Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell has congratulated Moy Park on winning ‘Food Manufacturing Company of the Year 2015′ at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards in London.

Speaking after the awards earlier this week Jonathan Bell said: “To win the prestigious title of ‘Food Manufacturing Company of the Year 2015′ is a great recognition for one of our largest and most successful companies. Moy Park is Northern Ireland’s biggest food manufacturer, employing over 6,000 people at its three sites in Ballymena, Dungannon and Craigavon. The company has consistently demonstrated manufacturing excellence with an emphasis on strong leadership and development, which has resulted in them becoming a global market leader in their industry. To win an accolade from the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards is a tremendous achievement and a fitting acknowledgement to an export-focused, international business which is prospering as a result of its commitment to growth, through continuous investment in its facilities, products and people.

“The manufacturing sector is an important sector for Northern Ireland. It accounts for 14% of all local economic output and accounts for one in every nine local jobs. Last year’s announcement by Moy Park of £170million investment was a major endorsement of Northern Ireland as a world class manufacturing location for international companies in food and other sectors. Despite recent bad news from Michelin, the manufacturing sector has been performing particularly well recently. Over the past year to March 2015, the sector added more than 1,800 jobs with output growth outperforming the UK average. This is in no small part to our highly skilled dedicated workforce and I intend to ensure I do all I can, as Enterprise Minister, to continue to work to attract leading manufactures and global market leaders to invest here in Northern Ireland and create high quality employment opportunities.”

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a well-cooked Ulster Fry, our iconic breakfast dish especially at the weekend and on a chilly morning. A plate of pork sausages, bacon, eggs with our famous potato and soda breads is a great way to start the day and it evokes many happy childhood memories.

I also know that many visitors, as well as international food writers, to Northern Ireland also enjoy the breakfast. My good friend, Charles Campion, the respected MasterChef judge and food writer, is among those who look forward to a traditional Ulster Fry – when in Northern Ireland.

Charles, of course, has become a tremendous ambassador for our food and particularly our traditional cooked breakfast, he even wrote an article about it entitled ‘probably the best breakfast in the world’. He loved our tasty bacon and fresh eggs which are readily available from a host of local suppliers including Cavanagh at Newtownbutler, a family farm which has won Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards for its products.

Another good friend, Paula MacIntyre, who has become a popular contributor to BBC television and radio programme, covers the best of local food in her new book, ‘Down to Earth’, which was launched earlier in the week.

The Ulster Fry has taken a bit of a battering following the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on eating processed meats including sausages and bacon. There was nothing particularly new in the WHO study.

The organisation has made these comments in the past. But some of the coverage was a bit over the top this time, unnecessarily alarmist. It certainly won’t put me off enjoying an occasional Ulster Fry. Everything in moderation is my golden rule.

Interestingly, the Ulster Fry will also feature strongly in January next year as part of our forthcoming Year of Food and Drink. January has been designated Breakfast month…and it’s certainly the right time of the year for a hearty breakfast, that’s a great way to start the day.

This important initiative to encourage more people here to take time for breakfast including cereals and porridge builds on the good foundations already laid down over the last 10 years with HGCA’s highly successful Breakfast Week.

In addition to producing a tremendous range of breads, recent additions being a wheaten and dulse, now being seen by nutritionists as a very healthy ingredient, loaf from Donnelly’s in Ballycastle.

There is strong evidence that people who eat breakfast are slimmer.

While I’ve been commenting on the traditional Ulster Fry cooked breakfast, porridge and other cereals are also a popular way to start the day. Northern Ireland also has a thriving and successful group of companies, large and small, involved in developing cereals.

White’s of Tandragee in Co Armagh, for example, is among the best known for its award winning Speedicook and other porridge brands.

Northern Ireland’s only oat miller, now part of Fane Valley Group, our largest farmers’ co-operative, has been producing porridge from locally grown cereals here for generations and has a cluster of awards for the quality and outstanding taste of its products. These time honoured products are now exported successfully from the US to Hong Kong.

Another local company sending cereals around the world is Portaferry’s Just Live and Little, a small enterprise run by husband and wife team David and Jill Crawford.

An Armagh family business, Linwoods has also developed a range of healthy seeds for supplementing breakfast and other meals. These products, also now exported around the world, include cold-milled organic flaxseed, hemp and flaxseed with pumpkin and sunflower seeds with goji berries.

My message is that you’ll find everything you need from Northern Ireland suppliers for a healthy and nutritious way to start your day.

Congratulations to all those involved in Derry’s successful bid in the Foodie Town competition run by the Restaurant Association of Ireland. It was great to see the Maiden City emerge from a fiercely contested event to be named runner up to Burren as the best place for food and drink on the island of Ireland.

While Derry didn’t win the overall title the city was the people’s choice, winning the most votes (and they did beat Dublin, Kinsale and West Cork). The support for Derry was tremendously encouraging and thoroughly justified because of the outstanding quality of food writers like Emmet McCourt and Brian McDermott and the long standing work of restaurateurs such as Ian Orr and Sean Harrigan, plus a cluster of outstanding local producers.

Because of this collective teamwork, and the support and encouragement of Derry City Council, it’s now recognised as one of the top foodie destinations throughout the island of Ireland. Emmet McCourt recently took to the message about the region’s food and cuisine to the US, presenting at a major tourism industry event in Chicago and both Brian and Emmett were present at the Gourmet Gallery at the Frankfurt Book Fair with Emmett collecting another Gourmand Award.

The Foodie Town award is also extremely important because it positions Derry to play a major role in the forthcoming Year of Food and Drink 2016 and also to benefit substantially from economic boost that will come from the decision to hold The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.

The benefits that will flow from this world class tournament for the whole economy will be immense. It’s going to be an extremely exciting period for Northern Ireland. I congratulate the Northern Ireland Executive on its success in bringing the tournament to Northern Ireland following its work to secure the Irish Open for Newcastle and then Lough Erne.

The Foodie Town award also showcases Derry’s appeal to tourists and other visitors as a great place to visit and stay for highest quality and original food and drink. There have been some really exciting developments in food and drink including craft beer and whiskey. The city now has two successful craft breweries, Walled City and Northbound, and may also be home to a new Irish whiskey distillery, an initiative by the city’s Niche Drinks, already a world leader in Irish Cream Liqueurs. Successful food businesses in Derry city range from major export businesses like Foyle Food Group and James Doherty Meats to smaller firms focused on sales abroad such as Donegal Prime Fish, PRM and Wafer Enterprises.

Business, political and community leader are also focused sharply on assisting the growth of food and drink and tourism, both which, of course, are closely linked. Our most important industry, furthermore, has the backing of the Derry campus of Ulster University and the North West Regional College of Further Education in areas such as skills and training and innovation.

It has staged some of the most successful food festivals including the hugely successful LegenDerry and the Flavours of the Foyle Seafood Festival both of which have secured awards.

Derry clearly met the exacting criteria for success in The ‘Foodie Town of Ireland’ award. It recognised a town/destination that actively promotes itself through joint promotional activities such as food festivals, gourmet trails or farmers’ markets as well as great dining experiences for locals and visitors alike. It showcased Irish towns/ destinations that had developed a local producer/supplier network that is utilised and promoted by local businesses.

Plans for future growth and investment into the food and hospitality industry at a local level are also taken into consideration by judges. Education, training, development and employment are key components of the ultimate foodie destination.

I hope Derry will be back again during Year of Food and Drink next year chasing the top award and that other cities and towns will follow the lead of our enterprising second city.