It will be foodie heaven at The Irish Game Fair & Fine Food Festival at Shanes Castle next month as Ireland’s premier celebration of all things country raises a glass – and a plate! – in a toast to NI Year of Food and Drink 2016.

Food will be very much to the fore, with live cookery demonstrations from celebrity chef Emmett McCourt from Derry and speciality foodstuffs showcased in a bustling marquee mall featuring a mouth-watering range of produce to taste, enjoy and buy to take home.

Looking forward to the culinary celebration Emmett McCourt says, “If you are into huntin’ shootin’ and fishin’ you’ll certainly be interested in how best to cook your catch, but the Fine Food Festival at Shanes has plenty to appeal to even the most confirmed ‘townie’. Our passion for provenance is undimmed, and we will be celebrating the wonderful natural ingredients from field, stream and sea right across this region and encouraging show-goers to try new ways of cooking and presenting nature’s bounty.

“We’ll also be giving them the opportunity to taste some local foods which may be unfamiliar to them. Our amazing Lough Neagh eels for example are, to my mind, sadly neglected at home even though they are sought after as high end delicacies in many leading European restaurants. I’ll be showing visitors how to prepare and cook eels and will be inviting visitors to the show to enjoy what may well be their first taste of this superb local product.

“We’ll also be presenting some fantastic foodstuffs from local companies who have taken great natural ingredients and combined them with our rich culinary traditions to create fabulous ready-to-eat products. From cheeses, oil, jams and chutneys to craft beers and ciders, breads and baked goods, our marquees will be packed with goodies. Take them home to enjoy or have an instant picnic in the gorgeous grounds of Shanes Castle: just savour them to the full!”

The Irish Game Fair & Fine Food Festival, incorporating the Northern Ireland Angling Show, is set to attract tens of thousands of visitors to the stunning loughshore setting of Shanes Castle in Antrim over the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June.

The family-friendly event, sponsored this year by Betterhomes Group, and organised By Great Game Fairs of Ireland, is packed with entertainment for everyone who lives, works or plays in the Irish countryside. Central features will be three main display arenas showcasing day-long spectacle and competition and surrounded by marquees and stands featuring country catering plus browse-and-buy rural retailing featuring a massive range of country wares. The Fair will be crammed with attractions, from battle re-enactments, angling competitions, air rifle shooting, clay pigeons, falconry, archery, horses and hounds and medieval jousting, to the chance to step back in time with a wander through a real living history village.

Irish Game fair Director Albert Titterington says, “For two days in June, we’ll be encouraging locals and visitors alike to come along and enjoy our Great Outdoors in all its aspects. Country sports, pursuits, past-times and produce will be taking centre stage at Shanes Castle in a unique and fun-filled celebration that will be enjoyed by all the family.

”We are thrilled that, this year, the Fine Food Festival which is an integral and hugely popular part of our annual Shanes celebrations will be bigger and better than ever before, marking the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016 initiative and honouring all those who bring such wonderful food to our tables.”
The Irish Game Fair, incorporating the NI Angling Show & Fine Food Festival, will take place from 10am – 6pm on Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 June at Shanes Castle Estate, Antrim. Admission, which includes on-site parking and free event programme, is £25 for a Family ticket, Adult £10, Child (over 5) £5.

There’s special value for canny anglers: DCAL angling permit holders or licence holders can claim a £5 voucher off admission; available at angling shops or by emailing irishgamefair@btinternet.com or calling 028 4483 9167. For more information visit www.irishgamefair.com.

Title sponsor is Betterhomes Group (www.betterhomesgroup.com) and The Irish Game Fair and Fine Food Festival is supported by Tourism NI and Antrim & Newtownabbey Council. It is part of the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016 and the NI Angling Show enjoys the support of the Department for Culture Arts and Leisure and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

2016 NI Open Ulster Bank Food Festival launched

Early stage businesses given the opportunity to showcase their wares with Ulster Bank as official partner of the NI Open

Local food and drink start-ups will have the chance to showcase their talents to an international audience at the Northern Ireland Open.

The Ulster Bank Food Festival, hosted at Galgorm Castle during the NI Open from 27th – 31st July will provide businesses such as those from the Entrepreneurial Spark Hatchery in Belfast and Artisan NI the chance to set-up shop for samples and sales at the purpose-built marquee. The NI Open is Northern Ireland’s annual professional golf tournament, which continues to grow every year and is truly a golf tournament for all the family.
Building on the success of last year’s initial launch and the bank’s presence at the Balmoral Show, one of the UK’s largest agricultural and food shows, it marks renewed commitment by Ulster Bank to the sector to help businesses maximise opportunities for export.

The event also highlights the work that is being done to support Northern Ireland’s important food & drink industry, with 2016 designated as Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink. According to the most recent estimates, the turnover of the Northern Ireland food and drinks processing sector is around £4.7bn.

Joining Ulster Bank’s Terry Robb (Regional Manager Private Banking) and Galgorm Castle’s Christopher Brooke at the launch of the Ulster Bank Food Festival were local producers Paula Heaney, who owns Belfast based healthy juices outlet Skinny Malinky’s, Whitehead handcrafted confectionery producer Linda McGibbon, founder of Sea Sugar and Alice McIlhagger who runs Brambleberry Jams based at her home in Ballinderry Lower.

Terry Robb, said: “Not only does the NI Open provide a platform for top international talent, it also offers local food & drink businesses a chance to show what they’re made of and reach new markets at a time when the spotlight is firmly on outstanding local quality produce. We’re proud to provide help for what matters to their businesses.”
Gary Henry, Northern Ireland Open Event Director, commented: “We are delighted to once again be working with our long-term partner Ulster Bank on this year’s NI Open and Food Festival. We look forward to welcoming upwards of 40,000 visitors to Galgorm Castle over event week and hope they enjoy the world class local produce on offer.”

The Northern Ireland Open in partnership with Ulster Bank begins with Pro Am Day on Wednesday 27th July with the tournament running from Thursday 28 to Sunday 31st July at Galgorm Castle. Tickets for the NI Open are free and can be secured by registering online at www.niopen.golf.

Roast Northern Irish beef featured in a Best of British sandwich selection in the special hamper produced by Marks and Spencer for the historic Patron’s Lunch held in The Mall in London’s St James’s Park to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.

The roast beef was included with with horseradish mayonnaise and baby watercress on soft white bread in the unique hamper.

The hampers were provided for the UK’s largest ever street party to celebrate the Queen’s patronage of over 600 charities and organisations on the occasion of her 90th birthday, an event attended by over 10,000 guests.
The invited guests enjoyed a hamper-style lunch at tables positioned along the full length of The Mall. The Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family to celebrate the historic occasion.
The hamper contained food and drink representing all parts of the United Kingdom.

Sandra Ziles, head of M&S product development, said: “The Patron’s Lunch Hamper was created by our food experts who put all their passion and creative know-how into devising a very special menu for the celebration.
“We’ve worked closely with our farmers and producers to ensure we showcase the very best of British produce at The Patron’s Lunch.”

Beef production is Northern Ireland’s biggest agri-food sector and includes many of the region’s biggest and most successful companies including Linden Foods in Dungannon, county Fermanagh and Kettyle Foods in Lisnaskea, county Fermanagh, a specialist in dry-aged beef, part of Fane Valley Co-operative and a leading supplier to Marks and Spencer, as well as Dunbia, the region’s biggest beef, lamb and pork processor, and Foyle Food Group. Linden and Kettyle are both suppliers to M&S.

Another Northern Ireland company, Dale Farm, was also chosen by The Highland Chocolatier to supply unsalted butter for a bespoke selection of truffles for the Queen’s birthday celebrations.

The first New Season Comber Earlies were in the shops around county Down at the weekend, according to Richard Orr of the family-owned and managed William Orr and Sons, Crossgar.

Orr was among the first growers in Down of earlies to start supplying grocery stores and wholesalers John Henderson, which also runs the Spar retail business. “This year’s quality is very good. It’s been a tight growing season, the potatoes were first planted on St Patrick’s Day and were just harvested last week. Shoppers will enjoy them because the flavour is excellent and they look good,” he says.

The company harvests the potatoes, which have EU Protected Geographic Indicator (PGI) status, one of just three food products to have this designation, from 30 acres around the region including from fields fronting the picturesque Strangford Lough.

Comber town is also gearing up to mark the launch of the 2016 harvestwith a special three-day festival in the town at the end of the month.

William Orr and Son is a third-generation family run farm business which has specialised in growing and marketing quality potatoes for over 60 years.

Comber Earlies are the first potato harvest of the year. The potatoes are grown on the shores of Strangford Lough, where the milder climate and fertile soil provide ideal early conditions. Earlies tend to be richly flavoured, and are famous for
their unique taste. But growing earlies is an expensive business because of the tight timetable which usually requires covering the crop with plastic.

The family business grows a broad range of potatoes, including earlies and the equally popular Maris Piper. in country Down’s drumlin country, renowned for its rich soil and natural drainage.

Comber New Season potatoes are available from the beginning of June to the end of July and are the first available in Northern Ireland.

The first earlies are usually harvested in small quantities and eaten straight away when fresh boiled and with a dollop of creamy butter in June and July.

Second earlies and salad varieties can also be harvested in small quantities and eaten when fresh in June and July. Alternatively, if the skins are allowed to ‘set’ – they don’t rub off when lifted – they can be lifted in September and stored in a cool, dark, frost-free area as main crop varieties.

William Orr and Son has invested in a range packaging plant. Before packing the potatoes are washed, dried then inspected for quality and size. The potatoes move into the packaging plant where they are weighed to the required amount, pillow packed into branded bags then delivered to retail stores around Northern Ireland.

New Season Comber potatoes were granted PGI status three years ago, following similar recognition for Lough Neagh Eels. Armagh Bramley apples have also gained PGI status from Europe.

The granting of PGI status under European law means that only new season potatoes harvested from fields around Comber in County Down can now be marketed as ‘New Season Comber Potatoes’ or ‘Comber Earlies’.

The award to Comber potatoes followed an extensive lobbying campaign spearheaded by the Northern Ireland Potato Stakeholder Forum to achieve European recognition of the unique growing conditions around Comber, a generally warmer and sandier soil and the longest growing season of more than 270 days.

The industry has also been involved in a series of marketing initiatives such as the recent ‘Mighty Spud’ competition to grow sales especially among younger consumers.

There are currently fewer than 20 Comber potato growers in Northern Ireland supplying the retail and foodservice sectors.

Comber Earlies have been grown since the early 17th century in Northern Ireland in an area dominated by Strangford Lough, the largest inlet in the British Isles, and a designated area of special scientific interest.

‘Eel-Eat’ week runs from Saturday, June 25, and will culminate in the third annual River to Lough Festival on 2nd July.

The restaurants signed up to take part so far:

• Deanes Eipic and We Love Fish, Belfast
• The White River Hotel, Toome
• Hastings Hotels – Culloden Estate and Spa, Europa Hotel, Slieve Donard Resort and Spa
• The Tullylagan Hotel, Cookstown
• Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown
• Pier 59, Derry
• Lime Tree, Limavady
• Ardmore Restaurant and Beechill Country House Hotel, Derry
• Londonderry Arms Hotel, Carnlough
• Downshire Arms Hotel, Banbridge
• Central Wine Bar, Ballycastle
• Truffles Restaurant, Randalstown
• The Moody Boar Restaurant, Armagh

Visitors from across the country flocked to the first of 2 Hillsborough Farmers Markets, where they were treated to an array of everything from local flowers, seasonal vegetables, speciality meats, artisan cheeses, chutneys & jams, mezze & charcuterie, gourmet street food and a dollop of family fun thrown in.

The next market is scheduled to take place on Saturday 2th July 2016, with over 30 market stalls and entertainment, it’s not to be missed.

For further information visit please visit www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com Picture By John Murphy, Aurora PA.