its Moyallon Guanciale. Hannan Meats’ world-class butchery and maturation methods wowed the judging panel, who were bowled over by this very special cut of meat and couldn’t “believe that beef could taste so good”.

It was a genuinely inspirational evening which showcased what winning the Supreme Champion means to the food industry and how difficult it is to come out on top of some 10,000 entries from across the UK, Republic of Ireland and other parts of Europe. Competition for the top award was intense this year….as it is every year. Winning this award for Northern Ireland in 2016 enhances our reputation as a high quality food region. As well as the success of Hannan Meats, Northern Ireland companies collected an unprecedented 212 gold stars for sensational products.

Hannan Meats is a remarkably successful company, an outstanding role model for other smaller food and drink companies here showing just what can be achieved from a commitment to excellence across a business. In addition to two Supreme Champion awards, Hannan Meats has now won more gold stars for its products than any other company in the UK and Ireland.

The latest achievement is particularly timely coming as it does during our first ever Year of Food and Drink, an initiative supported enthusiastically by Peter Hannan. The award will certainly help to raise awareness of the premium quality of our food and drink to another level especially in Great Britain, our most important external market as well as in the Republic of Ireland, our biggest single export market.

Diners were able to experience Hannan’s succulent Glenarm Shorthorn Four Rib Roast, an exceptional piece of beef that is dry-aged in a Himalayan Salt Chamber for a minimum of 28 days. Great praise is also due to Adrian Morrow and the team at Glenarm estate in Co. Antrim for the quality of beef supplied consistently to Hannan Meats for processing.

Another immensely important development last week was the launch of ‘Belfast on a Plate’, a splendid new publication by photographer David Pauley and written by Joanna Braniff, which charts the emergence of Belfast as a globally competitive culinary destination.

This brilliant publication covers 20 Belfast chefs, their restaurants and their outstanding contribution to our dynamic and highly innovative food culture. Like Peter Hannan, the passion that each of the chefs has for their culinary art, pours out from each page. Not only is it a beautiful book, it is a milestone in Belfast’s culinary history and it will be highly beneficial to Tourism Ireland and Tourism NI as they leverage the power of our food and drink to boost tourism revenues, a key focus in Year of Food and Drink.

Finally, best wishes to Broughgammon Farm and Pheasants Hill Farm, Northern Irish Finalists, who are off to Birmingham to compete in the British Street Food Awards this weekend.