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.”

The deadline for submitting nominations for the inaugural Irish Curry Awards has been extended until Sunday 31st August. The hottest and most exciting food competition on the entire island, in association with Cobra Beer and Yelp!, is calling upon curry-lovers throughout Ireland to nominate their favourite local curry houses.

The awards scheme is the brain-child of Belfast-based restaurateur Ali Askir. The owner of SAFA says the time has come to create a specialist Asian awards scheme to recognise the contribution made to Ireland’s food scene by hundreds of Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and other Asian chefs, restaurant workers and managers.

The Irish Curry awards will consist of six categories including Best Chef, Best Young Chef, Best Restaurant, Best Front of House, Best Takeaway and Best Newcomer.

You can nominate your favourite restaurant on the website www.irishcurryawards.com.

An awards ceremony will be held in Belfast on October 24th.

All profits will go to The Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

Celebrate the best of Belfast with Eat & Drink Belfast Restaurant Week

It was announced today (16 August) that this October, Belfast will celebrate NI Year of Food and Drink by shining a light on the city’s rich culinary scene during Eat & Drink Belfast Restaurant Week.
Held over a nine-day period from 8 – 16 October, Restaurant Week will promote great Belfast food and champion the city’s diverse and award-winning choice of restaurants, cafes and gastropubs, as well as celebrating Northern Ireland’s impressive artisan producers, growers and brewers, by encouraging both residents and visitors to dine out and enjoy all that Belfast offers.

The Restaurant Week initiative, which is funded by Belfast City Council with support from Tourism Northern Ireland and delivered by Visit Belfast and Food NI, culminates in the arrival of the BBC Good Food Show, which takes place at the Belfast Waterfront from 14 – 16 October and sees famous names like James Martin and the Hairy Bikers visit the city.

Eateries are now being encouraged to submit unique ‘food experiences’ – from bespoke menus to special events – for promotion during Restaurant Week. The deadline for submission is Tuesday 23 August, with more information available from Food NI.
Belfast City Councillor Deirdre Hargey said:

“Belfast Restaurant Week is an unmissable opportunity to show the passion that goes into making, cooking and serving up our first-class food and drink.

“Belfast’s hospitality industry makes a major contribution to the local economy, with nearly a thousand outlets supporting in the region of 29,000 jobs, so the Council is pleased to support this initiative, which will give the city’s many restaurants an opportunity to showcase their talented chefs and local ingredients. We are confident that Belfast Restaurant Week will encourage more people to get out and experience some of the great food available right across the city.”

Jorge Lopes, Country Director of Diageo NI, said;

“Food and drink is a key aspect of any thriving city, and Belfast can compete with the best. Food and drink is an important part of any city break – estimates show that about one third of a tourist’s spend is on food and drink – so we want to encourage our industry customers to embrace Belfast Restaurant Week to shout about what makes Belfast and Northern Ireland such a fantastic destination for food and drink.

Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, also said:

“Good food has always been core to the DNA of any intrepid traveller, and eating out is an increasingly important element of Belfast’s tourism offering. Food writers and critics have been raving about our restaurants and food scene for some time now and the city has been mentioned in many influential travel and food guides, notably being named as one of the top places to visit for food in 2016 by the National Geographic Traveller magazine, all of which helps in attracting more and more visitors to Belfast.

“Eat & Drink Belfast Restaurant Week is all about raising the profile of our eating out scene, encouraging everyone to enjoy great nights out, sampling new menus and perhaps trying something different whilst getting the true, great taste of Belfast.”

Susie Brown, Director of Corporate Development at Tourism NI added:

“The NI Year of Food and Drink has been a great success as we head into the final stages of the year, the time is right to celebrate Belfast’s unique restaurant scene. Belfast is home to very talented chefs who combine fresh, locally sourced ingredients to create dishes of distinction, and we hope this initiative will encourage everyone to get out and enjoy some great food and drink.”

Sharon Machala from Food NI concluded:
“From an Ulster fry to Michelin-starred dining and everything in between, Belfast has it all, and Eat & Drink Belfast Restaurant Week will celebrate the great variety of dining in the city. We are encouraging Belfast eateries to get involved with this celebration creating ‘food experiences’ that showcase the great local food and drink available in the city.”

Dean Coppard, of Uluru Armagh fame, has been appointed as Executive Chef of North Coast restaurant
Bartali, Portballintrae.

The Australian chef who revolutionised the food scene in Armagh with his Aussie style restaurant Uluru,
which opened over a decade ago, has decided to bring his unique style of cooking to the North Coast where
he takes up the position of Executive Chef in Bartali.

Bartali opened just over a year a go and is part of the Thornyhill Group, the group behind famous Belfast
restaurants Coppi and Il Pirata.

Dean is excited by the challenge of moving North and can’t wait to utilise the local produce there is on the
coast. Commenting on the local produce available Dean said: “Irish seafood is some of the best in the world and there is an abundance of it available on the North Coast.

I love to show off local ingredients in innovative ways, and may even bring a few Eastern flavours with me on
the journey up the road, not to forget a bottle or two of Armagh cider!”

Andrea O’Neill, Sales and Marketing Manager for Thornyhill Group, said of Dean’s appointment:
“We are delighted to have a chef of Dean’s reputation join us in Bartali where we are sure he’ll put his own
spin on our beautiful seaside restaurant. Dean is a great talent and we can’t wait to have him behind the pass!”

Coppard takes charge off the kitchen on the 18th of August when he will be introducing the people of the
North Coast to his new menu which features a host of wonderful dishes. The ‘Hang 10’ main course of chicken breast, garlic and herb marinated local King prawn skewers with whipped potatoes is sure to be a hit with locals, with the classic Dunluce burger using Hannan’s award winning salt aged Shorthorn beef another winner on the menu.
Tony O’Neill, Director of Thornyhill Group, said of Bartali’s next step: “We at Thornyhill are proud of what we’ve achieved on the North Coast so far and look forward to taking Bartali to the next level, making it a destination restaurant for locals and beyond.”

Bartali is open from 5pm to 10pm Thursday and Friday and from 12pm to 10pm Saturday and Sunday with
booking advised as interest in Dean’s arrival has already been huge. Visit www.bartali.co.uk or call
02820732405 to reserve a table.