CANCER FUND FOR CHILDREN’S DAISY LODGE HAS THE TASTE OF ULSTER

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The partnership between Cancer Fund for Children’s Daisy Lodge and Taste of Ulster is nothing short of delicious.

The facility which is situated at the foothills of the Mourne Mountains in Newcastle, Co. Down, opened in April 2014. It has now provided more than 500 families from across the island of Ireland with a free therapeutic short break. This break enables families to spend precious time together away from the pressure of hospital visits and treatment.

The delicious and nutritious menu on offer at the facility was devised by Hospitality Manager Joan Burden along with top chef Joery Castel as well as Taste of Ulster and Vital Nutrition’s Jane McClenaghan.

The combination of Jane’s expert nutritional advice and Joery’s practical knowledge has resulted in families leaving Daisy Lodge with glowing reports about the food they enjoyed there.

The meals all use fresh locally-sourced ingredients from Northern Ireland producers such as Jilly Dougan who recently planted a beautiful herb garden at Daisy Lodge. We use it to freshly pick a range of herbs and salads for our dishes.

Cancer Fund for Children continues to enjoy great support from Yellow Door who supplies fresh bread for the families at Daisy Lodge. Moy Park supplies fresh chickens and Finnebrogue supplies the charity with an amazing array of fresh meat products free of charge.

Joan explained why healthy meals are so important for families dealing with the effects of cancer.

“Many of the families have spent months in isolation or on the ward and have been living on hospital food. When they are at home they probably don’t have the time or energy to prepare cooked meals. When families arrive at Daisy Lodge all they have to do is relax and enjoy these delicious and nutritious meals…restoring them for whatever lies ahead.”

Belfast mother, Emma McCrea whose little son Charlie has battled cancer, praised the food at Daisy Lodge: “The food was amazing. It will be especially appreciated by families who have been living on tea and toast or hospital food. It was great not having to clean and cook.”

The menu boasts such delights dishes like Trio of Finnebrogue Sausages on a Buttery Mourne Champ and Roast Red Onion Gravy. Moy Park Chicken Tournedo on Julienne of Carrot and French bean, fondant potato and a white wine cream. The menus are refreshed every six weeks.

The Daisy Lodge hospitality team recently successfully catered for a fundraising night at the facility hosted by top golfer Rory McIlroy and The Rory Foundation which has donated over £1m to help with the running costs of the centre. The team didn’t disappoint, serving up a range of mouth-watering canapés that included Charred Strangford Lough Prawns with Wasabi and Soy Bubbles, Organic Glenarm Oxtail Rouleaux and charred Celeriac and Rockvale Chicken, Strangford Lough Lobster and Mushroom Sausage Rolls.

Sharon Machala, Taste of Ulster Coordinator said

“We are delighted to have been able to help Joan and the team, in achieving their goal of providing nutritious locally sourced food to the families staying at Daisy Lodge.”

“We have received amazing feedback from families about the quality of the meals here at Daisy Lodge. I am so glad Taste of Ulster, Joery and Jane are on-board, they have enthused and energised the team” said Joan Burden.

BITE TO SAVOUR

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After much anticipation BitetoSavour’s 2015 Autumn Box has now been shipped… horray!
Packed full of autumnal treats to ease you into the cooler months this is a food box is not to be missed… the best part is, it’s all made here in Northern Ireland by our talented artisan producers!
For more information or to get your hands on our one off Autumn box click HERE or if you want to discover new artisanNI products throughout the year sign up to our seasonal subscription HEREAutumn Box 1 copy Autumn box 2 copy

More Awards For OX Belfast

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OX adds more wins to the summer’s haul with prestigious Editors’ Award as Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide and 3 major awards at Food & Wine Awards!

It has been a fantastic summer for the team at OX who won the Best Menu award at the 32nd Catey Awards in July, the hospitality industry’s answer to the Oscars. The team followed this with the prestigious Editors’ Award for Restaurant of the Year as decided by the editors of the 2016 Good Food Guide, annual UK awards which recognise restaurants and chefs who have shown excellence in their field.

Finally, last weekend at the Food & Wine Awards in Dublin, the awards came thick and fast, with Best Restaurant in Ulster for OX, and Stephen Toman winning Best Chef in Ulster as well as the overall award of Chef of the Year. The restaurant was also highly commended for Best Wine Experience and Restaurant of the Year.

“Winning Best Menu at the Cateys was fantastic,” said chef and co-owner Stephen Toman, “as everything at OX begins with the menu. Since opening in April 2013, taking a risk on a new kind of dining for Belfast has really paid off for us, and this kind of recognition for our menu, from our peers and colleagues in the industry, has been really rewarding.

Following this with the Editors’ Award for Restaurant of the Year 2016 from the Good Food Guide was a huge honour for our team and especially coming so quickly after winning the Best Menu at the Cateys. The competition in the UK for both is enormous so it’s a great win for Belfast and another nod to the great people and local producers we love to work with.

Finally winning the three awards at this year’s Food & Wine Awards at the weekend – Best Chef in Ulster, Best Restaurant in Ulster and Chef of the Year – as well as being highly commended in the other categories, just proves my point about OX being a team effort. An award for one of us is an award for all of us, and I couldn’t be more proud of all the hard work everyone has put in to make OX so well regarded.”

Organised by The Caterer magazine, the UK hospitality industry’s leading source of information for over 135 years, since their inception in 1984 the Cateys have become a byword for quality, class and achievement, the awards that everybody wants to win. This year’s Best Menu award-winner OX always has a fascinating menu, described by one of the judges, Clare Smyth MBE, Northern Ireland’s only 3-star Michelin chef and chef-patron of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as “Very exciting!” going on to say “It’s fantastic to see a restaurant in Northern Ireland of this calibre. This is a young chef pushing the boundaries and using the wealth of produce the region has offer.”

The Good Food Guide celebrates Britain’s best restaurants and the top entries and award-winners in the 2016 Good Food Guide were announced at the launch of its 65th anniversary issue in August, with Belfast restaurant OX winning the prestigious Editors’ Award for Restaurant of the Year.

On the significant win, Alain Kerloc’h, co-owner of OX said “Our team is completely humbled by winning the Editors’ Award for Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide this year. It is not just fantastic for OX but great for Belfast and Northern Ireland too.”

The Food & Wine Magazine Restaurant of the Year Awards, now in its 15th year, are considered the most prestigious and authoritative culinary awards in the Irish calendar. Recognising the best Irish restaurants and culinary talent, diners from all over Ireland were invited to nominate their favourite restaurants and chefs, with the top entries going forward for deliberation by a national culinary panel of judges, made up of industry experts and national food critics. This is the third year in a row that chef Stephen Toman has won Best Chef in Ulster at these awards, and the second year running that OX has taken the Best Restaurant in Ulster title. This is Stephen’s first time winning Chef of the Year.

Co-owners Stephen and Alain each have a background in formal dining, with complex and sophisticated menus and high levels of service. With OX (and their gorgeous, honey-toned wine bar right next door in OX Cave), their aim is to provide the same quality of food and attentive service, along with a focus on dining with seasonal creativity, but in a relaxed, simple and welcoming environment.
OX is enterprising, ambitious and inventive, and is now the winner of the Best Menu of the Year at the Cateys, Editors’ Award as Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide in the UK, and Best Restaurant in Ulster, Best Chef in Ulster and Chef of the Year at the Food & Wine Awards!

https://www.nigoodfood.com/member/ox-belfast/

Mount Charles ‘Master Barista’ crowned at Coleraine campus

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Coffee connoisseurs compete in ‘Battle of the Brands’ competition

Northern Ireland’s leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ‘Master Barista’ in their annual ‘Battle of the Brands’ competition.

The contest, organised in conjunction with Johnson’s Coffee and held at the Ulster University’s Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles Group’s coffee shops and cafés battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste.

The finalists were each required to prepare four espressos, four cappuccinos and four of their own signature drinks for an expert judging panel in a 15-minute time slot.

Scoring their efforts were Trevor Stewart, Account Manager for Johnsons Coffee, Tim Smith, Training Manager for Johnsons Coffee, Christine Magee, Sales and Marketing Director for the Mount Charles Group and Lee Cutler, Manager of Forestside Shopping Centre, Belfast.

After much deliberation and discussion, the panel unanimously agreed that Pamela’s coffee and service was of the highest standard and consistency, and crowned her the overall winner, with her Café Laurent colleague Paulina Kwiatkowska awarded runner up.

Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group said: “It’s been fantastic to see such exceptional service and talent on show. Pamela is a worthy winner, but she had to fight off some stiff competition to take the title.

“The standard was so high and a lot of hard work went in behind the scenes to make the competition such a success, from the competitors practicing to the team who helped organised each of the regional heats, so we’d like to thank everyone who got involved.

“We strive to maintain the highest possible standards across all of our brands, from our suppliers to our employees, and it’s fantastic to be able to celebrate and reward that with the ‘Battle of the Brands’ competition.”

For more information on the Mount Charles Group please visit www.mountcharles.com

Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition. The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste. Pictured is Pamela with Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition. The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste. Pictured is Pamela with Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus
Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition.
The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste.
Pictured is Pamela with Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition. The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste. Pictured (centre) is Pamela with Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group and her fellow ÔMaster BaristaÕ finalists.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus
Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition.
The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste.
Pictured (centre) is Pamela with Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group and her fellow ÔMaster BaristaÕ finalists.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition. The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste. Pictured is Pamela preparing her signature coffee for the competition judges.
Mount Charles ÔMaster BaristaÕ crowned at Coleraine campus
Northern IrelandÕs leading food service and business support solutions company, The Mount Charles Group, has crowned Pamela Stothard from Ballynahinch the 2015 ÔMaster BaristaÕ in their annual ÔBattle of the BrandsÕ competition.
The contest, organised in conjunction with JohnsonÕs Coffee and held at the Ulster UniversityÕs Coleraine campus, saw six finalists from across the Mount Charles GroupÕs coffee shops and cafŽs battle it out in a challenge of coffee preparation, presentation and taste.
Pictured is Pamela preparing her signature coffee for the competition judges.

Golden Oats- White’s adds to its success with two more gold stars at this year’s Great Taste Awards

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Local Oat Miller and Cereal Brand White’s Oats is once again celebrating after being awarded two more Great Taste Awards. White’s has an impressive track record in Great Taste, having already won 41 Gold Stars for its porridge oats and oat based cereals- an incredible achievement for Northern Ireland’s only Oat Producer.

A new range of premium granolas launched this year received its first gold star for its hazelnut, almond & honey variety. Its iconic Oats brand which has been a household favourite among Northern Ireland families since 1841 also scooped up its 5th Great Taste Award, taking the total number of Great Taste Awards White’s holds to 43.

Commenting on the win, Danielle Mc Bride, Brand Manager of White’s says ‘‘we are thrilled to have won these prestigious awards which signal the huge amount of passion we have for our business. We are committed to ensuring our heritage products continue to deliver on exceptional quality and taste, whilst at the same time providing our customers with a range of innovative products that are of superior quality, flavour and texture’’.

A great taste award has been cited as a ‘symbol of guarantee that a product has been through a rigorous and independent judging process’. It’s about nothing else but ‘simply great taste’ and to win a gold award the food product is described by judges as ‘faultless’.