Leading travel agency Bryan Somers Travel, Saintfield, is helping to raise much-needed funds this year for Cancer Fund for Children by donating a number of high-value prizes to be auctioned off at the Hans Sloane Chocolate Ball on Friday, 23rd September 2016. Announced as a key supporting sponsor and exclusive travel partner of this year’s Finnebrogue Artisan Hans Sloane Chocolate & Fine Food Festival, Bryan Somers Travel is well-known across Northern Ireland due to its reputation for providing great holidays with great service, an ethos that is clearly reflected in the organisation’s involvement with this year’s Chocolate Festival as the travel provider.

Commenting on their involvement with this year’s festival, Jonathan Millar, Director, Bryan Somers Travel said, “We are delighted to be involved in this year’s Hans Sloane Chocolate Ball and look forward to bringing in significant funds via the Ball’s charity auction to help Cancer Fund for Children continue their exceptional work for young people and their families facing cancer diagnoses and treatment.”

The range of prizes generously donated this year by Bryan Somers Travel includes 2 Return flights with Emirates Airlines and a 5 night stay at the 5 star deluxe Waldorf Astoria in Ras al Khamiah including private return airport transfers and a Dubai City Tour (Date restrictions apply); Golf and overnight accommodation at the K Club for 4 people. (1 night based on 4 sharing a 2 bedroom apartment at the K Club, including breakfast and a round on each course. Sun – Thurs stays); A day trip to watch Ireland v All Blacks in coach and tickets at the Aviva Stadium, 19th November 2017; and a Royal County Down Golf Experience for 3 golfers to experience a clinic before golf with Director of Golf Mr K Whitson followed by the opportunity to play with current RCD pro, Reeve Whitson.

“We are overwhelmed by the outstanding calibre of trips and experiences donated by the team at Bryan Somers Travel,” said Leo Callow, festival organising committee. “These superb prizes reflect the high-end evening that is the biennial Hans Sloane Chocolate Ball, which will include outstanding local food, world-class entertainment, and an excellent reason to celebrate Killyleagh’s most famous son, Sir Hans Sloane, who is credited with bringing chocolate to the British Isles!”

The Finnebrogue Artisan Hans Sloane Chocolate & Fine Food Festival kindly acknowledges the support of Tourism Northern Ireland, Newry Mourne & Down District Council, and Food NI in the staging of this year’s event as well as the support of sponsors Bryan Somers Travel, Finlay Wealth Management, Jeep, Killyleagh Development Association, Mash Direct, Roskyle, and S.D. Bell’s.

Limited tickets are still available for the 2016 Hans Sloane Chocolate Ball. To book a table of 10 at the cost of £1,000, please email contact@hanssloane.com

Derry City and Strabane District Council is delighted to have been shortlisted as one of the top ten finalists by the Restaurants Association of Ireland in their search for top Foodie Destination 2016 and is now urging the public to get behind its campaign to secure the title.

Congratulating Council on progressing to the final stages of the competition, the Mayor Alderman Hilary McClintock said winning the prestigious title would be much deserved recognition for the city as an international food tourism destination.

She continued: “We pride ourselves on our hospitality and a warmth of welcome that is second to none. As runner-up Foodie Town 2015, we have already demonstrated that we are one of the leading foodie destinations, putting the highest quality local food provenance to the forefront of the visitor experience.

“I have every confidence that with the exemplary partnerships we enjoy with our award-winning local restaurants, chefs, producers and suppliers, combined with the invaluable support of the local community, we can win this title outright after being narrowly pipped at the post last year.”

Mayor McClintock urged the public to get behind the crucial final stage of the competition which involves two elements, online public voting worth 50%, and the other part of the judging process which will be determined by two independent assessors during a destination visit on August 30th to get a real sense of the renowned foodie experience on offer in the city.

Pointing out that Derry achieved the highest number of online public votes in last year’s competition which was scooped by The Burren in Co Clare, Mary Blake, Tourism Development Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council, added: “Since last year we have worked collectively and more empowered than ever, showcasing the best of local produce and picking up many awards on the way.

“Our driving mission is that we are a truly LegenDerry Food destination. We are passionate about growing our Foodie Destination with a food offer that is’ LegenDerry and Local’ in all we do. This mission underpins our production, menu messaging, dining experiences and festivals and events.

“We firmly believe that we have what it takes to be crowned Foodie Destination of Ireland 2016 and would encourage everyone to ‘Vote For Us’ and also support our campaign on social media by using the hashtag #FoodieDestinations on Twitter and Facebook.”

The online public voting is now live by following the link http://www.foodiedestinations.ie/city/derry/. The voting will close at 12pm on Friday, September 9th with the winner announced soon afterwards.

For the first time ever, two Street Food businesses from Northern Ireland are being provided with the opportunity to demonstrate their culinary expertise at THE major event for the industry in Britain – The British Street Food Awards 2016.

Twelve street-food traders – from all over the country will be judged on the quality and innovation of their food, along with customer service at the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival on Saturday 3rd September.

The two winners of the first-ever Northern Ireland heat, which is being organised by Food NI and Tourism NI as part of Year of Food and Drink, will go forward to the finals of the British Street Food Awards in Birmingham on 17/18 September.

Michele Shirlow, Food NI Chief Executive, commenting on the awards, said: “We’ve seen a remarkable growth in the number of Street Food businesses. Street food is now the most dynamic sector of British food — the laboratory of new tastes. It’s the starting place of a lot of the most exciting restaurant openings throughout Britain in the last three years, including Pitt Cue, Yum Bun, Homeslice, MEATliquor, Pizza Pilgrims and Bao. And they have all been through the British Street Food Awards! Plus, there’s a lot of venture capital floating above it all, ready to pounce on the fresh new ideas for the High Street”

“We’ve seen quirky vans, bespoke trailers and even a former ambulance turned into mobile food bars serving outstandingly unique, informal and fun food; everything from the traditional burgers to healthy salads, noodles, hog roasts, pizzas, pies and even Belgian waffles.”

“Raising the profile of Street Food here was a key objective of Year of Food and Drink. We saw a need to support the expansion of food festivals throughout Northern Ireland by encouraging those interesting in a service that has long been a feature of many global cities and has won recognition from tourists.”

“We wanted visitors to Northern Ireland to rate our Street Food along with cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Bangkok. We knew that Northern Ireland had the quality ingredients and enterprising people to succeed in an exciting industry that’s reckoned to be worth an amazing £600 million a year and is growing annually by 20 per cent. Northern Ireland is now part of what has become the most important and dynamic food trend in Britain for decades,” she added.

Don Spence, Chairman, Hillsborough International Oyster Festival added, “We are delighted to be hosting the first ever Northern Ireland heat of the British Street Food Awards at the Festival. The awards are an integral part of our Festival activities on 3rd September and we look forward to welcoming food connoisseurs from across the country to Hillsborough and of course sampling all the delicious street food on offer.”

The 12 street food traders at the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival will have to impress the public with innovative and outstandingly tasty food that also has a great visual appeal. Who wins – YOU decide! They will also have to tickle the taste buds of a guest judging panel.

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.

“We had a Northern Irish entrant in the first ever British Street Food Awards back in 2010. They were called Rocket and Relish — a beautiful Airstream trailer serving Dexter burgers, from Ulster, with Cashel Blue cheese. They made a lot of friends that weekend. But we’ve had no Northern Irish entrants since — so we decided to come and find the best for ourselves” sais Richard Johnson
“2016 is Northern Ireland’s Year of Food, celebrating the bounty of land and sea, and we’re honoured — more than a little excited — to be parking up at the world-famous Hillsborough International Oyster Festival. We know that the knees-up is also big old party for all the family, with a soapbox derby round the gracious Georgian town, live music, dancing and a barful of Ireland’s best craft beers. So we’ll fit right in.
“We’re been really impressed by the CVs of Northern Ireland’s finest traders, and the way they allow the amazing ingredients to speak for themselves. We’re looking forward to bringing them all to town on September 3. After Belfast, it’s full speed ahead for the national finals in September.”

The 12 Northern Ireland Street Food vendors taking part at the International Oyster Festival in Hillsborough are:

Broughgammon Farm
Linen Hill Kitchen
The Fabulous Food Factory
Pheasants Hill Farm Kitchen
Krazi Baker
Rocket Van
Cuban Sandwich Factory
Café Livanto
Piccolo Mondo
On The Hoof
Wolf and Devour
Andy Rea – Mourne Seafood Bar

Article written by Michele Shirlow for FarmWeek 18/08/2016

It’s been a tremendous few weeks for smaller food and drink companies here, many of them Food NI members. First we have dozens of smaller businesses achieving coveted Great Taste Awards and three featuring among the Top 50 Foods in the British Isles. They included the record breaking Hannan Meats in Moira, which was listed for three highly innovative products, and Abernethy Butter of Dromara for its exceptional smoked butter. The third local company in the Top 50 was Rooney Fish in Kilkeel for its fresh oysters.

The Great Taste Awards followed the earlier achievements of two of our members, Moy Park in Craigavon and Mash Direct in Comber in the prestigious New Product Awards organised by The Grocer magazine, the publication that’s closely watched by the UK retail industry.

Then another awards that top retailers watch closely, the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, named a host of smaller Northern Ireland companies among its shortlist or final judging. In fact, local companies figured in virtually every category in the event that has proved successful in the past in the shape of significant business being placed by major retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Dunne’s and SuperValu as well as discounters Lidl and Aldi.

The Irish Quality Food Award winners will be announced on 5th September at a gala dinner in Dublin, the same evening as the Great Taste Awards announce their Golden Forks and their Supreme Champion. Award winners can expect retailers to ‘come knocking’ soon afterwards. Many of those shortlisted are also likely to win new business with key retailers.

As previous winners can testify, picking up an Irish Quality Food or Drink Award is a powerful marketing tool, with many winners able to use the awards’ logos on their packaging and in national advertising campaigns.

As is the case with the Great Taste Awards, entrants to the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards also find the independent, expert judges’ feedback invaluable in helping them enhance and further develop products.

While the awards have long been important in terms of the connections fostered between producers, especially smaller businesses, and retailers, their significance has been enhanced by the recent UK decision to withdraw from the European Union. Why? It’s because they help to raise the profile and increase awareness of the quality and innovation of food and drink from Northern Ireland in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, our two most important markets.

For many of our smaller food and drink processors Great Britain is now more important than ever. It is the easiest market to access and one offering huge opportunities for our companies to offer alternatives to the huge amount of products that Britain imports from abroad. Increasing opportunities in markets beyond the EU through trade negotiations may be protracted and the terms may not offer much benefit for food producers because many developing nations will want open access to the UK market for their own food and drink producers especially in dairy and meat.

What we must all do now is to intensify our efforts to expand business in Great Britain and to make sure that the post Brexit negotiations do not lead to obstacles of any kind that could inhibit access to the Republic of Ireland. This is why our food and drink industry needs to part of the whole Brexit process.

Year of Food and Drink 2016 has been part of an era of ‘national surprise’; our legacy and our next key focus is to build on that success to achieve GB standout.

As part of the NI Year of Food & Drink 2016, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism together with the Fermanagh food trade are organising the first ever Fermanagh Restaurant Week, from Friday 16th – Sunday 25th September 2016. This event will coincide with Festival Lough Erne, Fermanagh’s food and water festival taking place in the grounds of the newly redeveloped Enniskillen Castle on 24th & 25th September.

The highlights of Restaurant Week will include three signature events taking place at Enniskillen Castle from Wednesday 21st – Friday 23rd September, where three of our well known eateries: Westville Hotel, Saddlers Restaurant & Lough Erne Resort, will turn the venue into a pop-up restaurant for the night, serving the very best of their cuisine in the grounds of this iconic visitor attraction overlooking Lough Erne.

Theresa McVeigh, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism; Nicky Cassidy, Westville Hotel, Noel McMeel, Lough Erne Resort, Emmett Sweeney, Franco’s Restaurant; Norman Coalter, Saddlers Restaurant & Tanya Cathcart, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism.

Diners will also get the chance to eat at Florence Court and Castle Coole National Trust properties with menus by Tully Mill Restaurant, Florencecourt. Other events include afternoon tea at Belleek Pottery or taking part in the black pudding recipe competition organised by O’Doherty’s Fine Meats during their Black Pudding Festival. There will be seafood specials at Franco’s and a special taster menu in the Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel. There’s plenty going on to whet the appetite!

Fermanagh Restaurant Week aims to highlight the wonderful local produce on offer here, combined with our wealth of fantastic scenery, historic monuments, the iconic Lough Erne, as well as the great range of eateries in the County. The event has been welcomed by many of our well known restaurants and producers as an opportunity to give customers a different dining experience, available only for the duration of Restaurant Week.

This is the perfect event for food enthusiasts with cookery demonstrations, courses and competitions, wine tasting, craft beer events and themed m enus such as a “Game of Thrones” speciality menu created by Cafe Merlot, there really is something for all tastes and budgets. Dine on the tranquil waters of Lough Erne on board one of our water buses- the MV Kestrel, Lady of the Lake or take a bespoke tour in the Erne Water Taxi and discover the Lough Erne Food Trail.

Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism would like to acknowledge the funding assistance from Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and the Lakelands & Inland Waterways Initiative (funded by Waterways Ireland and Fáilte Ireland) in support of Fermanagh Restaurant Week.

For a full programme of events, please visit the website www.fermanaghrestaurantweek.com or facebook.com/fermanaghrestaurantweek

Latest investment gives the UK’s largest dairy co-operative one of the most sophisticated and modern cheddar facilities in Europe

Today, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton unveiled Dale Farm’s new cheese processing and packing facility. Following a £7 million investment to further expand its consumer cheddar products operation, the plant at Dunmanbridge, County Tyrone is one of the most advanced of its kind in Europe.

Welcoming the investment, Minister Hamilton said: “Completion of this new facility is the latest stage of Dale Farm’s current investment programme, enabling 60 new jobs to be created.
“Supported by Invest Northern Ireland, the new packing facility will enable the company to produce a wider range of packed consumer cheese products. Ultimately this investment will enhance the company’s competitiveness in global markets enabling it to compete for national and international contracts.

“The dairy industry forms an integral part of Northern Ireland’s food and drinks processing sector and continues to make an important contribution to the regional economy.

“Dale Farm is a great example of the many award winning, export focused producers who are investing in innovative measures to support their growth and their continued contribution to Northern Ireland’s Agri-Food industry.”

Invest Northern Ireland has provided £548,840 of support towards the jobs and new cheese packing facility.

Dale Farm Group Chief Executive David Dobbin commented: “This new cheese processing and packing facility will help us continue to deliver strong growth in our cheddar sales in both domestic and export markets, especially in the faster growing convenience segment of the market. Over the last two years we have more than doubled our sales in consumer cheese products.”

“Dale Farm has a first class range of products as demonstrated by our recent success at the Nantwich International Cheese show where our Dromona and Fivemiletown cheeses won a record haul of 10 gold medals. We now have the excellence in people, products and production facilities needed to succeed in a demanding and very competitive marketplace. It is vital to the farmers that own our Coop that we can add value to their milk and this latest £7 million investment by Dale Farm will help sustain our local dairy farmers and employment at this plant as well as support the continued growth in our business.”