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

Nominate your favourite chippy chip or 5*creamy mash in the 2016 Mighty Spud Awards

Chef Paula McIntyre is leading the search for the best potato dishes that Northern Ireland has to offer in the inaugural Mighty Spud Awards 2016. The awards are part of an ongoing campaign to support the NI potato industry, while also recognising excellence in the hospitality sector. There will be four nomination categories – Mightiest Chip, Mightiest Mash, Mightiest Potato Innovation and Mightiest Healthy Potato Dish.

Food outlets including restaurants, pubs and takeaways and their customers have four weeks to nominate a potato creation that they believe should be hailed as mighty. Following the closing deadline, Paula along with Food NI’s Michele Shirlow, Angus Wilson (Wilson Potatoes) and Michael McKillop (Glens of Antrim Potatoes), owners of two of Northern Ireland’s top potato brands, will form an expert panel to shortlist entries and crown one winner in each of the four categories.

At the launch of the Mighty Spud Awards, Paula McIntyre, Chef, said:

“The Mighty Spud Awards is a fantastic initiative developed by a group of Northern Ireland’s hard-working potato growers, processors and packers. The group continue to work tirelessly to shine a light on the healthiness, versatility and value of potatoes.

“The campaign focuses on hailing the potato as mighty, not humble. And what better way to do that than showcase the culinary talent that exists in Northern Ireland. The spud is more than just a bit on the side – whether it is triple cooked chips, creamy champ or decadent potato gratin, it is impossible to imagine mealtimes without it,” continued Paula.

Nominations are now open and entries can be made via www.mightyspud.com/awards Entries will close at 12 noon on Monday 15 February. Following the nomination process, entries will be shortlisted for tasting and four winners will be announced. Join the conversation on Twitter @MightyNotHumble

For further information please contact Annette Small at Morrow Communications on 028 9039 3837 or email a.small@morrowcommunications.com

Year of Food and Drink was given a marvellous boost last week by Tesco Northern Ireland in the shape of a £500,000 promotional campaign to showcase our fantastic food and drink.

Tesco already spends upwards of £500 million annually on purchasing local food and drink and has helped many smaller companies, including artisan enterprises, to develop sales here and also to win their first business with the leading retailer in Great Britain. Tesco’s purchases of local food and drink was just £50 million in 1997.

I was delighted to be present at the announcement by Cliff Kells and his team at Tesco and to support the retailer’s tremendous commitment to our £5 billion food and drink industry, our biggest manufacturer and an employer of around 100,000 people across the ‘farm to fork’ supply chain.

It’s an immensely encouraging initiative that will present excellent opportunities for smaller companies in particular to develop sales and to impress the Tesco top team with the quality of their products and the strength of their commitment to business. I hope they will seize the opportunities being provided by Tesco.

What Tesco brings to our year-long campaign is unrivalled reach for our companies, both large and small and across all industry sectors.

The retailer has 57 stores here and deals with 800,000 customers every week. They will be highlighting our superb food and drink to shoppers by means of a series of initiatives and promotions in store.
Tesco plans to spotlight on local producers and products, giving the public here an unprecedented opportunity to get to know producers and to give shoppers more opportunities than ever before to sample the quality and innovation of local products. This will increase awareness of local products and provide producers the opportunity to increase sales.
Tesco’s carefully structured campaign includes promotional branding support for Year of Food and Drink, more than 200 supplier sampling days in stores, 12 “sampling fairs” for artisan businesses in particular and 12 Food NI cookery demonstrations. Smaller artisan companies will be invited to run ‘pop-up’ shops in Tesco store foyers. This is a unique opportunity so far only offered by Tesco.
There will also be an extended advertising campaign involving producers on U105fm radio, 12 live on-air product tastings, 24 ‘meet the producer’ videos and 24 competitions posted on Tesco’s local facebook page, TasteNorthernIreland. In addition, digi-social flyers will be circulated to 300,000 shoppers every month and there will be a new promotional mural at Belfast City Airport showcasing local food

With Northern Ireland embarking on the ‘Year of Food and Drink’, Belfast City Council once again will place the ‘Focus On Food’ at a major one-day conference, which will help further drive the city’s culinary renaissance and examine the importance of food and hospitality to the local tourism industry.

The conference – organized with support from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), through its Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme, and Tourism NI – will take place at St George’s Market on Tuesday 23 February. The keynote speaker will be top chef and food writer Valentine Warner.

According to Tourism NI, in 2014 overnight visitors to Northern Ireland spent an estimated £751 million, of which approximately one-third was spent on food and drink. In addition, £282 million was spent by Northern Ireland residents on tourism day trips; of this, approximately 40 per cent was spent on eating out.

“The aim of the ‘Focus On Food: Our Recipe For Tourism Success’ conference is to see what more can be done to maximize the economic benefit of food tourism, not only for Belfast, but the region as a whole,” explained Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee.

“It will look at the long term development of food tourism in the city, and is designed to promote Belfast’s food tourism message; inspire the industry to collaborate and create new visitor experiences; engage producers, farmers, fishermen, chefs and outlets to better promote the food message to visitors; encourage the use of local produce and enable those in the industry to share experiences, challenges and opportunities.

“Last year’s conference was a huge success, with a key message being the desire for more events which allow the industry to network and collaborate. Delegates all agreed that that the conference helped to maximise the food tourism potential of Belfast and the region, with three-quarters of them saying that they made new partnerships and business contacts as a result of attending the event. A number of emerging themes and recommended actions were identified, and the council has taken these on board over the last year,” continued Councillor Hargey.

“Progress has been made on a number of fronts – through initiatives led by ourselves, through activities being planned as part of Year of Food and Drink and through industry collaboration, product development and a range of industry-led initiatives. Not the least of our achievements has been Belfast earning two Michelin stars!

“The huge appetite for foodie events was clear when we held the first Twilight Market at St George’s in November, which attracted more than 17,000 people and generated more than £600,000 for the local economy. Many of the city’s restaurants also benefited from the Twilight event and reported a subsequent increase in footfall and sales. As a result, plans are being considered to hold seasonal Twilight Markets throughout 2016.

“In addition, Visit Belfast is currently facilitating a new industry planning group and we are currently finalising our plans for a number of other culinary events in 2016 to celebrate Year of Food and Drink,” concluded Councillor Hargey.

The conference is organized with support from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), through its Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme. Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill said: “The conference will be a significant cornerstone event during the 2016 Year of Food and Drink. It is an opportunity to celebrate our food and drink successes and capitalize on these through trade and consumer communications.

“It will offer the hospitality sector, producers, tour operators and tourism-facing businesses the opportunity to network, build on existing and new relationships and increase the number of local producers supplying produce to the Belfast eateries.”

The conference is also supported by Tourism NI. Board member Angelina Fusco said:

“Year of Food and Drink 2016 is a great opportunity to harness the benefits of our successes in the food and drink sector, to drive quality, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship and support growth in export food sales. Tourism NI is co-ordinating a series of dedicated industry and event roadshows across Northern Ireland. We’ve also produced toolkits, brand guidelines and templates to support the industry which are available on www.tourismni.com.

“We have supplemented our annual Tourism Events Fund with an additional scheme specifically for food and drink experiences at events and are leading on an integrated plan to maximise the PR and communications opportunities at home and further afield. Our aim is to inspire our industry, boost Northern Ireland’s destination reputation and grow our ability to attract visitors who will make a significant contribution to our economy”.

To register for the ‘Focus On Food: Our Recipe For Tourism Success’ conference, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastfood. Attendees can also keep up to date with developments on Twitter, by following @belfast_food or #belfastfocusonfood