Tourism Ireland brings a taste of Northern Ireland to London

Our iconic Ulster Fry was celebrated last week all around Northern Ireland. This Friday, Tourism Ireland brought the celebrations to London – with a special ‘Ulster FryDay’ breakfast event in the Seamus Heaney Library in the Bloomsbury Hotel.

Tourism Ireland invited top GB food writers and bloggers to sample a taste of Northern Ireland. Guests included journalists from publications like The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Lonely Planet and the Financial Times. They enjoyed a delicious Ulster Fry and filled sodas – all made from the very best of Northern Ireland produce.

Chef Joyce Brownless – owner of Blackwell House in Scarva, Co Down – was on hand to tell the journalists and bloggers all about our world-class ingredients and great hospitality, which have helped make Northern Ireland such a great food destination. Guests heard about our talented chefs, wonderful restaurants and cookery schools, as well as the many events set to take place throughout 2016 as part of Northern Ireland’ Year of Food and Drink.

Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s Head of Great Britain, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the very best of Northern Ireland food here in London, with our special ‘Ulster FryDay’. Throughout 2016, Tourism Ireland will place a major focus on highlighting the superb food scene in Northern Ireland. We are inviting people from Great Britain, and around the world, to come and enjoy 366 days of culinary celebration – where they will discover the very best of local produce and have the chance to experience the spectacular scenery and wonderful coastline which make Northern Ireland so special. With so many great events planned during 2016, our message is that there has never been a better time to enjoy a true taste of Northern Ireland.”

2016 will represent a major celebration of Northern Ireland’s food and drink sector, as it will officially be the ‘Year Of Food & Drink’. A series of events and industry development programmes celebrating quality, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in the food and drink sector are being planned and I feel Lough Erne has its own special dishes like the Fermanagh 10 mile Breakfast , or the special that we are now running in our Fine Dining 3 Rosette Restaurant.

Here is Some of the Dishes The Lough Erne Resort will be Show casing Each Month.

JANUARY

Breakfast Month

 Fermanagh’s 10 Mile Breakfast

FEBRUARY

Love Local

 Chef Noel McMeel’s Signature Dish

“Lough Erne Pork Dish”

Reflecting the Very Best of Local Produce from Pat O’Doherty’s.

Fillet of Pork – Pork Cheek – Ham Hock – Black Pudding Palmier – Pork Belly

MARCH

Heritage & Traditions

 Corn Beef & Cabbage – Traditional Champ – Innis MacSaint Gravy

APRIL

Brewing Distilling

 Mc Ivors Armagh Cider & Bushmills Whiskey Cocktails from the Blaney Bar

MAY

Landscape & Places

 “Lough Erne Signature Dessert”

Chefs Rhubarb Tart – Rhubarb Carrageen Moss from Rathlin Island – Sugared Rhubarb –Will Taylors Glastry Farm Yellowman Ice Cream

JUNE

Love Dairy

Celebrate the best of local Northern Irish Artasian Cheese Makers – Toasted Branbrack – Dittys Oatcakes

JULY

Seas, Rivers & Loughs

Toomebridge Smoked Eel & Fermanagh’s Fresh Crayfish Salad

AUGUST

NI Meat

Peter Hanans Glenarm Shorthorn Irish Beef with Rosemary & Thyme Butter

SEPTEMBER

Bread & Baking

Afternoon Tea at Lough Erne with a Twist with some of the Freshly Baked Soda, Fruit & Banana Breads

OCTOBER

Harvest

Pears  Apples & Plums

NOVEMBER

Legacy & Learn

 I hope that every great chef in Northern Ireland will start and glorify their natural ingredients that are on our door steps, hoping they will use them in ways that enhance all of our foods essences, aromas and flavours.

DECEMBER

Christmas & Premium Foods

Gifts of our Lough Erne Jams, Chutneys, Cake & Biscuits

 

Here is just some of their suppliers:

O’Dohertys

 

Known as one of the Top butchers in Ireland O’Dohertys have been in the forefront of the meat trade for over forty years. During that time there have been many advances in food production but how often have you longed for the taste of Fermanagh. Also a great maker of Boxty. Boxty is a traditional potato dish, celebrated in the rhyme. Boxty on the griddle, Boxty in the pan, If you can’t make Boxty, you’ll never get your man

Kettyle Meats, Lisnaskea

Maurice Kettyle started Kettyle Irish Foods in 2004, and was a pioneer in the then unheard of ‘dry aging’ process. Since then he has moved from strength to strength, Winning many Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards, or as he calls it. The Food Oscars. He supplies us with our Lough Erne Lamb taken from all round the Grasslands and Islands of the Lough Erne. He also supplies us with our Fermanagh Chicken, which is sourced from three Free Range Farms over Fermanagh.

Cavanagh Free Range Eggs

John and Eileen Hall from Fermanagh built their first hen house in 2001 and now they have more than 30,00 free-range birds roaming across the local countryside. They know that contented hens lay great quality eggs so they work hard at creating the best possible environment for them. They’re obviously happy hens because they produce a lot of eggs every year.The Great Taste Award judges comment was “A good, golden yolk, well rounded, and a firm clean white – a delicious flavour, creamy and deliciously natural.”

Irwin’s

It’s just on the right side of salty and tastes fantastic slathered on crusty bread. It makes mighty fine fudge to. Irwin’s Bakery is Northern Ireland’s largest independent plant bakery and is a family owned and run company based in Portadown, Co Armagh. We have been baking bread for over 100 years so bread making is something we’ve grown up with and are famous for like our Irwin’s Nutty Krust Plain Loaf, Irwin’s Softee and our Muffins and Rolls range. Irwin’s products are based on traditional Northern Irish recipes and baking methods, including original fermentation and slow-baking processes.

Ballyrashane

Since 1896, we have been producing award-winning dairy products from our main site close to the world famous Giant’s Causeway on the North Antrim Coast. This prime location allows us to source our milk supply from farms benefiting from the best natural resources. Our milk comes from cows which have the luxury of grazing in rich verdant pastures in one of Ireland’s best dairy areas and this gives our products their distinctive quality and unmistakeable flavour.

Keenans Seafood, Belfast

The Keenan family have been in the fish business for three generations since Thomas Keenan and his son Gerald founded T Keenan & Son (Fish Merchants) Ltd back in 1942. The business has prospered over the years and in 1991 was renamed Keenan Seafood Ltd under the ownership of Gerard Keenan. They supply us with all of our Haddock, Cold & Hot Smoked Salmon, and our Beer Battered, North Atlantic Scampi Bites

Hannans Meats, Moira

Owned by Peter and Jim Hannan, They are a pioneering company, having won over 40 coveted Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards, They supply to many other high end restaurants, Including Mark Hix of Hix Restaurant, London, Fortnum & Masons and Harrods. Here they supply us with our Glenarm Shorthorn Burgers, Locally sourced Pork shoulder, Our Signature Three Sweet Cured Bacon Ribs, and the Unique Himalayan Salt Aged Sirloin & Delmonico steaks.

Broighter Gold, Limavady

Located in Limavady is run by Leona & Richard Kane, they are fourth Generation farmers who use cold pressing method of the rapeseed flowers to create our rapeseed Oil. Broighter Gold Rapeseed oil, was discovered by accident one evening in 2006.  Leona was preparing the tea and had ran out of olive oil.  Richard brought up some of the unfiltered cold pressed rapeseed oil which Leona used to cook their two fillet steaks, and make a salad dressing.

It was the smell of the rapeseed oil, was the first thing that caught Leona’s attention, and the way the steaks didn’t burn in the pan, the taste wasn’t bitter, with no after taste like olive oil, and we joked that it was our “Broighter Gold”

Glastry Farm, Down

The Taylor family have been farming Dairy Cows in their Kircubbin Farm since 1856, in 2007, through the farm diversification project, Glastry Farm Ice Cream was born and has gone from strength to strength ever since, winning 9 Gold awards at the Great Taste Awards.

And what’s the secret to the Great Tasting Ice Cream? The Pedigree Herd eat solely on the rich green grasses of the Ards Peninsula, which creates a fantastically Creamy Milk to make a fantastically Creamy Ice Cream. The Taylor family have been farming dairy cows and growing grass at Glastry Farm since 1856 with the fifth generation of the family now in charge.

That clover rich grassland and those pedigree cows just keep producing the rich creamy milk that makes their ice-creams so special in taste and texture. Will and his super gifted team (four legged and two legged!) are into innovation in a big way with a constant flow of ideas that turn into award winning products. Coconut, one of this year’s Gold Stars, Irish Stout with its coffee and caramel tones, Belfast Black ice-cream, yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, a black ice-cream with the Whitewater Brewery’s Belfast Black ale.

To celebrate their 5th Birthday, and in recognition of  NI Year of Food and Drink 2016; Broighter Gold have created a Special Edition Signature Oil.

From the same fields that the Broighter Hoard was discovered in 1896, Broighter Gold were inspired to create their own treasure: “Liquid Gold with flakes of 24k Gold”.

Packed with natural goodness and a source of Omega 3.  Liquid Gold is perfect for drizzling over salads, fish, or simply use as a dipping oil with real bread. Our Special Edition is best used as a finishing oil.
Broighter Gold Special Edition Rapeseed Oil is infused with 24-karat edible gold flakes. It has a delicate balanced taste of slight buttery taste and sweet pea flavour, and is perfect for a variation of uses.

Their products are all handmade and special attention to detail and skill has been taken to make their new Liquid Gold oil. We will have a number of Special Edition bottles for 2016, and will be available from our Website or at our Economusee.

Its aromatic and golden properties are captivating — a true taste of luxury…once you experience our Special Edition Liquid Gold you will feel the sense of opulence.

Leona had always the vision of bringing our the Real Liquid Gold but found the time was never right and now with their 5th Birthday and the Year of NI Food and Drink 2016 she decided that we had set about making our Special Edition Liquid Gold. They are very excited about their new product and look forward to seeing the reactions of both chefs and customers.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell today joined five chefs from top Dubai hotels as they took part in a ‘larder challenge’ with Northern Ireland chefs at Belfast MET Culinary College.
The event, organised by Invest Northern Ireland, was part of a programme to showcase Northern Ireland’s unique food and drink heritage and the pure, natural, quality of our produce.

Over 40 local companies submitted products which the chefs used to create a Year of Food & Drink Tasting Buffet. The producers of these ingredients then had the opportunity to meet the chefs who used their produce and also network with buyers from key retail and foodservice outlets in the Middle East. The ‘larder’ was stocked with products including salmon, cote de boeuf, striploin, lamb, cheeses, chutneys and jams.
Jonathan Bell said: “This larder challenge and networking showcase is an exciting opportunity for influential chefs and buyers in Dubai to sample the quality of our local products for themselves.

“The Northern Ireland food and drink industry is making a big effort to showcase the pure, natural, quality of local food and drink. Invest NI and Tourism NI have thrown their collective weight behind the initiative and have arranged one to one meetings with buyers and site visits to producers. This direct contact will help build on the international reputation of the local products already exported to the Middle East and support our producers to leverage new sales.”

Commenting on the experience, Ben Tobitt, Head Chef Jumeriah Restaurant Group, said: “It has been inspiring to meet the passionate producers of Northern Ireland’s award winning food and drink and to get hands on with some of the finest ingredients.”

Harry Robinson, Belfast Met Curriculum Area Manager, School of Creative and Services Industries, said: “Belfast Met are delighted to host events such as the Larder Challenge in partnership with Invest NI and DETI. This event has provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to experience and participate in an event that features such a high calibre of professional chefs, and see first-hand how they work and interact in a culinary environment.
“The year of Food and Drink is an exciting time for our College as more high profile events will be coming to the College throughout the year, which will offer our students with more opportunities to practice their culinary and creative skills in a live environment.”

Belfast MET Culinary College / DETI MInister Jonathan Bell

During the Year of Food, leading Belfast law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin will be providing helpful legal articles for the Northern Ireland food and drink industry. The first of these pieces, by Associate Solicitor Michael King, covers the area of trademarking, and protected names in Europe. His particular area of expertise is contentious intellectual property law to include disputes involving trademarks, design right patents, copyright, branding, and passing off.

The quality and source of foodstuffs rather than solely their price is becoming increasingly important to consumers, who now demand to know a product’s journey from “field to fork”. In a globalised world, this can actually assist local producers – Northern Ireland produce is world-renowned, and local producers can capitalise on this reputation by promoting their brand and linking it Northern Ireland’s excellent industry.

Promoting a brand is normally done by trademarking. The owner usually registers a word and/or image. It is also possible to register colours, shapes, sounds and even smells. The owner can register in the jurisdictions in which they do business and can apply for a Community mark to cover all 28 member states of the EU.

The owner can also protect unregistered marks from copying under the law of ‘passing off.’ The ingredients for a passing off action are goodwill; reputation; misrepresentation that competing goods are connected with or endorsed by the owner; and loss, usually a decrease in trade.

In addition, with agricultural products and foodstuffs, the producer or group of producers can apply for an EU protected name. The EU currently operates three schemes; protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and traditional speciality guarantee (TSG).

PDOs cover agricultural products and foodstuffs produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical location using recognised know-how. UK examples are Jersey Royal potatoes and Stilton blue cheese.

PGIs cover agricultural products and foodstuffs linked to a geographical area. At least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in the specific area. UK examples are Wensleydale cheese and Cornish sardines.

TSGs highlight traditional characteristics of a product, either its composition or means of production. UK examples include Gloucester old spots pork and traditionally farm fresh turkey.

An individual producer or group within an area, can apply. If it is a single producer, they must demonstrate they are the only producer in the area associated with that product and that it differs from other products in neighbouring areas. Unfortunately, this process can take up to four years.

Protected EU names encourage diversity, protect names from misuse and imitation, and help consumers choose. They represent strong badges of origin in addition to trademarks which promote Northern Ireland produce both in Europe and internationally.

The UK has not been as enthusiastic about EU protected names as its European neighbours, having only 65. Northern Ireland only has a few PGIs; new season Comber potatoes/Comber Earlies, Armagh Bramley apples and Irish whiskey.

Scottish Beef is a PGI. Given the meat, fruit and vegetable industries in Northern Ireland, there is great potential for more EU protected names. It seems to be a resource that is underused or not well-publicised.

Local producers can capitalise on consumer demand for local, and may consider trademarking brands and applying for an EU protected name. To avoid the cost of a wasted application or objection, producers should first consult the appropriate advisor.

Please contact Cleaver Fulton Rankin on 028 90243141, or alternatively visit www.cfrlaw.co.uk

Krazibaker, the Northern Ireland artisan baker, has opened a unique bakery school to help increase awareness of traditional Irish griddle breads.

The award winning business, owned and run by Mark Douglas, who has experience over 30 years in baking a range of traditional and contemporary breads, is aiming to create interest in Britain in the production of staple Irish products such as handmade soda bread, potato cakes, potato apple, wheaten loaves and all butter shortbread.

Douglas has won UK Great Taste awards for his shortbread, which is made using handmade butter from Abernethy Butter, another Northern Irish award winner.

While the bakery school is currenly based at his home in Dromore, County Down, he plans to team up with a local hotel to offer residential courses to attract the interest of baking enthusiasts in Britain influenced by the success of television cookery shows such as ‘The Great British Bake-Off’.

“Interest in baking skills especially traditional Northern Irish breads is stronger now than ever. The trend has also been encouraged by the growth in tourism in Northern Ireland and from presentations in London and Dublin that I’ve been invited to undertake particularly by Tourism Ireland,” he says.

He is also strengthening interest in Northern Irish soda breads by coming up with original products such as an Irish wheaten, a brown soda bread, using sultanas soaked overnight in Irish whiskey and then baked with cinnamon. “It’s an extremely tasty bread for breakfast as well as other times of the day. It’s another bread based on Northern Ireland’s great tradition of wheaten breads, usually known as brown sodas in Britain,” he adds.

Douglas has been developing awarness and interest in traditional griddle baking techniques and products at farmers’ markets and shows throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over the past three years.
He specialises in “anything that can be baked freshly on a griddle”. All his freshly baked products are made without yeast or preservatives.

“The days when traditional breads like potato cakes and soda farls were regularly baked in many homes especially in Northern Ireland have long gone.

“It’s a skill that appears to be dying, and that’s sad because griddle breads are tastier. This recognition led me to attempt to do something to keep the technique alive. The bakery school is a logical extension of this commitment. I’ve already organised several sessioons and these have proved extremely popular. I’d be keen in particular to take the message about griddle baking to schools and women’s organisations.”