Broighter Gold, the award winning producer of rapeseed oil from Limavady, has won business with top retailer Musgrave Group that will see its products in hundreds of convenience stores across Northern Ireland.
The contract is the biggest retail contract won to date by the Co Derry farm-based business owned by Richard and Leona Kane.

Broighter Gold’s range of original Liquid Gold and flavour infused rapeseed oils such as Basil, Chilli, Rosemary and Garlic, Lemon, Thai, and Black Truffle will be on the shelves of the group’s SuperValu, Centra and Mace convenience stores. The deal could lead to the company’s oils being added to the group’s extensive network of supermarkets in the Republic of Ireland.

Broighter Gold is the latest addition to Supervalu’s ‘Inspired Range’ of ambient products.
The successful farm diversification company has been cold-pressing and bottling rapeseed oil for over five years, building success on the increasing demand for healthier alternatives to mainstream cooking oils.
The range has been used and endorsed by numerous high-profile chefs, most notably SuperValu’s food ambassador Noel McMeel and has featured on the menu at the White House!

Musgrave NI trading manager, David McMahon, says: “Broighter Gold is a great addition to our ‘Inspired Range’ and is being stocked in our SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores across Northern Ireland.”
Leona Kane, managing director and founder of Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, adds: “Winning this deal with Musgrave Group NI is a huge boost for the business and is our biggest retail deal. It moves the company on to a higher level and will give us access to the group’s vast customer base across Northern Ireland.

“We’ll be working closely with Musgrave on an extensive series of product tastings in stores throughout Northern Ireland over the next few months as we seek to support this very important business for us. We’ve already lined many store tastings in the short term and hope to undertake many more this year. While it’s going to be very busy, we are looking forward to working with the supermarkets and meeting a great many more customers. It’s an immensely exciting development for Broighter Gold,” Leona says.
Broighter Gold has won a string of UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann food awards over the past three years. The product was also won the Flavours of the Neighbourhood, a UK competition launched by the Hotel Indigo Group, part of the global Intercontinental Hotel Group chain, to find the best artisan food product.

The oils are based on oilseed rape grown on Broglasco, the Kane family farm, in Myroe, near Limavady, which is on the edge of Lough Foyle just above sea level on reclaimed land. The arable farm covers 800 acres – 180-are used to grow rapeseed.

The fertile ground grows high yielding crops of wheat, barley, oilseed and potatoes. Ireland’s greatest find of gold artefacts from the Iron Age of the 1st century BC was found on the farm and is now held by the national Museum of Ireland.

In addition to the development of rapeseed oil, the company has expanded into industrial tourism by developing an exhibition centre through the international EconoMusee network that enables visitors to see how the oil is produced and used in cooking.

A Tourism NI supported initiative designed to promote Lough Neagh eels and encourage their inclusion on restaurant menus is to be launched at the end of this month in a collaboration between two leading lough shore bodies.

Eel-Eat, which will run from Saturday 25th June until Saturday 2nd July, is an innovative programme created by the Lough Neagh Partnership and the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative and sponsored by Tourism NI’s Year of Food and Drink Tourism Events Scheme.

Organisers of the scheme, which is also receiving support from Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, are asking participating restaurants to include Lough Neagh eel on their menus for the week to encourage consumption amongst residents and visitors and support the local fishing industry.

The initiative, which will feature as part of this year’s River to Lough Festival, aims to encourage domestic consumption of the protected – and largely exported – local foodstuff with chefs and restaurants from across the north being urged to get involved.

Leading names in the restaurant industry have already signed up to the initiative with Deane’s Love Fish and Hastings Hotels throwing their weight behind the project.

Participating restaurants will receive a range of support including a listing on the Eel-Eat website and an opportunity to promote details of their specific Eel-Eat events or menus; branded Eel-Eat point of sale display material; email artwork with Eel-Eat branding, and opportunities to get directly involved in press and social activity in NI, ROI and GB markets.

Registration for the inaugural scheme is free however participating restaurants are being asked to provide a £30 gift voucher, which will be used to promote the initiative and drive footfall to the restaurant.

Marketing manager at Lough Neagh Partnership, Eimear Kearney said they hoped to recruit up to 40 restaurants from across NI to be part of the initiative from family run cafés to gastro pubs and fine dining restaurants.

“If you offer a sit down dining experience and are passionate about quality local produce, great atmosphere and top class customer service, then we would like you to be a part of it,” said Eimear.

“Eel-Eat will include a wide ranging promotional campaign covering digital, radio, outdoor and press advertising. There will be a dedicated website featuring participating restaurants, events and competitions as well as tactical promotions and leaflet distribution amongst other activity.

“With special menus designed to suit all tastes and budgets, and food events in restaurants throughout Northern Ireland, Eel-Eat promises to be a week for food lovers from near and far.”

The initiative is part of a bigger push at promoting Lough Neagh eel locally and encouraging more chefs to feature the north’s first ever Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) foodstuff on their menus. Organisers have teamed up with Food NI on a chef steering forum bringing chefs on to the lough to meet local fishermen, demonstrating traditional cooking methods as well as facilitating visits to the Co-operative’s facililties and contacts with local suppliers. A wider European food project is also being targeted.

“We are sourcing partners for different elements that we would like to see developed around the lough,” said Eimear, “with cookery schools, a fish restaurant on the loughshore, foraging trips and food trails among the plans. We see food as one of our key attractions to the area and have a protected designation of origin (PDO) application for Lough Neagh pollen pending as well.

“We want to show just how much eels are part of our food culture and how that can boost Lough Neagh and its Waterways as a destination.”

Chefs and restaurants interested in taking part in the Eel-Eat initiative can register at http://eepurl.com/bZII_z

Website can be found at www.eel-eat.co.uk, follow on Twitter @eel_eat, #EelsAreTasty and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EatEels

The thriving heritage village of Hillsborough is set to revive the time-honoured tradition of the Farmers’ Market. Supported by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, the first of two Farmers’ Markets will take place on Saturday 4th June at The Courthouse, followed by a second market on Saturday 2nd July 2016.

With fresh, delicious, organic, and healthy foods, the Farmers’ Markets will showcase the best local primary and artisan produce. The market will feature independent food producers, such as Passion Preserved, Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Neary Nogs Artisan Chocolate, Buchanan’s Farm Shop and Amberline’s organic produce and preserves. Start-ups including Erin Burgess’ Grain & Co Bakery and Sarah McGreechan’s Sarah’s World Fare and Little Pink Kitchen will also be present.

This impressive bill of fare for the first Farmers’ Market is ardently supported by Hillsborough’s local food and hospitality businesses such as The Plough Inn and Azora Café. Other street food vendors include Hog Plate and Pizza Box, all of the food producers involved are committed to sourcing as much of their ingredients as possible from home-grown sources. Claire Kelly, of Passion Preserved said: “As independent traders, initiatives like these Farmers’ Markets are essential to our livelihood and there is something really rewarding for both us as producers and customers in buying direct from source. It is a very social way of doing business and getting the weekly food shop done! We are always extremely grateful for the support of local established businesses and it is great to see a few of them getting involved.”

Speaking about the forthcoming markets, Alderman Allan Ewart, Chairman of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Development Committee, said: “We are excited about bringing a new Farmers’ Market to Hillsborough during the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016. We see these two markets as a pilot exercise to gauge potential for a regular Farmers’ Markets in Hillsborough. We consider these initiatives as essential platforms in supporting our talented and committed native food producers and consequently local businesses.”

Hillsborough and the surrounding area is held in high-esteem for its agricultural heritage, epicurean offering and food-devoted festivals held throughout the year. It would seem to be the ideal location for a regular, well-supported, Farmers’ Market. With stall holders selling everything from in-season fruit and vegetables to specialist small batch artisan produce, the Hillsborough Farmers’ Markets are must attend events for food connoisseurs and anyone who loves to support, buy and eat local.

For further information visit: https://www.facebook.com/hillsboroughfarmersmarketNI/ Twitter@MarketHillsboro
http://www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com/whats-on/

Visit The Argory on Saturday 4 June for the second of this years’ line up of Good Food Markets. Following the success of their first Market in April, The Argory will once again showcase some of the best local produce that Northern Ireland has to offer in this the Year of Food and Drink.

The historic courtyard will be filled with a number of artisan stalls selling everything from chutneys and jams, homemade cupcakes and fudge, cordials, ice cream, local Dexter beef, waffles, chocolates, cider and home grown produce.

As part of the Year of Food and Drink, June is ‘Love Dairy’ month. With the amount of lush grassland that covers Northern Ireland it’s no wonder that our dairy products are award-winning. Kicking off the programme at The Argory is Deane Weir, proprietor of Weir’s Organic Raw Milk in Tandragee. Deane will be talking about how the milk is produced and visitors can sample it for themselves and buy some on the day.

The Argory will also play host to a special demonstration from Granny Shaw’s Fudge Factory; watch and learn how they make some of the creamiest fudge in the country. Live cooking demonstrations will also feature on the programme. Neil Bradley, a renowned award winning chef for over 25 years will be demonstrating how to produce tasty and healthy food. Mary Faulkner from Cookstown will also be showcasing the art of traditional bread and butter making. The Argory would like to thank Flo Gas for sponsoring the cooking station for the event.

Live acoustic music will fill the courtyard throughout the afternoon and children can have a go at milking a cow and follow the dairy trail. The grown-ups can also enjoy a tour of the house or see The Argory in a whole new light on a guided estate tour.

The Argory’s Courtyard Coffee Shop will also be open and visitors can enjoy a variety of homemade cakes, scones and paninis. Treat yourself to something nice in the gift shop, packed with an extensive range of products. For the foodies among us, take a look at the range of kitchenware, including Harchwood Couture and the Cottage Garden kitchen range, inspired by the Gardens of the National Trust. Thomas Powell will be selling his hand thrown pottery including tea pots, mugs, butter dishes and sugar pots. Bedding plants and shrubs grown in our Walled Garden at The Argory will also be available to buy.

The Argory’s Good Food Market promises to be a fantastic day out for the whole family. The Good Food Market will take place on Saturday 4 June from 11am-4pm and again on Saturday 17 September. Adult £5.50, Child £2.50, Family £13.50. National Trust Members Free.

For further information call 028 8778 4753, find us on facebook.com/NationalTrustMidUlster or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/argory

Northern Ireland’s leading coffee chain, Ground Espresso Bars is on the lookout for aspiring photographers to participate in their campaign to capture the region’s most cherished Ground coffee moments.
This one-of-a-kind initiative will invite fans of Ground Espresso Bars to submit themed stills for inclusion in a beautifully bound coffee table book, which will be sold and all proceeds given to The Ground Honduras Project. The aim of this campaign is to capture shots that range from favourite Ground drinks, to a precious memory shared at Ground, and even quirky snaps of Ground’s coffees and signature tray bakes out and about at NI’s famous landmarks. The initiative welcomes participants at all levels of photography from smartphone users to professional shutterbugs.

Co-Founder of Ground Espresso Bars, Darren Gardiner said: “Ground Espresso Bars is located in the heart of communities across NI and this campaign gives people the chance to show us their perception of what Ground means to them. Our social media engagement activities sees hundreds of people tweeting, instagraming and sharing their visits to Ground each year, and we love being able to see Ground through their eyes. The intense interactivity of our supporters, coupled with the rising coffee culture of ‘snap before you sip’, means we’re sure to get some fantastic and unique entries.”
As an act of gratitude for 15 years of support, the initiative will shortlist 12 runners-ups who will be announced in August 2016. Each runner up will receive a premium prize package of Ground treats including a £100 Ground gift card, brew-at-home coffee kits, and some bespoke branded products. In addition to this, the overall winner will receive a complimentary weekend break in New York City with flights and accommodation courtesy of Ground Espresso Bars*. All winners will also have their submissions included in Ground’s first coffee table book, which will be available for sale to the public at the end of year.

For further information and to join the campaign visit www.groundcoffee.net

The Food NI Food Pavilion at the RUAS show at Balmoral Park was another outstanding success for participating companies. Sam Butler talked to some of the artisan businesses after the show closed its doors to find out how they fared this year.

More than 60,000 people sampled the best of local food, juices and ciders in the Food NI Food Pavilion over the three days of the recent RUAS show at Balmoral Park. It was the largest ever showcase of local food and attracted what was probably the biggest support from the public.

Some 100 companies, mostly artisan enterprises but also including major businesses such as Dale Farm, Karro Foods/Cookstown, Irwin’s Bakery and Mash Direct, had pitches within the colourful Food Pavilion. But did the impressive turnout translate into good business for companies? Those companies I spoke to were united in saying that it was excellent and generated sales and good business leads.

Claire Kelly, who runs the award winning Passion Preserved business producing relishes and chutneys in Lisburn, for instance, says: “The Food Pavilion was fabulous. The branding on the outside for the Year of Food and Drink was stunning, and I was so proud to be there. Inside it was so bright and airy and very well laid out – a big contrast to the very dark Eikon Centre.

“The Food NI team was brilliant – they were all really helpful – the girls worked so hard. I found it a really good opportunity to publicise my brand and let people know where I had stockists. Indeed, I signed up new stockists as a result of the event and made worthwhile sales.”

Christo Swanepoel of City Cheese in Millisle agrees: “The pavilion was excellent. It gave me a marvellous opportunity to increase awareness of my cheeses and to talk to a great many customers about how they are made. It was the best way to reach a huge audience. I also sold cheese and met several interested retailers.” He also won the Best Overall Food Product award at the show for his ‘Young Culmore’ raw milk cheese.

Another award winner, Dromore’s Krazibaker Mark Douglas recognised as the Best Stand, also scored with the public and sold plenty of freshly griddled sodas and potato farls. “I was hectic. I could hardly keep up with the demand for my griddled breads. Business were certainly very good.”

Andrew Rooney, commercial director of Rooney Fish in Kilkeel, who was in the pavilion supporting the Sea Source presentation, agrees. “The show is probably the biggest and best opportunity for the local seafood industry to demonstrate the quality of our products and to encourage more people, especially children and teenagers, to taste what we have to offer.”

Another smaller business successful at Balmoral was Cavanagh Free Range Eggs of Newtownbutler. Director Eileen Hall says: “The atmosphere was great and as always Food NI did an excellent job with organising everything and making sure everyone was happy. The location of the pavilion was also very good with easy access to the facilities needed.

“There were some good enquiries especially from the Republic of Ireland, with Invest NI making introductions to various companies including exporters to the Middle East and further afield. We got a lot of positive feedback from those who tasted our eggs. So, I would say we got a lot out of it.”

First timer at Balmoral, Fiona Lydon, managing director of recent start up Seriously Juicy of Magheraveely in Fermanagh, a business specialising in cold-pressed raw vegetable and fruit juices, found the show “a great launchpad”. “It was the best opportunity we’ve had to sample our range of healthy juices. It increased awareness and led to sales. Overall, it was a great experience and tremendously encouraging for a new business.”

Jane Harnett of Harnett’s Oils in Waringstown, a pioneer of culinary oils such as hemp and rapeseed, and chairman of Ulster Artisans, the networking body set up by smaller producers, believes the event showcased the scale and innovation of what is a fast developing sector. “We’d be lost without the Food NI Food Pavilion because it’s a marvellous platform for smaller producers and helps create awareness of the vast range of top quality food here.” Jane used the show to launch the company’s new Duvillaun Irish Sea Salt.

Balmoral this year also saw glorious weather in which ice cream producers prospered. Glastry Farm’s Will Taylor, from Kircubbin, chose the show to launch a new coffee flavoured ice cream developed with Robert Bell of SD Bell’s in Belfast, another participant in the Food Pavilion. “We were extremely busy and sales were exceptional. It was a tremendously worthwhile,” he says.

Selling products when major processors were giving away samples free couldn’t have been easy for artisan companies. What it does is to condition the public to look to the Food Pavilion as somewhere to go for a ‘free feed”, according to one artisan business. I heard one visitor telling the kids to eat us as they could because it was free and he wasn’t buying them burgers!

But it’s clear from companies the positives far outweigh any negatives and that the show met their objectives by creating greater awareness and in business generated.