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

Article by Sam Butler

Award winning Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt, the only yoghurt made in Northern Ireland, has won a contract to supply Aldi in the Republic of Ireland.

Based at Bangor in Co. Down, Clandeboye Estate recently installed a second pot filling line, a £70,000 investment, to support the new business with the leading German discounter.

Clandeboye Estate, which has won a string of awards for its artisan products, is supplying its Greek-style and Madagascan Vanilla premium yoghurts in 450g pots.

The approach from Aldi followed Clandeboye’s success in winning the yoghurt category in last year’s Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards.

Bryan Boggs, Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt general manager, commenting on the contract with Aldi, says: “We are delighted to have won what could prove to be our biggest deal yet in the Republic of Ireland, a key export market for us.

“Our success in the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards helped to open the door for us to this very exciting business opportunity with Aldi and with a number of other potential clients in the Republic.

“Aldi was keen to add a premium yoghurt brand to its portfolio there. It’s a marvellous boost for us and will move our business in the Republic to a new level.

“We have begun supplying our Clandeboye Estate branded yoghurts to the Aldi depot in Nass for distribution to 61 supermarkets across the Republic,” he adds.

Clandeboye Estate luxury yoghurt using milk sourced from the farm’s own award winning Holstein and Jersey herd and is produced using traditional handmade techniques that include straining the yoghurt.

The artisan company’s natural and Greek-style yoghurts are hand made using traditional techniques to provide a rich creamy texture without fat content. The milk, sourced fresh every morning from the estate’s herd, is prepared and cultured very gently over a 24-hour period in small batches. This helps to create the exceptional flavour and texture.

The Greek style yoghurt is also made in traditional way by straining through cheesecloth to create a product with absolutely no thickening additives and therefore no added fats.

The yoghurt began as a farm diversification project driven by Lady Dufferin, the estate owner and a widely known artist. The yoghurt business was launched in 2007 and now produces a range of premium products including fruit smoothies that are sold throughout Northern Ireland.

During the Year of Food, leading Belfast law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin is providing helpful legal articles for the Northern Ireland food and drink industry. For the Brewing and Distilling month, Associate Solicitor Michael King, talks about the differences between patents and trade secrets for recipes and processes.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel! Or a quart, pint or gallon.
To patent or not to patent? That is the question.

There is currently a thriving craft beer and bespoke local drinks industry with new beers, gins, and other delicacies being launched onto the local drinks scene. From a brewer’s or manufacturer’s point of view, it may be worth exploring if the processes involved could enjoy intellectual property rights, as brewers can use the law to their advantage.

A trade secret can be “know how” or “show how – knowing how to do something, for example, a secret recipe or knowing the way to do something. It remains enforceable as a trade secret, as only as long the information is secret.

A patent however protects novel inventions capable of industry application. Therefore, brewing, distillation and other processes in relation to the manufacture and distribution of drinks may be patentable. In this case, the inventor is given a 20 year monopoly in exchange for showing the world how the invention works.

Trade secrets can be inventions or manufacturing processes that do not meet patentability criteria or do meet the criteria but the inventor choses to keep the invention secret. There are pros and cons to both approaches.

Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are not limited in time as long as they remain a secret, unlike patents which last for 20 years. There is no cost or administration involved unlike the patent process.

However, a trade secret can be particularly vulnerable to reverse engineering. It may be difficult to keep it secret. As soon it is no longer secret there is limited recourse only against those who disclosed it. A trade secret may be patented by someone who developed the information independently.

Patents
Like all registered intellectual property rights, patents can be easier to deal with i.e. transfer, assign and licence rights and have a quantifiable commercial value. Patents can also be easier to enforce because there is objective evidence of a particular right. With current technology, it can be easy for a competitor to analyse a drink for its ingredients. Patents can protect against reverse engineering.

Patents also benefit from the Patent Box. This is a scheme whereby HMRC offers tax advantages for companies that register patents. Thus a company may decide to register a patent for financial reasons over and above the benefits of innovation. The key is the level of innovation not the particular industry.

The downside to patents is that the process can be expensive and lengthy. After a certain amount of years, there will also be annual renewal costs.

There is no doubt that patents can be relevant to the brewing industry. There are techniques and processes which could be patentable. The question for the individual company will be if patenting is right for it. It will have to consider the following factors:

• Is the process patentable?
• Is it worth patenting? i.e. the costs of the patent as against the potential benefit; and
• Can the company keep a trade secret i.e. does the company trust its employees and third parties it deals with?

Patents are highly technical documents. If a company is considering a patent, it should consult a patent attorney who can advise on whether it meets the criteria and the scope of protection available.

If the company wants to keep a secret, it should ensure that it employee contracts have sufficient protections in relation to confidentiality and that third parties to include potential investors and business partners sign up to non-disclosure (or confidentiality) agreements. Many of the most successful companies maintain trade secrets such as recipes for soft drinks and fried food. It’s clear the employees can keep those secrets, but the question is, can yours?

Please note: The content of this article is for information purposes only and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor before action is taken.

Food fans will be thrilled to hear that Derry will be hosting a major celebration of two of the North West’s most popular indulgences – cheese and beer – as the Big Cheese and Beer Expo gets set to take over the Guildhall Square, April 15 – 17.

The event was launched today by Derry City and Strabane District Council as a major highlight of the NI Year of Food and Drink programme, shining a spotlight on some of the finest craft beers and cheeses being produced locally as part Brewing & Distilling month. The expo is supported by Tourism NI and DARD under the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, said that following the recent major success of the Legenderry Food Festival, she was delighted to see the announcement of another fantastic food event. “I’m really pleased to see businesses in the North West benefitting from another opportunity to showcase local produce, and some of the innovative work which is transforming the food industry here.
“We have some extremely talented individuals who are dedicated to the development of the craft food and drink industry. This event will open them up to new audiences and give people the chance to sample some of the finest locally crafted products.”

One of the highlights of the programme will be a number of live demonstrations by former Corrie star turned Cheese champion Sean Wilson, aka Martin Platt, who has swapped the TV set for the kitchen, developing his own range of award winning cheeses. He will be joined by a whole host of local culinary talents for cook offs and demos throughout the weekend.

Tourism Officer with Council, Mary Blake, said the Expo was a highlight in the NI Year of Food and Drink Calendar. “I am absolutely delighted that the city will be hosting its first Cheese and Beer Expo as part of the NI Year of Food and Drink programme.

“This event builds upon the success of events like Culture Tech and Sippy of Culture in celebrating the best of Beer and Cheese from across the North West and beyond featuring quality cheese producers and craft brewers.
“The craft brewing industry is definitely on the rise and we already boast some great local success stories including the Walled City Brewery and Northbound Brewery here in the city. And passionate food producers such as Tamnagh Foods have been championing local cheese scooping an array of awards for their efforts in recent months, including 3rd in the World Cheese Awards for their Dart Mountain cheese. Food lovers will be able to sample some of the fantastic ranges being produced, and taste the difference when it comes to beers and cheeses crafted from the very best local ingredients.

“The daytime programme will include a large market hall where there will be opportunities to try and buy, while on the evenings of 15th and 16th the venue transforms into a cabaret style event with live music, hot food with cheesy themed menus and the best of local beer on tap. I think the quality will speak for itself.”
The Expo will take place over three days and feature an array of events geared towards all ages, from family friendly, cheesy themed activities, to adult only beer tasting and food sampling. The Festival Marquee will have plenty of daytime family fun with pop up puppeteers, face painting, culinary themed arts and crafts plus lots more. In the evening adults can sample the best of the region’s craft beers, and enjoy local cheese and beer inspired dishes accompanied by some of the very best local performers.

Eddie Rowan, Tourism NI’s Events Manager, said: “We are pleased to support the Big Cheese and Beer Expo as part of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink. The event is a perfect platform to showcase our local food and drink suppliers alongside award winning produce. I wish everyone a very enjoyable and memorable weekend.”
The event is also supported the NI Regional Agri Food programme and Louise Millsopp, Head of Supply Chain, is delighted to see the commitment to local Agri Food development programmes which support local food development and supply.
All the action will take place on Friday 15th April – 5pm to 10pm; Saturday 16th April – 1pm to 6pm and 7pm to 11pm; and Sunday 17th April – 1pm to 5pm.

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