Leading cider producers from across the globe are celebrating after impressing an elite panel of judges and scooping prestigious medals at the International Cider Challenge 2016.

The competition, run by Off Licence News magazine, is now in its seventh year and judges praised the consistent quality of the 180 entries this time around.

The panel of judges consisted of supermarket buyers, award-winning independent retailers, cider experts, journalists and cidermakers, and they teased out the best ciders the world has to offer.

Many came from the more traditional cider nations such as the UK, Ireland and France, but entries also arrived from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Japan, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand and the USA, reflecting the truly international reach cider now enjoys.

Each was blind-tasted by the nine-strong panel, which awarded 19 gold medals, 44 silvers and 65 bronzes. From among the golds, eight trophies were awarded for the best cider within each category. UK producer Waitrose took home two, for Waitrose Low Alcohol England and Waitrose Westons English Vintage Perry, Herefordshire.
Trophy success went out to Northern Irish producer Kilmegan Cider for Kilmegan ‘Real’ cider. While French producer Cidre Le Brun’s Reflet de France Brut also triumphed, along with English producer Healeys Cider’s Cornish Brandy Reserve, which won the trophy for Best Wood-Aged Cider. Cider Brothers completed the list of trophy winners with William Tell Hard Apple Cider with Strawberry.

Marks & Spencer also enjoyed trophy success for Marks & Spencer Breton Cider and were awarded the title of Highly Commended.

The Supreme Champion for 2016 was Domaine Labranche’s Ice Cider Labranche.

There were also awards for Best Packaging, with judges handing out three golds, six silver medals and nine bronzes. The supreme champion for Design & Packaging was Interbrus Sxollie. Judges awarded Highly Commended to Thatchers for their Thatchers Gold.

Chairman of the judges Pete Brown said: “It was great to see such a big and varied range of ciders again this year and get a cross-section of different styles from around the world. The fact that our nod for the overall winner came down to a choice between a 12% ABV ice cider from Canada and a 1% ABV cider from Herefordshire with great finalists all the way between shows just how diverse and creative cider is becoming.”

Samantha Halliday, commercial director at competition organiser Off Licence News, said: “The International Cider Challenge has become recognised as one of the world’s most respected competitions. It is by far the world’s most hotly contested cider competition and winning any medal is a fantastic achievement.

“The broad range of ciders entered this year demonstrated the skill and innovation within this vibrant category. As such, the standards in both the taste and design and packaging sides of the competition were extremely high – and the real winner is the cider consumer, who has never had such a wonderful array of exceptional drinks to choose from.”

Renowned celebrity chef Rachel Allen worked her culinary magic at Lurgan Show at the weekend when she rustled up a range of delicious dishes and stylishly demonstrated how to cook a variety of tempting treats to hundreds of showgoers.

Organised by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, the appetising event celebrated the Borough’s esteemed Food Heartland Status and showcased the area’s world-class local produce including Lough Neagh Eels and Bramley Apples.

The event was hosted by award-winning chef and proprietor of the Yellow Door Deli, Simon Dougan, who, alongside skilled members of the Food Heartland Forum, including chefs from The Moody Boar Bistro & Restaurant, The Armagh City Hotel and Uluru Bar and Grill, prepared a wide range of mouth-watering dishes and delightful delicacies!
All the chefs were on hand to dish out some handy hints and tips on home cooking and visitors had the chance to ask any questions they had on how to produce the perfect feast.

There was also gorgeous grub from Abernethy Butter, Wilson’s Country Potatoes, Burren Balsamics, Harnett Oils, Long Meadow Cider, Yellow Door Deli, Heavenly Cupcakes and Quail’s at the Food Heartland Village.

Attending the event was former Lord Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Darryn Causby, who comments: “We were delighted to welcome Rachel Allen and the magnificent Food Heartland chefs to Lurgan Park.

The produce our local area has to offer is second to none and was showcased perfectly in all the chef’s flavoursome dishes. The Food Heartland Village was one of the highlights of the show with dozens of local suppliers and producers exhibiting their fabulous fare.”

 

For further information log onto www.discovercraigavon.com or www.facebook.com/discovercraigavon

When the Clipper Round The World Race fleet sails up the Foyle in less than 40 days’ time, there will be one new local business addition happy to share centre stage in a prime location along the riverfront.

Ciaran and Melanie Breslin, owners of Primrose On The Quay, say that opening their French style bistro in such an idyllic setting during Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016 is a “dream come true”.

Thousands of well-wishers are expected to line the quay for the Clipper Race Homecoming leg which will be a key highlight of the Foyle Maritime Festival hosted by Derry City and Strabane District Council from July 9th-17th 2016.

Louise Breslin, Council’s Business Manager, said she’s delighted with the growth of new business opportunities along the riverfront coinciding with Foyle Maritime Festival and NI Year of Food.

She said: “It is hugely encouraging to see local entrepreneurs having the confidence to invest in new business expansion in one of the city’s most sought after locations on the quay. RoCo’s Brew Bar and Primrose On The Quay bring an exciting new dynamic to dining on the riverfront and we wish them every success with their new ventures which we are confident will benefit from an influx of visitors during the upcoming Foyle Maritime Festival.”
The opening of Primrose On The Quay also sits well with the recent Landscape and Places theme for NI Year of Food and Drink 2016 which is being supported by Derry City and Strabane District Council as an important tourism driver. A celebration of everything delicious about this place, there is no better time for visitors to relish what’s on offer here in one of Ireland’s top foodie destinations.

Mary Blake, Council’s Tourism Development Officer, said she was also delighted with Primrose’s ethos of showcasing local produce and suppliers.
“Ciaran and Melanie really pride themselves on the ‘keeping it local’ and ‘from farm to fork’ ethos across all their suppliers and ingredients. Their magnificent baked products are created by their own team of bakers led by Melanie, while all their meat comes from the Breslins’ family butchers, ensuring the most fantastic produce is supplied to their restaurants all year around.”

Ciaran Breslin said: “The quay is one of the city’s biggest assets in terms of location and after spending a year looking for our second premises we stumbled across a vacant unit which was a former insurance office. Even though it had been lying empty for a year we started panicking in case someone grabbed it from under us. We always envisaged a French style riverfront bistro and already knew that we had found our dream location.
“With such a busy walkway, everyone we spoke to agreed that it should have a lot more food and coffee offerings, so we believe we have added a fantastic asset to our buzzing riverfront.

“With the Clipper Race on its way back to Derry as part of the Foyle Maritime Festival, we are very excited at the thought of being right on the doorstep of all those amazing boats and crews. They will be sure to receive a very warm welcome from us when they arrive in July. All holiday leave at Primrose is on hold throughout that week. Let’s just hope we get the weather!”

The Breslins, who opened their first Primrose Café on Carlisle Road four years ago, say the timing couldn’t be better to celebrate the Seas, Rivers and Loughs theme earmarked by Tourism NI in July for Year of Food when the Foyle Maritime Festival will be in full swing.

A total of 40 local people are employed in both Primrose outlets which the owners believe is a huge vote of confidence in the north west’s food producers. Handmade Breslin’s pork and leek sausages are just one of the specialities to tuck into on the menu alongside other familiar local provenance including award-winning cheeses from Tamnagh Foods named after local landmarks such as Dart Mountain in the Sperrins and ale washed Banagher Bold.
Ciaran Breslin said: “It’s time for independents to show that our fabulous produce, all grown on our doorstep and not flown here is far superior and, it’s what local people and visitors to the city want on their plates.”

Sam Butler talked to Fiona Lydon of Seriously Juicy Detox Juices in Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, a recently established small business producing raw vegetable and fruit blended juices.

Fiona Lydon found starting a small business helped her to overcome post natal depression following the birth of her second child. It led the Fermanagh woman to turn an interest in healthy fruit and vegetable juices into Seriously Juicy, a start up business. “I desperately needed something to focus on,” she says. “I know starting a business is not for every woman facing the condition but it worked for me. It gave me something to concentrate on as well as looking after the baby.”

Before her two young children were born, Fiona had seen the growth in fruit and veggie-blends of so called detox juices while working as a nanny in Boston. She was in the US with husband Colm, a construction contractor. The couple spent around a decade in Boston, where Fiona shopped regularly at health stores including the iconic Whole Foods Market. “I saw the developing trend there towards detox juices that were marketed as being healthy because of the blend of veggies such as kale, celery, spinach with fruits including apple and lemon,” she adds.

Starting a business developing such products wasn’t on her agenda back then. ”I never thought I’d be able to start and run a business in those days. I didn’t have the experience or, above all, the cash to get it going.”

The couple then moved to Britain and settled in Reading for eight years. Colm continued to work in construction, an industry that recovered fast there after the recession. Fiona signed up for a course in law at Reading University and then sought to gain experience as a solicitor. “I decided to study law to expand my qualifications and develop a career,” she explains. “While it was great experience, I continued to be interested in juices and saw the market trend towards healthy drinks also developing in Britain, especially in the London area.”

What brought the couple back to Fermanagh was a decision to start a family. “Fermanagh offered an extended family network. And so we decided to set up near Newtownbutler,” Fiona says. Colm has continued to commute to London to develop his career in the construction industry. “It made sense for Colm to continue in London because this is where the work is. There aren’t many jobs here because construction has been going through such a difficult patch.”

The couple now have two young children, a boy (4) and a girl (3). “Coming home was the right decision because family and friends have been very supportive especially when I suffered from post natal depression. I was able to fall back on their support and they encouraged me when I started talking about the juice business. It was the break I needed.” And it’s been a successful venture.

Fiona started making juices at home for family to sample. “I worked really hard to develop my own version of the blends I’d seen in Boston and London but I wasn’t sure about starting a business because I had no real experience. I turned to Invest NI in Omagh for advice. They were very supportive and introduced me to the innovation voucher scheme that offers £4,000 to explore a product with a local college or university. I had a number of juices in mind and had produced samples but needed help with shelf life and nutritional information for the labels,” Fiona continues.

The voucher enabled Fiona to link up with experts at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Belfast. AFBI introduced her to high pressure processing (HPP) which increases shelf life without affecting the juice.

“The innovation voucher was tremendous. I couldn’t have managed without it because the HPP technology gave me a product that I could sell because it offered retailers shelf life of around 30 days. AFBI was superb and extremely supportive.” She’s currently working with AFBI to double shelf life.

Fiona set up the business late last year in a small unit near her home that’s been approved by the relevant authorities as suitable for food production. Four blends of juice were launched at the start of this year. They are ‘Mean Green’, apple, cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, parsley, ginger and lemon; ‘Ginger Zinger’ with apple, carrot, lemon and ginger; ‘Sweet Beet’ comprising beetroot, apple, carrot, spinach and lime; and ‘Mango Tango’ with mango, carrots, pineapple, yellow bell peppers, cucumber and lime.

The juices are packed with vitamins including A, B.C, E, K and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and zinc. They are said to provide a boost to the immune and digestive systems, clear out free radicals, purify the blood and liver and rehydrate the body.

The recipes are all her own and made from 100 per cent raw vegetables and fruits with no added water or preservatives. They are all gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Local chefs Noel McMeel, Neven Maguire and Paula Mcintyre have been supportive.

The challenge now facing the enterprising Fiona is developing sales to generate a worthwhile return. And she’s doing extremely well. The juices are selling well in Northern Ireland – she’s recently won prestigious outlets in Belfast – and also in the Republic of Ireland. Stores in Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Sligo are already selling her products. Monaghan GAA team has also signed up for the Mean Green juice. The future looks bright for the enterprising Fiona.

Article written by Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow- 2nd June 2016

Well done Belfast City Council on two spectacularly successful Twilight Markets last week. Upwards of 20,000 people visited the events in the splendid St George’s Market and clearly enjoyed the opportunity provided to talk to food and drink producers and experience the expertise of chefs from many of the city’s eateries. These markets carried forward our own hugely successful Food Pavilion at Balmoral which attracted record crowds.

I enjoyed walking around the market and talking to producers and restaurants, a great many of them members of Food NI.

What both events demonstrated is the tremendous strength of public support for the local industry and especially for the Year of Food and Drink campaign, now entering its sixth month and focusing on the Love Dairy theme in June.

We’ve all been immensely encouraged by the enthusiasm of both central and local government for this year-long campaign to showcase the excellence of our food and drink. I welcome new Economy minister Simon Hamilton and Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen, both of whom, I know, are also enthusiastic supporters of the initiative spearheaded initially by First Minister Arlene Foster when she held the economy portfolio and has continued be fully engaged in the campaign to showcase our £5 billion food and drink industry.

Events organised by councils from Derry to Newry and Belfast to Craigavon and Enniskillen have demonstrated that Year of Food and Drink has become a unifying initiative. Innovative events have included the very successful Food Heartland Awards organised by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon councils.

People here really have embraced the initiative. Communities in virtually every part of Northern Ireland are now working together to support our most important industry.

In addition to special events, we’ve seen the emergence of a number of local farmers’ markets that provide smaller companies in particular with a platform to reach shoppers. New monthly markets are emerging all the time, the latest being Hillsborough this Saturday. What’s also remarkable is the commitment being shown by producers to the various markets. I don’t know how they keep in touch with them. We do our best in Food NI, of course, to keep our member companies abreast of the opportunities. We want them to be successful and to stimulate other aspiring producers to get involved.

I think It’s fair to say that Year of Food and Drink has already succeeded in many of its objectives including heightening awareness here of the quality of local products. The challenge, of course, will maintaining momentum next year. It’s a challenge we are already addressing to help continue the industry’s growth.

This message is also reaching tourists and visitors, judging by the accents I heard at Balmoral and the Twilight Markets. We also hosted a visit to Balmoral by some of the leading food writers from Britain from publications such as The Times, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.

Led by our good friend Charles Campion and including Xanthe Clay, another great supporter of Northern Ireland food, they were all hugely impressed by the vast number of products on show and the willingness of producers to talk to them about their products and how they are made. I look forward to reading their reports in the months ahead. They’ll all be extremely positive. Year of Food and Drink is strengthening friendships and demonstrating the great good will that exists abroad towards Northern Ireland.

Spotlight on Rathlin Island and Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink in Germany

Rathlin Island is set to provide the backdrop for a hugely popular food and cookery TV show in Germany called Zu Tisch, later this year.

A TV crew is filming on the island this week, as guests of Tourism Ireland. Zu Tisch – which has an audience of more than 5 million viewers – airs on national German TV, on the ARD and ZDF channels, as well as on the ARTE network, a Franco-German television channel focusing on culture and the arts. It’s also available through video on demand and catch-up TV.

The episode filmed on Rathlin Island will be a special one – the 200th episode – so it’s a really good opportunity to showcase our local produce and to highlight our special Year of Food and Drink in Germany. The crew has been filming around the island, following local kelp farmers Kate Burns and Benji McFaul. Their itinerary was devised by Tourism NI.

Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Central Europe, said: “We were delighted to invite the Zu Tisch crew to come and film on Rathlin Island. It’s a wonderful opportunity to highlight what’s so special about Rathlin and to remind German ‘foodies’ about the superb culinary offering of Northern Ireland and this special Year of Food and Drink.

“TV and film are recognised as strong influencers on travellers everywhere, with up to 35% of people being impacted in their choice of destination by what they see on screen. Tourism Ireland regularly works with overseas TV and production companies to facilitate the making of travel and lifestyle programmes, to get positive exposure for Northern Ireland around the world.”

An article all about the making of Zu Tisch on Rathlin Island will also appear in an upcoming edition of Arte magazine – reaching more than 114,000 readers.

Germany is an important market for tourism to Northern Ireland. Figures published by NISRA today confirm that we welcomed an extra +14% visitors from Mainland Europe in 2015. Tourism Ireland is determined to ensure that growth continues and has an extensive programme of promotions under way in Germany, and elsewhere across Mainland Europe, throughout 2016.