Ardtara Country House is honoured to receive two new awards-
The AA’s Four Star Gold Award
& 2 AA Rosettes for the Restaurant
to add to the 2015 “Best Hotel Restaurant in Ulster” award (Irish Restaurants Association).
( Gold Star Award-The AA’s supreme accolade for guest accommodation. AA Gold Stars are awarded to the very best properties offering excellent levels of quality throughout and outstanding levels of hospitality and service).

Over the past 20 years, Ardtara Country House has hosted ‘romantic couples’, ‘golfing heroes’, ‘Nobel prize winners’, ‘Olympic champions’, ‘Hollywood celebrities’, as well as thousands of loyal locals while garnering kudos from discerning reviewers such as:

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER (“One of the five best hotels in the country”); The AA (“Most Romantic Hotel of the Year”); CONDE NAST TRAVELER (“Offers superb fare and sublimely comfortable rooms each with a glowing fireplace”).

Ardtara has been a member of the prestigious “Ireland’s Blue Book” since 2004 (a collection of Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants), and is one
of four Northern Ireland members.
The other three are Browns Restaurant, the Bushmills Inn and Newforge House.
www.ardtara.com

Local Agri-Businesses Unite to Help Simple Power and Rural Support Deliver over 100 Hampers to Rural Families in Need

Farming and rural charity, Rural Support, and wind energy company, Simple Power, are celebrating the success of their third annual ‘Christmas Hamper Scheme’, which aimed to help hard-hit families throughout Northern Ireland.
With support from 19 local agri businesses donating food and drink items, the charity was aided in delivering over 100 hampers for farming and rural families in need this Christmas. Since its launch in 2013, the scheme has grown year-on-year, with 2015 delivering the largest appeal to date and doubling the number of hampers distributed since year one.

Rural Support’s Chief Executive, Jude McCann, commented, “In the wake of farm gate prices and the dairy crisis, 2015 has been a particularly challenging year for the farming and rural community. This has been reflected in the increasing number of people availing of Rural Support’s services through our helpline which has seen a 25% increase in calls in recent months compared to the same period last year.”
“With even more families in distress, we are delighted that we were able to deliver our biggest hamper appeal yet, with over 100 families benefitting from the scheme this year. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of local agri-producers, especially given the added pressures these companies are under during the festive season. Their help is much needed and makes a great difference to a rural family in need this Christmas. We would like to sincerely thank Simple Power for their support in co-ordinating the scheme and enabling us to reach more families with packed hampers this year.”

Rural Support is working with its CSR partner, wind energy company Simple Power, on campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of health and wellbeing in rural communities and farm families, including the Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Simple Power Chief Executive, Philip Rainey, commented, “We are delighted to see the Christmas Hamper Appeal become bigger and better each year and we are proud to support this very important charity initiative. Christmas can be a very special time for many but it’s important to acknowledge that it can also be a difficult time of year for those in hardship. With the support of the local producers, the hampers go some way towards delivering a little Christmas cheer this year to hard-hit rural families, alongside Rural Support’s very beneficial support services. The scheme would not be possible without the generous support of donors and we thank each of the 19 companies that contributed to the scheme this year.”

This year’s Christmas Hamper Appeal included generous donations from Ballyeamon Eggs, Cavanagh Eggs, Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt, Comber Potato Company, Dale Farm, DJ’s Apple Juice, The Good Little Company, Karro Foods, Kerry Food Group, Lidl NI, Mash Direct, Moy Park, Punjana Tea, Rural Development Council, South Antrim Community Network, Tayto, Tesco NI, Ulster Farmers Union, White’s Oats and Wilsons Country.
Rural Support helps farming and rural families across Northern Ireland on a wide range of issues, from farm business and financial issues to concerns about physical and mental health. The charity provides support for the rural community through a helpline offering a listening and signposting service.

The next call for applications will be open from Monday 8th February to 3pm on Friday 26th February 2016.

Please click here for further information

INNOVATION VOUCHERS FAQs

Article from the Farm Week written by Michele Shirlow

Our first-ever Year of Food and Drink is now up and running. And it’s going to be a very exciting 12 months in Northern Ireland and indeed further afield as we celebrate our fantastic food and drink and the people and companies behind the products that are increasingly being recognised here and abroad as being outstandingly tasty, wholesome and safe.

In the next month there will be a great deal to report on with progress on 2016. Celebrations kick off this week with Tesco launching their plans to celebrate 2016, next week TourismNI are holding a 2016 banquet in the Ulster Hall and a further series of ‘ food and drink revolution’ roadshows to inspire the tourism industry. The month finishes with several business breakfasts highlighting Breakfast Week.

January is Breakfast Month and there’s surely no better way to start the year than by celebrating local breakfast foods. When we think of breakfast we tend to think of the traditional and hearty Ulster Fry, of traditional potato and soda breads, eggs, bacon and pork sausages (which I love) but Northern Ireland is also outstanding in production of oat based cereals and dairy products which make great options for breakfast.

Research shows that eating a good breakfast improves overall wellbeing. It’s an essential start to the day. Breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers so for anyone trying to lose a few pounds after Christmas, planning a healthy breakfast is vital. Breakfast provides the essential energy and nutrients needed for an active lifestyle

The longstanding Farmhouse Breakfast event in Belfast is one of the most enjoyable occasions in January. And many of the ingredients in the local breakfast regularly win prestigious awards in competitions such as the UK Great Taste Awards.

Charles Campion, for instance, the influential food writer and MasterChef judge, is on record as describing a good Ulster Fry as ‘probably the best breakfast in the world’. Indeed there’s nothing I enjoy more than a well-cooked Ulster Fry. But I also enjoy a steaming bowl of porridge from locally grown oats topped with local honey and cream, pure indulgence. Oats, of course, are a great source of fibre and also have a low GI, which means porridge keeps you fuelled until lunch.

Encouragingly, cereals grown in Northern Ireland for porridge and granola are also now being enjoyed at breakfast from the US to Taiwan. And our wonderful breakfast tea is even now being exported to Japan, central Europe and Africa!

Even if you prefer a continental-style breakfast experienced on those holidays abroad such as croissants, cold meats and cheese you’ll also find these readily available from local producers. We’ve some of the best bakeries in the UK and Ireland and some excellent producers of meats especially delicious ham. We are also seeing the emergence of a charcuterie sector including Wagyu and venison sausages.

Showcasing the breadth and quality of what’s readily available here is, of course, what our Year of Food and Drink is all about. We, collectively, are telling people here and abroad about the products and enterprising and creative people behind them….and encouraging consumers to opt for local food and drink because it is of the highest quality.

We are working with our cadre of talented chefs to harness the products to develop Northern Ireland’s growing reputation as a global centre of original dishes and increase our appeal to tourists and other visitors.

To mark the Year of Food & Drink 2016, the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland are celebrating breakfast during the month of January and challenging members to create healthy breakfast options of 400 Calories or under.
The competition is easy to enter and is open to all NIHF members. All you have to do is create a healthy breakfast dish which can be a cereal, beverage or cooked dish. Then simply photo it and submit it with a short description of under 100 words (including the calorie count of the entry) via email to breakfast@nihf.co.uk by 5.00pm on 29th January 2015.
Full details below. Entries are limited to one per premises and the calorie content should be calculated using the MenuCal tool available from the FSA website here. The entries will be judged by an independent panel and will feature on the final top ten healthy breakfasts. The top ten will receive a certificate of recognition and will be promoted via the NIHF social media and published materials. They will also be featured in the local trade press. The top ten will be announced on Friday 5th February 2016.

How to Enter
Create breakfast dish for one person at 400 Calories or under per portion.
Prepare dish and take a reasonable quality photo of it (this doesn’t need to be professional but should show your dish off in the best way possible. A modern smart phone camera should be fine as long as the photo is sent to us full size).
Write less than 100 words to describe the dish and include the total Calories in your description.
List the ingredients and quantities used.
Email photo, description and ingredients to breakfast@nihf.co.uk by 5.00 pm on Friday 29th January 2016.
The entries will be judged by an independent panel and a Top Ten Breakfast list produced. This list will be promoted widely.

Rules

•  All entries must have a photo, ingredients, description and calorie count included in their email entry. The photo  may be used by the NIHF for promotion purposes.
• Calorie count should be calculated using the MenuCal Tool which is available via the FSA website.
• Entries are only accepted from hotels, guesthouses and guest accommodations that are Members of the Northern  Ireland Hotels Federation.
• One entry per accommodation provider/member property.
• Entrants must agree to abide by these 
and any other rules of the competition and 
to any publicity as a result of their entry.
• Winners must not engage in promotion of their win without prior consent of NIHF.
• The judges’ decision is final.

The closing date is the 29th January 2016 at 5.00pm.

Great Taste is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink awards.

Putting your food or drink to the test with our panel of over 450 experts is a quick way to get honest, straightforward and impartial feedback from chefs, buyers, food writers and retailers. Whether your product receives a 1-, 2- or 3-star accolade, Great Taste stars are highly respected seals of approval.

The Great Taste Awards general entries open 3rd February 2016

Please visit: https://gff.co.uk/awards/great-taste-awards/ for further information