Article by Michele Shirlow for Farmweek 23/06/2016

Bought my first bag of New Season Comber Early potatoes at the weekend. There’s nothing I enjoy more than boiled Comber potatoes with lashings of our butter and local beef, a delicious dish. Forget pasta and rice. The Comber Early tastes a whole lot better.

We’ll be helping to celebrate the ‘mighty spud’ at the annual potato festival in Comber over the weekend as part of our support a series of initiatives by this important industry to promote Combers and other local potatoes to younger shoppers in particular.

The Comber Early, of course, is one of three food products to have gained EU protected name status – the others being Lough Neagh Eel and the Armagh Bramley Apple. It was tremendously encouraging to see two of our cider processors, Armagh Cider in Craigavon and Kilmegan in Dundrum winning a series of awards in the recent International Cider Challenge. Kilmegan in particular struck gold for its cider.

Here’s hoping for some good weather for what should be another successful local food festival around the square in Comber. The monthly farmers’ market there is certainly developing into one of the best community initiatives during Year of Food and Drink. There’s also been the recent launch of a new monthly market in the splendid setting of the forecourt of Hillsborough Castle

It was immensely encouraging to see talented chef Niall McKenna of the James Street South Group cooking with Comber Earlies at last weekend’s spectacular Taste of London show in Regent’s Park. Niall brought the message about the quality and originality of our food and drink to what is now regarded as the ‘world’s biggest restaurant festival’.

Niall served up brilliant dishes for visitors to his stand using beef and pork belly from Peter Hannan, Glenarm Organic Smoked Salmon, traditional Northern Irish potato bread, Lough Neagh Eels, Bramley apples and Walter Ewing’s smoked scallops with Rathlin Island kelp.

It was the first time that a Northern Ireland restaurant took part in Taste of London.

The company was among 40 restaurants from most parts of London putting on a show for foodies in the park. It would be great to see others following Niall’s enterprise next year. Surprisingly, only one local company, Peppup Sauces from Portaferry, had a stand at Taste of London.

And wouldn’t also be good to have a significant Northern Ireland culinary and product presence at Taste of Dublin.

We’ve certainly got a cadre of brilliant chefs who can more than hold their own with the world’s best and have superb ingredients for outstandingly tasty and creative dishes.

Paul Rankin, Michael Deane, Noel McMeel, Sean Owens and Emmet McCourt have also brought the Northern Ireland food message to important markets for exports and tourism such as the US, parts of Europe and Asia.

But we need to do much more to burnish Northern Ireland’s reputation as a region producing and cooking wonderful food and drink especially for those interested in buying from us and to attract more tourists. Both Taste of London and Taste of Dublin cover the two bases.

Our food and drink companies would certainly benefit from further initiatives to increase consumer awareness about of food and drink, especially branded products, in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, easily our two most important and readily accessible markets for external sales and tourism.

Derry’s Walled City Brewery has launched a new ‘LegenDairy’ themed ‘Derry Milk’ beer to celebrate Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016.

Master Brewer James Huey has hand-crafted a single batch of chocolate stout and blended it with organic cow’s milk to create what is described as a “luscious, velvety beer”.

The beer is a celebration of NI’s Year of Food and Drink June theme of ‘Love Dairy’ and the Walled City Brewery will continue to launch a brand new beer every month based on the individual themes.

Master Brewer and owner James Huey said: “The Year of Food and Drink in 2016 is an extraordinary opportunity to put Northern Ireland on the map as a global destination for everything delicious.

“At the Walled City Brewery we pride ourselves in going against the grain by creating entirely new flavour combinations, and ‘Derry Milk’ is just another in the line of exciting new beers that Northern Ireland and possibly the rest of the world have never heard of!”

Welcoming the exciting announcement, Mary Blake, Tourism Development Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council, said the news followed the Walled City Brewery’s success in securing ‘Most Promising New Business 2016’at the recent Northern Ireland Tourism Awards held in Derry.

She added: “The launch of their innovative new product is a brilliant example of the Walled City Brewery’s commitment to grasping the opportunities presented by NI Year of Food and Drink 2016. What a great way to celebrate this month’s Love Dairy theme by releasing a new product on a ‘LegenDairy’ theme.”

‘Derry Milk’ will be exclusively available at the Walled City Brewery, Ebrington Square, Derry-Londonderry throughout June 2016.

Photo Credit: James Huey (right), owner of Walled City Brewery, celebrating their new ‘Derry Milk’ stout with staff members Andrew Rough and Cathal Barr.

Mash Direct were thrilled to welcome the Home Secretary Theresa May to their farm along with Mike Nesbitt Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Philip Smith Ulster Unionist MLA for Strangford. They took the opportunity to show the Home Secretary around their farm and demonstrate how they produce and market their wide range of gluten free products.

The Home Secretary Theresa May was on a one day tour of local businesses in Co Down, Northern Ireland on Tuesday (21st June). Mash Direct were fortunate enough to be amongst the chosen few involved in the visit as the Home Secretary was interested in learning about the success of company both in the UK and export markets and how they grow, steam cook and package all their products.

Martin Hamilton, Founder and Managing Director, Mash Direct, commented, “We were delighted to welcome the Home Secretary Theresa May, Mike Nesbitt and Philip Smith to our farm. We have had a number of recent successes at Mash Direct including being named as one of the top Small and Medium Enterprises of the Year by The Grocer, Winning Best Chilled Food Manufacturer in the Food Awards NI and achieving a number of key UK listings for our products. It is always a pleasure to give a tour around Mash Direct and tell the story of our success.”

This prestigious visit adds to the list of politicians, celebrity chefs and sports stars that have visited Mash Direct, including David Cameron, Jamie Oliver and Rory Best.

 L-R Martin Hamilton (Managing Director, Mash Direct), Theresa May (Home Secretary), Tracy Hamilton (Brand Director, Mash Direct) discussing the growth and success of the company highlighting the importance of local produce.

The world-famous Hillsborough International Oyster Festival, will return on Tuesday 30th August to Sunday 4th September 2016, with a spectacular showcase of the best in hospitality, local produce, arts and entertainment.

Now in its 24th year, this important event in the Northern Ireland Tourism calendar attracts over 14,000 visitors annually from across the world and this year boasts a packed programme of popular events and activities including;

• Oyster Masters Golf Day, supported by GMcG Chartered Accountants
• The ‘Magic of the Movies’ – Musical Evening in association with Lockton
• The Smeg Pop-up Restaurant
• The Quilter Cheviot Pearl and Oyster Ball
• The Turkish Airlines World Oyster Eating Championship
• The Phoenix Natural Gas Soapbox Derby
• The Flash Harry Live Concert and BBQ, supported by New City Cabs
• Supercar Sunday, supported by Charles Hurst Premium

Don Spence, Chairman of the Festival’s organising committee, said: “We are thrilled with the support the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival is receiving in the run-up to this year’s event. The number of big-name brands coming on-board in 2016 is testament to the Festival’s long-standing position. We are confident this additional support will help continue the Festival’s reputation as one of the best Festivals in the UK.”

Julienne Marie Curran from sponsor, Turkish Airlines said: “The World Oyster Eating Championship attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe and Turkish Airlines is looking forward to partnering-up with the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival to welcome them to Northern Ireland.”

Nigel Crawford from Quilter Cheviot said: “We are excited to be supporting one of Northern Ireland’s landmark events and Quilter Cheviot’s Belfast team looks forward to welcoming guests to the Ball.”

Community and youth groups are being invited once again to enter the Festival’s renowned Phoenix Natural Gas Soapbox Derby which is staged on Hillsborough’s Main Street on Saturday 3rd September 2016 and sees budding racers go bumper to bumper.

This Festival is delighted to announce the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as the beneficiary of this year’s fundraising activities.

The Hillsborough International Oyster Festival also kindly acknowledges the support of Tourism Northern Ireland and Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council in the staging of this year’s event.

Ticket prices vary, based on events running throughout the Festival. For further information on all events taking place and to book tickets visit www.hillsboroughoysterfestival.com

Masterbrewer James of the Walled City Brewery has hand-crafted a single batch of chocolate stout and blended it with organic cow’s milk to create a luscious, velvety beer called “Derry Milk”.

The beer is a celebration of NI’s Year of Food & Drink June theme of “Love Dairy”, and the Walled City Brewery will continue to launch a brand new beer every month based on the individual themes.

Masterbrewer and owner James Huey said “The Year of Food & Drink in 2016 is an extraordinary opportunity to put Northern Ireland on the map as a global destination for everything delicious. At the Walled City Brewery we pride ourselves in going against the grain by creating entirely new flavour combinations, and “Derry Milk” is just another in the line of exciting new beers that Northern Ireland and possibly the rest of the world have never heard of!”

“Derry Milk” will be exclusively available at the Walled City Brewery, Ebrington Square, Derry-Londonderry throughout June 2016.

Moy Park’s little yellow van is set for an action packed summer! Kicking off in July, the van will be travelling with local chef Jenny Bristow to three iconic locations in Northern Ireland as part of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink 2016.  Jenny will be hosting cookery demos in the van at the Giant’s Causeway, Titanic Belfast and Ebrington Square in Derry, which will be filmed for use on our social media channels during ‘Meat Month’ in August.

The van will also be hitting the road to visit retailers in August. The first stop will be Tesco Craigavon on 6th August and Ballymena on 20th August, followed by visits to Supervalu stores in Crossgar and Kells in September as part of its ‘Meet the Maker’ campaign. Tesco and Supervalu shoppers will be able to tuck into delicious samples of our breaded range and have a go on  their ‘Spin and Win’ for the chance to win a range of Moy Park prizes.

Check out their facebook page to see where the van is going next!