Rupert Rowley – one of the chefs currently appearing on BBC1 “Yes Chef” series hosted two evenings in Derbyshire this week celebrating the Year of Food and Drink Northern Ireland 2017. Producers were able to share their stories with more than 150 guests over two evenings. The first dinner took place at Rowley’s – the little sister restaurant of Baslow Hall with an informal, relaxed evening which including a fun quiz hosted by Gerry White and some traditional hearty Irish food. Baslow Hall hosted with the second evening at Michelin starred Fischer’s restaurant.
A seven course-tasting menu was prepared by Rupert with five guests chefs using produce from Northern Ireland who wowed the diners with their individual style added to each dish. Guests were able to hear the stories straight from the heart of the producers as they enjoyed their evening. Award winning butter maker Allison Abernethy, Gerry
White from Jawbox Gin and Declan Holmes from Gallopers Ale chatted to guests throughout dinner about what make their products do special.

Declan’s Dad – Eamonn Holmes also joined in the fun and took time out of his busy schedule to visit the Chatsworth Estate to meet manager Andre Birkett – at Chatsworth Farm Shop (owned by the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire who are the going to be the first retailer out of Northern Ireland to stock Gallopers Ale. Jawbox Gin will also be gracing
the selves of their artisan gin section. “It was an honour to be part of sharing the wonderful story of food and
drink producers from Northern Ireland with Rupert and his team at Baslow Hall in Derbyshire” – Eamonn Holmes.

Gallopers Ale, Jawbox Gin are already stocked behind the bar at both Rowley’s and Fischer’s along with Ruby Blue Vodka also from Northern Ireland. Guild of Fine Food “Top 50 Foods in Britain” winners Abernethy Butter and Peter Hannan’s dry aged Glenarm shorthorn beef, Glenarm Organic Salmon, Lough Neagh smoked eel and Broighter Gold rapeseed oil were included in the menu. Guest chefs included Mark Poynton from Michelin starred Alimentum in Cambridge, Steve Smith from Freemason’s Wiswell, Adam Smith from Coworth Park at Ascot, Andrew Nutter from Nutters Restaurant and Eddie Atwell who flew in from Belfast to help Rupert and his team create a mouthwatering menu from the very best Northern Ireland has to offer.

The celebrations also raised over £1,300 for Teenage Cancer Trust and Macmillan charities.

This November, Larchfield Estate, set in the heart of the County Down countryside tempts you to a very different culinary experience. This exclusive event is set to take place on Sunday 13th November and will showcase seasonal local produce, as part of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink.

Guests attending this unique dining experience will be treated to a mouth-watering banquet by Award-Winning smoking duo Samantha Evans and Shauna Guinn – The Hangfire Girls. Shauna originally from Belfast is set to launch their cookbook, Hangfire Smokehouse. Both Shauna and Sam gave up high powered jobs in London 3 years ago and spent 6 months travelling from Kansas to the Carolinas, Tennessee to Texas to pick the brains of the barbeque pit masters along the way. When they arrived back in Cardiff, they took over a small disused butcher’s shop a base for their smoked food pop ups before opening their own restaurant in Barry, South Wales.

Among the celebrity line-up on the evening, will be local celebrity chef, Paula McIntyre. Paula is passionate about local produce, having judged in the recent Food and Farming Awards with other renowned UK celebrity chefs, not just in Northern Ireland but throughout the UK. Paula appears regularly on BBC Radio Ulster John Toal Show and is the Director of Slow Food NI of which The Hangfire Girls are passionate advocates.

Speaking ahead of the event, Paula said, ‘I am delighted to be joining Sam and Shauna at Larchfield Estate showcasing our fantastic local produce at one of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious venues during our Year of Food & Drink. The Hangfire Girls won the Food and Farming Award for street food that I judged – I was blown away by their authentic barbecue. Tickets will be highly sought after, so get in quick.’

Sarah Mackie of Larchfield Estate added ‘It has long been a goal of ours to host a high end foodie event at Larchfield, private dining at its best and we are thrilled to be able to offer people the chance to experience both Paula, Sam and Shauna’s culinary expertise, using the superb array of local produce within the fantastic setting of Larchfield Barn.’

Tickets for this private dining experience can be booked through the office at Larchfield Estate – 02892638025 or via events@larchfieldestate.co.uk . Full details can also be found via www.nigoodfood.com . If you are a real foodie, this event is not to be missed.

With less than a month until Belfast’s coolest new hotel, Bullitt opens its doors, bargain-loving style seekers are being given the chance to nab an overnight stay for just £1.

Bullitt’s ‘Kip for a Quid’ competition kicks off today (September 19th) and runs until 26th September. To mark the official opening on Friday 15th October, 15 rooms are up for grabs for the princely sum of £1.

To enter, simply head to www.bullitthotel.com and enter your email address to be put into the draw. Winners will be drawn at random and guests will be able to book a date of their choice (subject to availability).

For those that aren’t lucky enough to secure one of the £1 rooms, the Bullitt Facebook Page (facebook.com/bullittbelfast) will host a range of exciting pre-opening competitions, with a 10-day countdown beginning on 5th October.

Bullitt Belfast is a vibrant new concept that will provide a cool new space for people to Work, Play and Stay in the heart of the city. It will feature 43 stylish bedrooms, three bars (including Baltic, NI’s first ski-themed bar), a courtyard garden, 58-seater restaurant ‘Taylor and Clay’, an Espresso bar and a versatile private events space.
Blurring the lines between work and play, this urban playground will be the perfect hangout spot, with a relaxed atmosphere and laid back sophisticated vibe.

Accommodation comes in three options with double rooms ranging from compact to spacious, and apartment accommodation planned for the second phase of the development.

For further information, visit www.bullittbelfast.com, check out the Bullitt Facebook page, facebook.com/bullittbelfast or follow Bullitt Belfast on Twitter @BullittBelfast

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.