TV’s Gastronaut Stefan Gates teams up with chef and food writer Allegra McEvedy to lead the search for BBC Cook of the Year. BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme has opened nominations for the BBC Food & Farming Awards and one of the most prestigious awards will go to an outstanding cook working in an institutional setting (e.g. a school or hospital kitchen, workplace canteen, a nursery, care home, prison or hospice food service).

Stefan Gates, who has spent much of his television career enthusing and educating people about food, will team up with chef and food writer Allegra McEvedy to select the finalists and eventual winner. The cooks they’ll be looking for are often the hardest working people in the food industry, but also the least likely to receive national recognition. For this reason it’s important the judges get to hear about the real heroes, the inspirational people serving delicious and healthy food in a public/institutional setting.

There are thousands of cooks across Britain delivering fantastic food often working to tight budgets and inspiring others to follow their lead, so please help us spread the word and bring in nominations for these unsung heroes
cooking fantastic food. Cooks and caterers can also nominate themselves.

All nominators need to do is go to www.bbc.co.uk/foodawards from January 10th to midnight January 24th.
The best ideas that come through the judging process will be featured on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme and a special edition of the BBC Food & Farming Awards, also on Radio 4.

Over the years judges in this category have recognised people including the school dinner lady, writer and campaigner Jeanette Orrey, who went on to help thousands of school cooks across the UK; Jane Sen of the Bristol Cancer Help Centre was recognised for her ground-breaking approach to care and nutrition. Last year’s winner was Jo Ingleby, whose work in Bristol has led to hundreds of pre-school children having their first introduction to cooking and food skills.
Sheila Dillon, founder of the awards and presenter of Radio 4’s The Food Programme said: “In 2000 we wanted the awards to cast light on unsung heroes. They still do that, but what we now see is the awards actually transform economies and institutions. Prison caterer Al Crisci won in 2005 and went on to found the Clink Charity and transform prison training and inmates to pursue careers in food. The school cooks we’ve recognised over the years
have also gone on to inspire change in other schools across the UK.”

With 9 categories on offer, including Best Food Producer, Best Drinks Producer,Best Local Food Retailer, Best Food Market and Best Street Food/Takeaway, the judging panel are calling for nominations from the public in every part of the UK.
Once the judges have selected a shortlist for each of the categories, they visit each finalist in person. The eventual winners will be announced at the annual BBC Food & Farming Awards ceremony, to be held in Bristol on 29th April.
Shortly after, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a programme featuring the winners and judges.

Article written by Michele Shirlow for Farm Week- 21st January 2016

Two cornerstone events for Year of Food and Drink are currently being finalised and will provide huge scope for local companies to grow sales.

The two events are the Food NI Food and Drink Pavilion at the annual RUAS show at Balmoral Park from 11-13 May and the BBC Good Food Show in the new Waterfront Hall extension from 14-16 October.

It’s likely that upwards of 100 local food and drink companies including many artisan enterprises will be showing and sampling products at Balmoral, which attracted around 100,000 visitors last year, clearly our most successful year to date.

Our Food and Drink Pavilion was a huge success with both visitors and local businesses in 2015. There was a tremendous buzz in the pavilion during the event and many thousands of visitors were introduced to quality and innovative food and drink from local producers. As a result of this success, I am confident that the upcoming event will set new records in terms of participating companies and visitors to the pavilion.

Once again the pavilion will feature an extensive programme of cookery demonstrations by leading chefs and using the best local produce. We have extensive international media visits planned to visit the food pavilion this year which is a great opportunity.

BBC Good Food Show, one of the biggest events in the UK food and drink calendar, will be staged in Northern Ireland for the very first time.

The organisers have a tremendous track record in staging such shows in England, Scotland and Wales. It’s great to see Northern Ireland now featuring in the schedule for an initial contract period of three years. It’s expected to attract around 10,000 visitors in October. I’d certainly hope to see a great many more visitors from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and other parts of the UK taking part in this important business event.
The show is also a consumer focused event. As is the case with our pavilion at Balmoral, BBC Good Show is consumer focused and designed to provide an ideal platform to highlight our award winning food and drink companies, place the spotlight on our talented chefs and celebrated restaurants, and spread the word about Northern Ireland as a great foodie destination. It’s an event that is designed to enable our companies to increase awareness of their products and to sell.

I am sure that local companies will get behind both events. TourismNI, DARD and InvestNI are certainly keen to ensure the success of the BBC Good Food Show because of its standing throughout the UK and indeed further afield.

The organisers also intend to market it extensively in the Republic to attract participants, buyers and visitors. It’s vitally important that our companies grasp the business opportunity provided by both Balmoral and the BBC Good Show.

Foodie hearts are already aflutter as the initial line-up will feature BBC chef James Martin, Bake-off’s Paul Hollywood and the Hairy Bikers. There will be plenty of local culinary talent to see at Balmoral too. So put these dates in your diary now.

The search is on to find farms willing to open their gates and fields to participate in Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend 2016. The event, in its fifth year, will coincide with the Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016 which is being co-ordinated by Tourism NI, supported by Food NI.

To begin the search for potential farm hosts, an event was held today for the Guild of Agricultural Journalists at a regular Open Farm venue Hillstown Farm Shop in Randalstown.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union led initiative, principally supported by the Bank of Ireland, has been running since 2012 and has attracted almost 60,000 people throughout that time. It has also made important strides in helping promote food education through a dedicated schools programme.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend Chairman and UFU Deputy President Barclay Bell said, “With 2016 designated as the Year of Food and Drink in Northern Ireland, we are looking for farmers to volunteer and help to tell their part of the food chain story to a wide and captive audience. This is an exciting time for our industry to really showcase our excellent produce and be part of this important celebration. From the small artisan outlets right up to the large scale producers, we want to hear from you if you would be interested in hosting this summer.

“In 2015, 21 farms opened their gates to the public and we would like to have a similar number participate in 2016 with a particular call to expand farm numbers in the west of the province, in the Tyrone and Fermanagh areas.”

Bank of Ireland UK Head of Agriculture NI William Thompson added, “We are delighted to continue our support of the Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend especially given the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016. The initiative is a great marketing opportunity for food producers or those with farm diversification projects to open their gates. Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend helps educate people about how their food is produced and highlights the value of the agriculture sector to Northern Ireland.”

Food NI Chairman and 2015 Open Farm Weekend host John Best encourages farmers and artisan producers alike to take part. “The range of food and drinks that our members are producing is more diverse than ever before. We have always had great raw ingredients but there is growing number of artisans who are really pushing boundaries.

“As part of the Year of Food and Drink, each month celebrates the diverse aspects of our agri-food industry. January’s theme is breakfast month and we were treated to a wonderful breakfast today at Hillstown Farm Shop, who are Food NI members and recipients of the Great Taste Awards.”

There is a full programme of training and support in place for the 2016 initiative and project managers are on hand throughout the year to offer advice and guidance to participating farmers. To register your interest email kcairns@ufuhq.com or call 028 9037 0222.

The 2016 Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend will run on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June. For more information, visit the website www.openfarmweekend.com, follow on Twitter @BOIopenfarm and like Open Farm Weekend on Facebook.

Have you got what it takes to showcase our tastiest produce and sell NI as a foodie destination?
Are you ready to make the most of Northern Ireland Year of Food & Drink 2016 for your business?

Whether you work behind the scenes in producing our acclaimed food and drink or serve directly on the front-line, this is a golden opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge that will really power sales in your business this year by highlighting the importance of local provenance.

WorldHost Sales Powered by Service is a recognised and accredited training programme tailored specifically for Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016. This is a year to shout about our homegrown classics and to spread the word about our amazing chefs and restaurants. This means knowing what and who we’re talking about and doing that with confidence and passion. Put simply, this is customer service that sells!

Tourism NI have partnered with People 1st and Food NI/Taste of Ulster to develop this half-day training session which will:
• bring you up to speed on all that is happening in NI Year of Food & Drink 2016
• share knowledge of new and established producers across Northern Ireland
and in your local area
• highlight great places to eat and enjoy local produce
• include a ‘Taste Experience’ to bring your learning to life

This is also a great networking opportunity when you can join up with other local producers who attend consumer shows, restaurants, bakeries or farm shops, farmers’ markets and food trails to share ideas on working together in 2016. As part of the launch of WorldHost Sales Powered by Service a limited number of places are being offered free of charge on a first come first served basis.

Training Details
25 February 13.00 – 17.00
26 February 10.00 – 14.00
Everglades Hotel, Derry-Londonderry

8 March 13.00 – 17.00
9 March 10.00 – 14.00
The Moody Boar, Armagh

15 March 13.00 – 17.00
16 March 10.00 – 14.00
James Street South, Belfast

22 March 13.00 – 17.00
23 March 10.00 – 14.00
The Cuan, Strangford

To register please visit www.event-ful.co.uk/events/worldhost or for more information please call 028 9043 4320
Please note, registrations are limited to two representatives per organisation. All WorldHost training materials and certificates will be included and following the training participants will be invited to a celebratory presentation of certificates.Once 50% of your frontline staff have completed any WorldHost programme you can apply for your WorldHost Recognised Business Award.

Agri-food producers from the Food Heartland are ready for the NI Year of Food & Drink 2016, today launching both their new Food Heartland Brand and plans for the year.

The ‘Food Heartland’ showcases Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon borough’s abundance of specialist artisan food and drink producers and is one of the key growth areas for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.
The Food Heartland Forum, funded by DARD Regional Food Programme, is a unique public and private sector partnership between council, agri-food businesses and various support bodies to drive the local agri-food sector forward. Working with Food NI, Tourism NI, and local event organisers, the Forum is trailblazing ahead with its new Food Heartland brand with Tourism NI now citing it an example of best practice.
Council is fully committed to supporting and promoting the agri-food sector in a number of ways, including:

• Celebrating local food and drink at key local events
• Presenting special visitors to the Borough with Food Heartland Hampers packed with delicious local produce
• Funding a Food Heartland Export Support Programme
• Developing an Armagh Bramley Apple Supply Chain project to champion this unique product with world renowned status
• Food Heartland Forum workshops throughout the year with the producers setting the agenda
• Food Heartland Awards, hosted by the Lord Mayor in the spring to celebrate our quality creators and passionate producers

Lord Mayor, Councillor Darryn Causby who launched the brand together with a number of Food Heartland companies said, “This Borough is home to a great number of outstanding food & drink producers. Today marks the start of an exciting year for the agri-food industry, our borough and Northern Ireland. 2016 will be a busy year and we are keen to grasp this golden opportunity of NI Year of Food & Drink and celebrate the great people behind our world-class food & drink produce.”

In addition to these plans the Council has a year long series of events planned throughout 2016 starting with a breakfast month in January right through to December when the Food Heartland producers will promote their wares at St George’s Market Belfast.

For those interested in further information or joining the Food Heartland Forum please contact Sarah-Jane Macdonald, Economic Development on 028 38 312 572, sarahjane.macdonald@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk

Mourne Mountains Brewery announces new deal to supply iconic Belfast hotel and its public house The Cloth Ear

One of Northern Ireland’s newest craft brewers, Mourne Mountains Brewery, has announced a deal to supply a selection of their bottled craft beers to The Merchant Hotel and its public house, The Cloth Ear.

The Merchant’s cocktail bar is now stocking Mourne Mist, a 4.5% abv pilsner, while customers in The Cloth Ear can enjoy both Mourne Mist and The First Noël, the brewery’s 6.0% abv spiced lager produced as a limited edition warmer for the dark nights of winter.

Michael Patterson, cocktail bar manager at The Merchant Hotel said: “We really pride ourselves on the wide range of beers and spirits that we have on offer at The Merchant and we’re constantly working to update and grow our menu, so we’re delighted to be able to offer Mourne Mist to our customers.

“We realised that there was a gap in our bar for a high quality pilsner, something Mourne Mist will fill perfectly, but the fact that Mourne Mountains Brewery is based in Warrenpoint was a massive bonus as well. It has a genuine local connection, and that’s something so many people now look for when they make their order.

Lisa Kennedy, Manager of The Cloth Ear added: “Mourne Mist is a great addition to our range as although we stock bottles from all over the world, there is a huge demand for local beers and unique flavours, especially with so many tourists visiting Belfast. They are looking to sample an authentic taste of Northern Ireland.”

The new deal means that Mourne Mountains Brewery, which launched last year, is now stocked in more than 70 bars, restaurants and off licenses across Northern Ireland, and the brewery’s founder, Connaire McGreevy, has ambitious plans to build on this success in 2016.

“We’re proud to be stocking our beers in The Merchant Hotel and The Cloth Ear.
The Merchant is one of Belfast’s most iconic and prestigious venues, while The Cloth Ear sits right at the heart of the busy Cathedral Quarter, and this new deal demonstrates the appetite that there is for high quality, locally produced beers among tourists and locals alike.

“Our goal now is to continue to expand and reach out to even more outlets right across Northern Ireland over the coming months. 2016 already looks promising for our local craft beer sector and we’ve got a number of big plans in the pipeline, including four new seasonal specials and a host of events, so watch this space.”

For more information on Mourne Mountains Brewery visit www.mournemountainsbrewery.com.

For a full list of stockists search ‘Mourne Mountains Brewery’ on Facebook or you can also follow us on Twitter @MourneBrewery