“BEER is like cooking, it’s all about trying different recipes,” says Speckled Hen propertior Martin Caldwell, who is about to launch his own Black Mountain Brewery ales and largers.

“The smallest breweries are labelled as micro, well ours is nano, it’s even smaller,” he laughed. The popular Derriaghy pub which has collected a host of awards since it was rebranded and bought over by Martin and his family, will soon be offering its patrons a sup of homebrewed Mountain Dew black larger, Divis Diva strawberry beer, Lambeg Willie honey porter or Derriaghy Darling cream ale.

“What we are trying to do is go back to local beers for local people,” explained Martin. “A pub like this, dating back to 1660, would’ve had it’s own brewery at one time, it’s about bringing that feature back to the bar.”
With the Black Mountain as the public house backdrop and the canisters, kegs, hops and recipes stored in their own specially built brew hut, Martin and staff member John Dingwall, have been busy onsite “coming up with a lot of different combinations.”

“Our capacity is probably about 200 to 300 litres a day, it’s roughly a tenth of what the micro breweries are doing. Our Divis Diva is a strawberry beer and we have been adding pineapples and raspberries to the Derriaghy Darling and so far it seems to be the black larger that is standing out the most as we have had good comments about it.”

Martin says there’s a new and growing willingness amoung punters to “try something different” and that the Speckled Hen, famed for its vast selection of craft beer and ciders is only too happy to satisfy that demand.

“The sales of craft beer are up by 35 per cent, it’s all about choice, flavour and quality. A lot of the core brands of beer taste the same everytime you brew them. They are chilled as cold as possible and the colder it is the less flavour you taste. Choice for us is important as we want to give our customers the broadest possible range.”
“Myself and John are brewing in a simple way, it’s like being a chef really and it’s not going to be break the bank stuff, the quantities we are producing are very manageable.”

Customers will be able to sample the Speckled Hen’s home brews from May as tasting sessions have been going very well.

“We’ve loads of volunteers who want to taste the beer, don’t worry about that,” laughed Martin, who is himself teetotal – “we’ve no shortage of them at the moment.”

The management and staff of Lough Erne Resort are no strangers to picking up prestigious awards and 2016 started no differently for the multi-award winning resort.

Lough Erne Resort has collected an unprecedented number of industry awards since the turn of the New Year across a variety of disciplines to further justify its place at the top of Northern Ireland’s best resorts.

In January, the Resort picked up an ASI gold award (Irish Accommodation Services) Award for achieving excellence in accommodation standards and recently was recognized by the Northern Ireland Hospitality Federation (NIHF) as their overall winner in the over 90-room category.

In March, the hotel’s popular Executive Head Chef Noel McMeel collected the award and title of ‘Best Chef for Fermanagh’ at the Ulster regional final of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2016, not only that, the award-winning Catalina Restaurant in the heart of Lough Erne Resort was awarded ‘Best Hotel Restaurant’ at the prestigious event, where some of Ulster’s leading restaurants were recognized for their outstanding achievements.

In its eighth year, the Irish Restaurant Awards are the largest and most coveted accolade in the Irish Restaurant Industry and honour Ireland’s premier restaurants following a rigorous selection process with the final scheduled to take place next month in Dublin and hopes are high for further success.

Under the guidance of Executive Head Chef Noel McMeel, 6 members of the Catalina Restaurant team have continued in Noel’s award winning footsteps, taking three gold, one silver and two bronze awards at this year’s IFEX, Northern Ireland’s premier food, drink, retail and hospitality event, in Belfast where chefs and service staff are judged on a specific set of skills around technique, preparation and presentation in their job roles.

On the recent success of the Catalina restaurant, Noel said ‘We are thrilled with the recent achievements for Catalina and our team, there is so much passion behind the team which we bring to all the elements of our dishes, we pride ourselves on creating wonderful experiences for our guests and it’s wonderful to be recognised for our hard work.’

Experience Noel and the team’s award-winning cuisine for yourself at the elegant and sophisticated Catalina Restaurant at Lough Erne Resort, providing diners with spectacular panoramic views of Castle Hume Lough. Having worked with some of the world’s top chefs – Jean-Louis Palladin, Jean Pierre Moule and Alice Waters – Noel has taken inspiration from his experiences and applied it to every detail of the menus at Lough Erne Resort, where he and the team continue to espouse his passion for the best seasonal, local ingredients cooked and presented simply but exquisitely.

To book visit www.lougherneresort.com or call +44 (0)28 6632 3230 for more information.

Spring edition of FOOD MATTERS which provides a flavour of the knowledge, technology transfer and training support services available at Loughry Campus.

In this edition, we will continue to highlight how we can support your business. This edition focuses on health and well-being and the business opportunities in this area. We also introduce our Food Innovation team and showcase the services they provide.

Further details on our support services can be found at www.cafre.ac.uk

View PDF document here

Entries are now open to producers across the island of Ireland for this year’s Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards. The Awards, which are now in their 9th year, take place at the Dingle Food Festival in October. Last year, there were more than 2500 entries in what are the largest blind-tasted Food Awards on the island.
The number of entries from Northern Ireland has risen by 40 per cent in recent years. Previous winners and finalists include Glastry Farm Ice-Cream, Tamnagh Foods, Tempted? Cider, Harnett’s Oils, Linden Foods and Moy Park.

“We have a very strong representation from Northern Ireland producers. Each year, there are more and more entrants. We are hoping for an even greater number in this Year of Food and Drink 2016” says the Chairperson of the Irish Food Awards, Artie Clifford.

“These are what I call the People’s Awards. Our judging system is very rigorous. Each table has representatives from the industry as well as people who do their weekly shop in supermarkets. Every product that carries a Finalist, Gold, Silver or Bronze sticker is picked up more quickly than those without. Our research backs that up.

“These awards are a real benchmark of quality. Winning producers from Northern Ireland have definitely seen financial benefits from entering them. Buyers see them as one of the most important events of the year. They congregate in Dingle for the Awards and they peruse the Buyers Directory for new suppliers.”
Director of Food and Tourism at Invest NI, John Hood said: “Northern Ireland companies have a tremendous track record in the creation of products that combine outstanding taste and innovation. Companies entering the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards recognise that success can lead directly to business with major retailers outside Northern Ireland, who watch such high profile competitions for new products and different taste experiences on behalf of their customers.

“2016 is an exciting year for Northern Ireland food and drink and Invest NI will be playing our part over the coming months in helping local businesses to maximise commercial opportunities and compete more successfully and profitably.”

Pictured at the headquarters of Invest Northern Ireland for the launch of entries are Artie Clifford, Chairperson of the Irish Food Awards and John Hood, Director of Food and Tourism at Invest NI.
Entries are open from until June 17th. To enter go to www.irishfoodawards.com

Michael O’Connor hasn’t looked back since swapping life as a mushroom farmer to brewing the more fashionable ‘Brassy Blonde’ at his family home in Faughanvale, Co. Derry.

Nestled on a hilltop between Greysteel and Ballykelly, O’Connor Craft Beer is among a number of local breweries showcasing their wares at the Big Cheese & Beer Expo organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council this weekend in Guildhall Square.

The three-day event from Friday, April 15th until Sunday, April 17th, is a major highlight of the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016 programme, celebrating some of the finest craft beers and cheeses being produced locally as part of Brewing and Distilling month and, is supported by Tourism NI Event Fund and by DARD under the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme.

One of the main attractions will be celebrity guest Sean Wilson aka Martin Platt from Coronation Street, a trained chef and cheese maker who will be doing two live cookery demos in the Marquee on Saturday afternoon at 2pm-2.45pm and 4pm-4.45pm.

O’Connor Craft Beer is run by Michael O’Connor, the eldest of seven brothers, and his youngest brother, Shaun, who just started selling their ‘Brassy Blonde’ beer in February of last year.

Michael recalled: “We used to grow mushrooms for our sins. I stopped in 2012 and we really started to attempt to brew in 2013. We own a well which we were looking to use as we thought it would be our unique selling point but that didn’t work out because the well water was just too hard to brew the beer.”
Having started out from small beginnings, O’Connor Craft Beer embarked on its first public outing at the Sippy of Culture event which took place in the city last November..

With ‘Brassy Blonde’ firmly on the market, the O’Connor brothers are now working on a recipe for their next line but for now, it’s available by the bottle only, with plans to have it on draught in the near future.
Explaining how the ‘Brassy Blonde’ label came about, Michael revealed that it wasn’t the first choice of name, albeit a fairly memorable moniker.

“I am one of seven boys and also the eldest so it was going to be called ‘Seven Brothers’, but another guy in Manchester had already registered the name, which he was entitled to do. We had to dump all the labels we had ready to use and come up with a new one.

“Blonde is a style of beer and we chose the name because craft beers are intended to be a bit tongue in cheek and fun and, we thought it would be a name that would be easy to remember.”

At 4.4% proof, ‘Brassy Blonde’ is classed as an average strength beer and selling well.
Michael hopes the Big Cheese & Beer Expo will increase awareness of the brand and expose O’Connor Craft Beer to a wider audience than the plain old mushroom from his previous life.

“At the end of the day, you are not going to please all of the people all of the time, but if you can please some of the people some of the time… It is important to raise awareness that there are a lot of artisan products available in your locality and if you enjoy the product, why not?
“If you go for one of the generic beers, you get the same beer in Strabane that you get in Derry, Limavady or Coleraine. The craft beers being showcased at the Expo this weekend are all individual and they all have a slight difference to them.

“All the products which we use in production are local. The beer labels are made in Derry, the bottles are made in Fermanagh – over 90% of what we use are from Ireland.”

Mary Blake, Council’s Tourism Officer and event organiser, said there has already been huge interest in the Big Cheese & Beer Expo which is expected to attract around 10,000 visitors this weekend keen to sample the very best beer and cheese the region has to offer, fresh from the success of last month’s two-day LegenDerry Food Festival which was savoured by 38,500 foodie fans.
Local craft breweries taking part in the event include Northbound Brewery and Walled City Brewery based in the city; O’Connor Brewing in Faughanvale; Lacada in Portrush; Kinnegar (Rathmullan); Farmageddon Brewing Co-Op (Comber); Knockout Brewing (Belfast); and Mourne Mountains Brewery (Warrenpoint).

Cheese producers at the Expo include the award-winning Tamnagh Foods based in Park, Co Derry, makers of the Dart Mountain brand including Sperrin Blue Cheese (2015 Irish Food Awards Gold), Dart Mt. Dusk Cheese (World Cheese Awards 2014 – Bronze), Kilcreen Cheese (Great Taste Awards 2015 – Gold Star) and the newly released ale washed Banagher Bold cheese.

Indie Füde will also be featuring Kearney Blue Cheese, Mike’s Fancy Cheese and City Cheese, with Dale Farm bringing its Fivemiletown brand and Bluebell Falls (Cork) making the trip to Guildhall Square for the event.
The Big Cheese & Beer Expo will also feature an impressive array of family-friendly activities during the daytime with live music including The 4 Of Us in the evening and opens on Friday, April 15th, 5pm-10pm continuing on Saturday, April 16th, 1pm to 6pm and 7pm to 11pm; and Sunday, April 17th, 1pm to 5pm. Admission is free.

To find out more about the event go to www.derrystrabane.com/food.

Further information is available from Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Marketing & Communications department. Tel: 02871 376504.

Toasting Hilden Brewery as a pioneer of the north’s resurgent brewing and distilling sector is a much deserved salute given the Lisburn-based company’s status as the oldest independent brewery in Ireland. Founded by Ann and Seamus Scullion back in 1981 the brewery is committed to traditional processes in hand crafting its range of beers. Where it has also led the way however is with its associated restaurants, which marry the best of local brewing with the best of local cuisine. The Tap Room based at the brewery and the Botanic-based Molly’s Yard offer ‘superior but unpretentious, modern Irish cuisine’ which complement Hilden’s full flavoured brews.

That description could also be said to sum up the vision of Molly’s head chef Ciaran Steele whose philosophy, although straightforward, is built on exceptional quality. Having been in the kitchen at Molly’s Yard since a month after it opened a decade ago, the Belfast man and the Hilden team share a core belief.

“Like our own craft beers from Hilden and the cider, gin and whiskey we stock, we have always been committed to the small batch, high quality stuff,” says Ciaran.

“I try to keep our food as Irish as possible, we’ve such great produce, why wouldn’t you. We’ve the greatest lamb in the world, the best meat and the best chicken, and on top of all that we’re surrounded by water.

“In terms of using local produce James (Skeffington) our general manager is always researching and networking and if he comes across something of interest he’ll come back and say to me. I’ll go out and meet the farmers, the cheesemakers and the vegetable growers, we’ll get them in with the samples and if it’s good we’ll take it on.”

These relationships with local producers who share their passion and commitment has proven extremely fruitful, and not surprisingly says Ciaran.

“Nine times out of ten when you go to somebody who believes that much in what they’re doing the produce is unbelievable. We use Young Buck cheese which is brilliant and it’s the same thing with the fish man. Keenan’s are at the harbour in Kilkeel waiting for the boats in the middle of the night, it’s that fresh when it gets to me the stuff is still breathing.”

And Ciaran is no less enthusiastic about another recent discovery which he believes will become a staple on menus everywhere within a short period of time.

“Goat. Raised in the hills above Belfast. It should be promoted by Muhammad Ali, G.O.A.T, Greatest Of All Time. It’s the most sustainable meat in the world and the most eaten. This is kid goat that is slaughtered at eight months so it’s not a strong flavour, it’s lean, it’s good for you and it’s phenomenal. I have goat herders pie on the menu, goat loin, roasted shoulder of goat and goat carpaccio and it’s phenomenal.”

The move towards more sustainable meats is part of a wider ethical food debate and is supported by the move back to local produce and towards more adventurous tastes. The transformation in recent years is “like night and day” says Ciaran who attributes the food ‘revolution’ to a combination of factors.

“Ten years ago when I first started all you could sell was chicken, salmon and well done steaks. Big name chefs have helped to change that, like Raymond Blanc and others from Europe, and there’s a generational difference that we would see in the restaurant every day.

“But as well as that people have realised what we have here and I can’t see why that wouldn’t continue. We can be a foodie destination, we have all the produce on our doorsteps and once a movement starts it encourages people to see what can be done. You can see that with the brewers and distillers, craft beers and distilleries are everywhere now, ten years ago Hilden was the only one.”

The Hilden Brewery and Molly’s Yard have also blazed a trail in food and drink matched events and have embraced the Year of Food and Drink as an initiative that supports their ideas. Their regular Magnificent Gin Tasting event, which will take place on two nights this week, sold out immediately after being announced and has a waiting list for those who missed out. With dishes such as Seared Belfast Hills Kid Goat loin, wild garlic fadge, morel mushroom foam accompanied by Thin Gin it’s not difficult to see why. Previous events which have tied in with the Year of Food and Drink themes included a St Patrick’s Day menu as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week) in Heritage and Traditions month.

“For Seachtain na Gaeilge we had our menu in Irish as well as English and served dishes such as rillettes of cured sea-trout with Molly’s Chocolate Stout, wheaten bread dill and buttermilk dressing or Slow roast flank of beef with Young Buck blue cheese boxty and Hilden sticky stout jus. The Hilden drink not only accompanies the drink -matched menus of great local foods but are also incorporated into them.”

Next up on the Molly’s Yard calendar as part of the Year of Food & Drink will be a five course tasting menu paired with craft beers from the Brewery.

“The next event is Molly’s 5 Course Beer Tasting Menu on Friday, April 22nd,” said Ciaran, “and like the rest of what we’re doing, that’s selling out fast. We are as busy as ever – if not busier – and are currently hiring staff. We need a chef, kitchen porters, front of house staff – across the board really. As a chef I try to make things that I would eat, keep it simple and let the food do the talking. That’s it really.”

To keep up to date with Molly’s Yard and Hilden Brewery’s Year of Food and Drink activity go to www.mollysyard.co.uk and www.hildenbrewery.com. On Facebook see www.facebook.com/MollysYard and www.facebook.com/Hilden-Brewery and on Twitter @MollysYard and @hildenbrewery. Call 90322600 or email info@mollysyard.co.uk

CAPTION: Top: Molly’s Yard in the converted Victorian stables and courtyard of College Green House on Botanic Avenue