Foodies will have tasted the best of continental cuisine at the Foyle Maritime Festival which is currently in full swing in Derry and, the culinary countdown is now underway for the Clipper Race Kitchens celebrating our best local produce which opens on Thursday, July 14th until Friday, July 17th, at Ebrington Square.

Internationally renowned French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli will join NI culinary maestros Jenny Bristow, Paula McIntyre, Noel McMeel, Brian McDermott and Ian Orr, for the gastronomic gala as part of the wider Foyle Maritime Festival hosted by Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Clipper Race Kitchens, which is expected to be one of the highlight events of Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016, will feature popular local restaurants cooking signature dishes to try and buy from around £5, live cookery demos and sampling in the huge Clipper Race Kitchen marquee, which will also incorporate an impressive Flavours of the Foyle showcase.

Other elements of the four-day extravaganza include the Clipper Race Food Pavilion marquee showcasingtop local artisan food producers, and the Clipper Race Village will be the ‘go to’ destination for the finest locally sourcedstreet food.

Clipper Race Kitchensis supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs NI Agri Food Programme, Tourism NI and Loughs Agency through the Sustainable Development Fund.

Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Alderman Hilary McClintock, is impressed by the stellar line-up of award-winning visiting and local chefs who are all household names. Special guest chef Jean-Christophe Novelli will be cookingat Clipper Race Kitchensfrom 1.30pm-5pm on Friday, July 15th, while a host of local celebrity chefs and award-winning restaurant talent have demo slots throughout the four-day event. Admission is free.

Mary Blake, Council’s Tourism Development Officer, said Clipper Race Kitchens would build on the success of the three-day LegenDerry Food Festival which attracted 38,000 visitors to the city in March this year, and its very worthy place as runner-up in the Foodie Towns Ireland competition last year.

She continued: “Clipper Race Kitchens will celebrate everything that is superb about our local food offer. Having tasted the best of continental, festival-goers are also invited to taste the best of what is grown here not flown here, cured and matured here, and through the Flavours of the Foyle showcase, the best of what is caught here, hook line and sinker!”

Michele Shirlow, Board member with Tourism NI and CEO of Food NI, said they were delighted to be supporting Clipper Race Kitchens, showcasing LegenDerry food and produce from across the region during NI Year of Food and Drink.
“This is an excellent platform to profile the city as a leading food destination with international appeal, particularly following the city’s success last year in the Foodie Towns competition.

“Food NI are all about showcasing the finest food and drink from Northern Ireland. With over 350 members from across the food and drink industry, we promote the people who produce it, rear it, make, catch and cook it, and those who distribute it to shops and catering outlets. We believe we have world class ingredients and chefs and we work tirelessly to get that message out near and far.

“Collectively, we are telling people here and abroad about the products and enterprising and creative people behind them and encouraging consumers to opt for local food and drink because it is of the highest quality.”
Chefs taking part in the Clipper Race Kitchens include: –
Thursday, July 14th, 1-2pm Jenny Bristow, 2-3pm Paula McIntyre, 3-4pm Jenny Bristow, 4-5pm Pier 59.
Friday, July 15th, 12.30-1.30pm The Everglades Hotel – Colman O’Driscoll, 1.30-5pm Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Saturday, July 16th, 1-2pm Harry’s – Derek Creagh, 2-3pm The Sooty Olive – Johnny Heaney, 3-4pm Brown’s restaurant – Ian Orr; 4-5pm The No Salt Chef – Brian McDermott.
Sunday, July 17th, 1-2pm White Horse Hotel – Noel Ward, 2-3pm The Lough Erne Resort- Noel McMeel, 3-4pm Feast or Famine – Emmett McCourt, 4-5pm The Lough Erne Resort- Noel McMeel.

The family-friendly Clipper Race Kitchens event, which opens at 12 noon daily from July 14th -17th, will also have a kids zone with arts and crafts, water boats, jungle playground, and chairoplanes in Ebrington Square. For more details, visitwww.foylemaritimefestival.com

In only 2 years, Comber market has expanded greatly and is now the place to be for foodies and artisan aficionados, on the first Thursday of the month. Whether you love vegan produce, top-quality bacon or a big hearty chutney, Comber market is always worth a visit. We were so happy when we were accepted into this clan of local start-ups and it was great to meet so many people who shared our love of food, independent business and doing something they love! The lovely Deborah who runs the market along with the stellar committee, has just been elected Mayor of North Down and is so encouraging to all of us when it comes to our businesses.

So why shop at Comber market when there is a Tescos right around the corner? Well I’m glad you asked! The products that you see at the market are all made by local, hard-working people and so you are guaranteed to get a really high quality cheese/chocolate/bread…whatever it may be! Also, since genuine care and thought has gone into each product, as a result, they are always tasty and made with higher-quality ingredients than your usual shop-bought fare.

Thirdly, home-grown local produce is always better for you. They are hardly ever mass-produced and so don’t have any nasty chemicals, additives or buckets of sugar that you might find on the shelves of certain supermarkets. Finally, when you buy local, you’re not helping the CEO of a huge chain store go on his third cruise of the year. You’re helping parents buy their kids a new bike, helping someone finally get piano lessons or maybe even helping to pay someone’s mortgage.

So next time you fancy treating yourself, pop to Comber market, enjoy yourself and help the local community thrive.

Article written  by Michele Shirlow for the Farmweek 07/07/2016

Congratulations to Michael Deane and top chef Danni Barry on being listed among the Top 100 UK restaurants in the recent National Restaurant Awards organised by the influential Restaurant Magazine. It’s tremendous to see one of our excellent restaurants winning such recognition for outstanding food.

The listing is another success which will enhance our fast growing reputation as a gastronomic centre of excellence, a particularly important selling point in our efforts to accelerate the growth in tourism here and its contribution to the local economy.

And it was also good to see one of our smallest food businesses, Dromara’s Abernethy Butter, winning acclaim in the Times and enthusiastic endorsement from celebrity chef Nigella Lawson. The Times featured Abernethy Butter because its hand-rolled products were “doing a roaring trade” in Fortnum and Mason, the upmarket story in London’s Piccadilly. Nigella Lawson wrote that “anything is good with Abernethy Butter”.

Such recognition in Britain, easily our most important marketplace for food and drink, of the quality of our food and drink and the culinary excellence of our restaurant scene is immensely important. Why? Because Britain imports a huge amount of food and drink and therefore presents a tremendous market opportunity for both large and small companies here. We certainly need to ensure that any future trade agreements do not undermine existing business and inhibit efforts to grow sales there.

We also draw thousands of business and tourist visitors from Britain. Current Euro exchange rates could encourage more GB residents to consider Northern Ireland as a destination. There could also be opportunities to attract more visitors from the Republic of Ireland.

Britain’s dependence on food imports was emphasised recently in the UK’s “self-sufficiency ratio” – which measures the percentage of indigenous food produced compared to imported food – and showed a sharp decline from a peak of almost 87 per cent in the early 1990s to currently around 60 per cent.

For instance, over 30,000 tonnes of onions, tomatoes and apples are imported every month. In May 2015, furthermore, Britain imported nearly 20,000 tonnes of cauliflower and broccoli, while in April Britons bought over 50,000 tonnes of potatoes from overseas. Over £8 billion of fruit and vegetables are imported.
The National Farmers’ Union has warned that more than half of the UK’s food will come from overseas within a generation, as a rising population and stalling farm productivity combine to erode what remains of the UK’s self-sufficiency.

There must surely be a business opportunity there for Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland has been quick to explore steps to protect its existing business and develop new opportunities in Britain following the Brexit upheaval. It has pulled industry leaders together with Bord Bia to develop a plan of campaign to protect a market which is also the Republic’s biggest in terms of food and drink.

Food NI is keen to participate in any measures to co-ordinate all our activities here on initiatives to strengthen our share of what is the single biggest market for our food and drink. What we can bring to any initiative is extensive experience working with food and drink companies on marketing, a strong track record on delivery and extensive contacts with prominent chefs both here and in Britain along with links to influential food and drink writers and journalists.

With lift-off in T-minus in 9 days*, Davy Smith and Louise McCreesh are working on the finer details of their new gourmet food business, rocketvan. It’s a food van, but not as we know it and rocketvan will be launched on Saturday 16th February at SOMA in Castlewellan, a festival of folk music, family fun, local food and beers.

Inspired by the fresh and fiery rocket leaf, this young couple are passionate about food and put freshness first. Chicken breasts are marinated and cooked at their base in Banbridge, bread is collected each morning from a local bakery, and their unique “rockamole” recipe is freshly made up each morning with ripe avocados and peppery rocket leaves.

On their mouth-watering menu sit a range of tempting sandwiches and nutritious salads, with fillings and toppings ranging from satay chicken & cashew nuts, to goats’ cheese & roasted red peppers. Quality coffee features highly too, under the heading “rocketfuel” of course.

Louise and Davy, who are planning their wedding this year were determined to fit in a sampling session at Mallusk Enterprise Park, where they look forward to catering to local businesses in the area on weekdays from mid-July. On their recent visit, the peri-peri chicken sandwiches proved very popular, and the excellent feedback fuelled rocketvan with positivity.

Even in its pre-launch state, rocketvan has been booked for SOMA festival in Castlewellan and Skiffie Worlds Artisan Food Fair in Killyleagh, and will shuttle from foodie festival to entertaining event throughout this NI Year of Food and Drink.

Follow the countdown at rocketvanfood on Facebook & Twitter.

Two of Hastings Hotels’ establishments have recently been fortunate to have been chosen as the locations for two of the beautifully engraved Game of Thrones inspired doors. The doors are the central element of Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland’s Game of Thrones campaign, each of which tells the story of a different episode of Season 6 of Game of Thrones. The doors have been unveiled in recent weeks in pubs and other venues near Game of Thrones filming locations across Northern Ireland.

These two remarkable doors can now be found in the Percy French, within the grounds of the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa and close to Tollymore Forest Park and in the Ballygally Castle on the stunning Antrim Coast, which is in close proximity to the filming locations at Cairncastle, the Cushendun Caves and the village of Glenarm.

To further celebrate the success of Game of Thrones, Hastings Hotels top chefs have put their heads together and created a dish that will have everyone in Northern Ireland salivating!

Managing Director of Hastings Hotels, Howard Hastings, commented “The Percy French and Ballygally Castle are becoming increasingly popular with fans from the series who want to see the doors and visit the film locations. The doors look

abulous and have been carved from the wood of two fallen 200 year old birches that once stood at the Dark Hedges, another famous Game of Thrones landmark that represents Kingsroad in the series.

“But we didn’t want to stop there and now our team of talented chefs have created a unique Westeros Tomahawk Steak dish which is exclusively available at the Percy French and Ballygally Castle. These 20oz salt aged steaks have been specially prepared for us by local butchers, Carnbrooke Meats from Dromore and come served on a wooden platter, complete with a ‘Valyrian steel’ inspired knife.”

Howard continued: “The incredible steak is served with our special Causeway chips, Portobello mushrooms, beef tomatoes, rocket garnish and a choice of sauce. A Tomahawk makes an ideal sharing steak for a special occasion or romantic meal, as it can easily feed two and at £60 for two people, it is a very hearty and unique dinner choice!”

For further information or reservations visit www.hastingshotels.com or call Ballygally Castle on 028 2858 1066 or the Percy French on 028 4372 3175.

This is independently operated by Ballygally Castle Hotel and the Percy French. It is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with HBO or anyone else associated with Game of Thrones.

Tourism NI board member Colin Neil recently joined representatives from Life Adventure, Mourne Mountain Brewery and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to launch a unique new tourism experience – the Mourne Trails & Ales tour. This is a fully guided cycling tour allowing participants to sample the stunning cycle routes of the Mourne Mountains alongside a batch of the region’s delicious local ales. The tour combines the very best of the Mourne trails alongside the rich heritage, myths and legends of the region which provide the inspiration behind the ales.

Commenting on the new tour Colin Neil said; “Food and drink is a vital part of the Northern Ireland tourism experience. It is extremely encouraging to see the launch of initiatives such as the Trails and Ales tour as we continue to celebrate our Year of Food and Drink. This is a really unique and innovative activity, allowing visitors to take in the stunning scenery of the Mourne Mountains and to sample some local craft beer along the way. Undoubtedly the Year of Food and Drink has captured the imaginations of tourism providers and we are now seeing a great variety of activities as a result.”

Director of Life Adventure Martin McMullan added; “In this ‘Year of Food and Drink 2016’ we’re really pleased to bring such a new and exciting tourism product to the Mournes. The Trails and Ales tour celebrates so much of what the region has to offer and meets the continuing demand for unique ‘soft’ adventure experiences combined with the wider food and drink offering. With additional options to include everything from micro tours to electric bike options, we’ve already seen a considerable growth in visitors who are looking for something a little different and appreciate a tailored experience.”