Northern Ireland’s leading independent coffee chain Ground Espresso Bars has opened the doors to its second Bangor site at the new Next plc outlet in Bloomfield Shopping Centre.

This new concession will be the company’s latest installation of its million-pound expansion investment.

Based above Next Plc, the new Ground Espresso Bars will be a coffee-oasis for busy shoppers within the high-street complex. Serving their much-loved menu of treats, teas, and specialist coffee blends, the Ground Espresso Bars Bloomfield team are excited to continue building relationships with the local Bangor community.
Director of Ground Espresso Bars, Karen Gardiner said: “We are delighted with how Ground Espresso Bars’ relationship with Next plc is blooming. This new opening will be our sixth store partnership and we look forward to continuing to support the retail giant just as they have supported us.”

The company’s expansion project is still currently underway with several more Ground Espresso Bars scheduled to open throughout 2016.

Ground will be working in partnership with Next again very soon as work begins on new units in Newry, Newtownabbey and Belfast

For further information on Ground Espresso Bars visit www.groundcoffee.net

Pure, natural sea salt from a remote island in the Atlantic has been launched by Northern Ireland’s Hartnett’s Oils.

Duvillaun Fine Foods, a new artisan business, has been created by Harnett’s, which is based at Waringstown in county Down and has a longstanding reputation in pioneering award winning cold-pressed food oils such as hemp and rapeseed that are highly rated by leading chefs.

The new sea salt was launched in the Food NI Food Pavilion at Balmoral Show.

Jane Harnett, a director of Harnett’s Oils and a leader personality in the Ulster Artisan producers’ group, commenting on the new sea salt, says: “We hand-harvest the sea water from around the island which is known for having some of the cleanest waters in the world and is a protected area.

“At present the sea-water is then processed and packaged on our Waring Estate, county Down by Harnett’s producing our very own artisan salt from what is probably the purest water on the planet.

“We have a number of ideas for the Duvillaun brand in the next few years so hopefully this is our first product of many innovative products. For instance, we are planning to develop Duvillaun lamb,” adds Jane.

Duvillaun, known as the Black island, is an uninhabited island north of Achill Island and South of the Inishkeas in the Atlantic Ocean in county Mayo in the Republic of Ireland.

Duvillaun pure Irish salt is available in 40g bottles at £4 RRP.

Harnett’s Oils is a family-run business which produces cold-pressed and bottles functional food oils. The family has been growing GM-free oilseeds in Northern Ireland mostly from local grown crops since the 17th century.

The family business has won a series of awards for its artisan products including a gold star for its Pure Rapeseed Oil in the Great Taste Awards 2014 and gold for the oil in Blas na hEireann, Irish National Food and Drink Awards, in 2015.

The company was runner-up in the Great British Farm Produce Awards with the oil. It sells its food oils in Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Jane Harnett on Harnett’s Oil pictured with the new Irish sea salt for seasoning meals.

25th June – 2nd July 2016

Eel‐Eat is an initiative brought to you by Lough Neagh Partnership in association with the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co‐operative and supported by Tourism NI and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, it will take place from Saturday 25th June until Saturday 2nd July 2016.

The event aims to encourage residents, local businesses and visitors to eat Lough Neagh Eels, try something new and support the local fishing industry.

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.

Get involved

Lough Neagh Partnership is recruiting up to 40 restaurants from across NI to be part of Eel‐Eat, 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. To participate, you must serve Lough Neagh Eels on the menu from 25th June – 2nd July 2016.

Where to Source Lough Neagh Eels

Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co‐operative Donegal Prime Fish

Keenan’s

Eastcoast Seafoods Ewings

La Rousse

Promotional campaign

Eel‐Eat will be promoted by Lough Neagh Partnership’s award winning Destination Marketer and will include:

Advertising ‐ For example digital, radio, outdoor and press advertising.

Website ‐ Dedicated Eel‐Eat website featuring participating restaurants, events and competitions.
Promotions and leaflets ‐ Tactical promotions and leaflet distribution.
PR and press activity ‐ Local media, tourism media, food publications, bloggers and press (launch event)
Social media ‐ Campaign and competitions targeting over 145,000 social media followers. Email marketing ‐ Email campaigns, local businesses, tour operators, press, travel trade and other tourism agencies and partners as well as our consumer database.

Participating restaurants will receive:

A listing on the Eel‐Eat website and an opportunity to promote details of your specific Eel‐ Eat event or menu.
Branded Eel‐Eat point of sale display material e.g. flyers, Restaurant Week cards, badges and a marketing tool kit to support your own in‐house promotion of Eel‐Eat to existing customers.

Email artwork with Eel‐Eat branding which can be used to promote the event to your customer database.
Opportunity to get involved in PR activity, press releases and inward press activity in NI, ROI and GB markets which will feature member restaurants as appropriate.

Opportunity to get involved in Eel‐Eat social media activity.

No Registration Fee

To register your interest for this event please use the following link: http://eepurl.com/bZII_z

As this is the inaugural Eel‐Eat there will be no registration fee.

We do require each participating venue to supply at £30 gift voucher, which will be used to promote the initiative and drive footfall to your restaurant.

More information

Eimear Kearney

Lough Neagh Partnership

Email: eimear@discoverloughneagh.com Phone: 028 7941 7941

Follow Eel‐Eat

Keep up to date with Eel‐Eat by following: Twitter: @eel_eat
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EatEels

Stimulate/join the conversation with #EelsAreTasty on social media

Seven of Northern Ireland’s award winning chefs created a Dinner with Difference in aid of local children’s cancer charity as part of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink. 

On Friday 13th May seven of Northern Ireland’s leading chefs took over the kitchen of Cancer Fund for Children’s Therapeutic Short Break Centre, Daisy Lodge, to create a mouth-watering seven course menu for over 70 guests.

The one-off event which was a celebration of the best local produce and talent Northern Ireland has to offer, involved seven top chefs from Newcastle including Simon Dougan from the Yellow Door, Joery Castel from the Boat House in Bangor, Danny Millar Head Chef of Balloo House in Killinchy, Darren Ireland from Vanilla Restaurant, Paul Cunningham Head Chef of Brunel’s Restaurant, Hazel Magill Head Chef of the Slieve Donard Resort a and Spa and Phil Rodgers also of the Yellow Door.”

The theme for the evening was landscapes and places and with breath-taking Mourne Mountains as the backdrop to ‘Dinner with a Difference’ guests were in for a delectable sensory experience. Highlights from the menu, which was accompanied by matching wines selected by Jane Boyce Master of Wines from JN Wine Merchants, included; Shellfish Tortellini with Strangford Sea Vegetables and Ballycastle Crab Consommé, Kitchen Garden Salad with Young Buck Brulee and Sweet Pickled Beetroot, Carnbrooke Salt Aged Sirloin with Ox Tongue and a beautiful Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Burnt White Chocolate. Guests also had the opportunity to take a little slice of the evening home with them in a goody bag of petit-fours.

Joan Burden Cancer Fund for Children’s Hospitality Manager said, “This truly was an unforgettable evening. I’m delighted, that most importantly, Dinner with a Difference has raised over £13,000 to support local children and families affected by cancer. We were honoured to have seven of Northern Ireland’s leading chefs’ give up their time to support the charity. The atmosphere in the kitchen was amazing. There was a real buzz amongst the chefs some who had never met before and the feedback from our guests has been incredible.

Joan continued,

“ I would like to thank everyone who made this unique event possible including our main sponsors Café Maud’s, Event Stylists’ Add a Little Sparkle who brought the Mournes’ seven peaks into the dining room at Daisy Lodge, JN Wine Merchants who sponsored the drinks reception, Johnsons Coffee who provided speciality teas and coffees, U105’s Paul McKenna who was our wonderful compere for the evening, Simon Dougan from the Yellow Door who helped bring this event together, Taste of Ulster and of course the six other amazing chefs.”

For more information about Cancer Fund for Children please contact the charity (028) 90805599 or visit www.cancerfundforchildren.com.

Travel and food writers from France visited Fermanagh this week, as guests of Tourism Ireland and VisitBritain. The journalists – whose publications have a combined circulation of more than 725,500 readers – were here to learn more about food in Fermanagh, as well as to experience the magnificent scenery and some of the many places of interest to visit.

The itinerary, devised by Tourism NI, included a visit to Belle Isle Estate at Lisbellaw, lunch at the Watermill Restaurant in Lisnaskea, a food tour of Lough Erne by water taxi, lunch at the Killyhevlin Hotel and a tour of the National Trust property, Florence Court. The journalists also visited the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark, Belleek Pottery and the holiday cottages at Finn Lough. They stayed at the Lough Erne Resort.

Elmagh Killeen, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Southern Europe, said: “We were delighted to invite these journalists to visit Fermanagh, to see for themselves the superb culinary offering and wonderful scenery in this part of Northern Ireland. Publicity is an important element of our overall promotional programme, helping to raise awareness through the French media of Fermanagh and Northern Ireland and the many things to see and do on a holiday here.

“This year, we are inviting people everywhere to come and enjoy Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink – where they will discover the best of local produce and have the chance to experience the wonderful landscapes and coastline which make Northern Ireland so special. With so many great events happening throughout 2016, our message is that there has never been a better time to enjoy a true taste of Northern Ireland.”

Michele Shirlow’s Farming Life Column.

Our fabulous food and drink is justifiably one of the key features of this year’s RUAS show at Balmoral Park.

Food NI has once again organised a spectacular Food Pavilion showcasing the very best of local produce and including a packed programme of cooking demonstrations by top chefs on how to create meals using the superb ingredients that are readily available here.

The pavilion reflects our commitment to the successful Year of Food and Drink 2016 campaign that’s been increasing awareness of the quality, originality and outstanding taste of our food and drink, the producers and, of course, the farmers and fishermen whose skills and dedication ensure superbly tasty and wholesome ingredients.

I’d urge you to spend time in the Food Pavilion. You’ll find food and drink from around 100 local companies, artisans, smaller enterprises and major firms, and be able to taste the products they love creating. Thousands of products will be on show. You may be surprised to discover the extent of food and drink now being made here.

The fantastic line up of companies in the Food Pavilion covers virtually ever sector of food and drink production here – artisan cheeses, breads, ice cream, meats, eggs, condiments and beverages including cider.

The Food NI Food Pavilion is in fact the biggest and best showcase of local food and drink so far during Year of Food and Drink, now in its fifth month and focusing on the theme of Landscapes and Places in May.

The Food Pavilion at Balmoral is probably the most striking demonstration of the close link between food and drink and landscape and places and particularly the people, farming and fishing families who are passionate about conserving our exceptional countryside and in providing outstandingly tasty and wholesome food and drink.

As well as being able to sample and purchase many of the foods on show, you will also be able to see and talk to the producers. They’ll be happy to explain how they create such wonderful products.

The Food Pavilion is now Food NI’s most important and successful activity to promote local food and drink industry by increasing awareness of what the industry has to offer. It’s an initiative that has generated good business for producers over the years and will continue to do so this year.

All our activities are shaped by this commitment to promote the growth of the local industry and thereby encourage employment opportunities and support the economic wellbeing particularly of rural communities where most of the producers are based.

As well as organising our own exhibitions and supporting those of other bodies including local councils, across Northern Ireland Food NI works closely with chefs across Northern Ireland in encouraging them to create individual dishes and meals using local ingredients. This activity also assists business for producers with local chefs and with diners who enjoy the meals.

Other initiatives by Food NI have included supporting the Taste of Ulster shop at Belfast International Airport with the inclusion of local spirits and beers in the Duty Free in Departures, the Taste of Ulster You Tube channel highlighting Northern Ireland producers and products.

In addition, we are working with BBC Good Food Show to ensure the success of this important consumer-led event in Belfast in October.