Irish Rugby Team enjoy Meat Feast supplied by Hannans !
IRFU last night enjoyed some top class cooking by the Carton House team with a little help from Chef Richard Corrigan.
The beef for the feast, Cote de Boeuf, Sirloin Steaks on the Bone, Sugar Pit Beef Short Ribs, Cured Ox Tongue, Beef Cheek and Marrow Bone was exclusively supplied by Hannans.
Peter Hannan was there to give some pointers on the perfect cut of beef!
The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) are holding a conference to bring together representatives from the Northern Ireland food industry, environmental health community and public health professionals to find ways of improving the diet of consumers by providing information they need to make healthier choices.
The event focuses on the revised industry outcomes in the Government’s framework for preventing and addressing overweight and obesity in Northern Ireland – A Fitter Future for All 2012-2022.
FSA in NI will also be launching MenuCal. This is an exciting free online tool to help food businesses identify the 14 major allergens which must be declared by law and calculate the energy values (kilojoules and kilocalories) of the food they serve.
Numbers for this event are limited. To register your interest in attending, or for any queries please email louise.beggs@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
See more at: http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14358/better-choice-better-business-event-24-september#sthash.A31LSn8W.dp
Better Choice, Better Business
Thursday 24th September 2015
9.30am, Stormont Hotel, Belfast
When: Saturday 29 August
Time: 10am to 3pm
Where: Newtownbreda – just behind The Inns shops at the junction of Saintfield Road and School Road.
Inns Market is on the last Saturday of every month with an eclectic collection of fresh local produce, artisan and gourmet street food. There is something for everyone with many award winning foodie traders that come together to create a friendly and fun atmosphere.
With over 20 traders each month, Inns Market is the perfect spot to get the weekly shop done, support local food producers and have a great experience at the same time. At Inns Market, you can be guaranteed a great mix of essentials and weekend treats that include:
– Meat
– Vegetables
– Sourdough Bread
– Cheeses
– Kid Goat Meat
– Chocolate and Fudge
– Authentic Napoletana Stonebaked Pizza
– Hot Dogs
– Freshly Baked Griddle Breads and Sodas
– Speciality Coffee
– Gourmet Popcorn
– Chutneys and Relishes
– And much more!
Shannon International Airport deal for Northern Ireland’s RubyBlue
Craft Hughes Distillery, the artisan business that has developed a range of fruit liqueurs using Irish grain spirit and recently launched RubyBlue, Ireland’s first potato vodka, has won its first business at Shannon International Airport Duty Free.
The small batch distillery, based at Lisburn in county Antrim, is supplying four natural fruit liqueurs to the duty free in Wild Cranberry, Wild Blueberry, Wild Blackcurrant and Chilli Pepper flavours.
The contract with Shannon airport, which links Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way tourism attraction with the US, follows the distillery’s other recent success – a deal to supply its RubyBlue Vodka to The Loop retail outlet at Dublin International Airport. The company has been supplying its range of fruit liqueurs to Dublin airport for many years.
Barbara Hughes, commercial director of the family-owned and managed distillery, says: “Gaining a foothold at Shannon is an immensely important development for us because it positions us at the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way, which is being marked extensively in the US by the Republic’s tourism agencies and is proving a hugely successful initiative.
“Our fruit liqueurs make ideal gifts for travellers wishing to take the natural flavours of Ireland and Irish spring water…with the ‘kick’ from Irish grain spirit…home with them.”
RubyBlue liqueurs are five times distilled then charcoal filtered to remove any impurities and blended with fresh fruit for zesty and original flavours. The handcrafted liqueurs are all bottle-conditioned naturally for up to eight weeks without any flavour enhancers or preservatives.
The distillery was established in 2010 by Stuart and Barbara Hughes and currently exports the liqueurs to Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Turkey and Australia. The liqueurs can be consumed ‘neat’ for a refreshing fruit drink or mixed with gin or vodka to create a deliciously different cocktail.
The Good Food Guide celebrates Britain’s best restaurants and the top entries and award-winners in the 2016 Good Food Guide have been revealed today ahead of the launch of its 65th anniversary issue, with Belfast restaurant OX winning the prestigious Editors’ Award for Restaurant of the Year.
The Editors’ Awards are a strand of the Good Food Guide’s annual awards which recognise restaurants and chefs who have shown excellence in their field.
On the prestigious 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.”
Stevie Toman, co-owner and chef at OX said “This is 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.”
It has been a fantastic summer for the team at OX who also recently won the Best Menu award at the 32nd Catey Awards, the hospitality industry’s answer to the Oscars. Speaking after receiving the award, chef and co-owner Stephen Toman said “Winning Best Menu at the Cateys is fantastic, 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, is really rewarding. The best part of an award like this is the opportunity it gives us to showcase our wonderful Northern Ireland ingredients, producers and suppliers.”
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 Editors Awards as Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide in the UK!
Food NI chief executive Michele Shirlow has congratulated Ox in Belfast in national restaurant awards, announced today.
Ox was named Restaurant of the Year in the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2016 Editors’ Awards.
Mrs Shirlow said: “This is a stunning achievement by the team at Ox in one of the UK’s most prestigious awards for premium restaurants. It’s tremendous news for the restaurant and also for its quality suppliers in Northern Ireland food and drink industry.
“The award positions Ox among the very best in the UK and also highlights the quality of the food scene in Belfast and Northern Ireland to a national audience. It enhances Northern Ireland’s reputation as a European centre of culinary excellence, a standing which is adding substantially to our appeal to tourists seeking a destination with a variety of attractions including great food.
“This is extremely important because research shows that upwards of a third of visitor spend is on food and drink. They expect to experience locally sourced food produced by people dedicated to excellent products with outstanding success.
“The awards show potential visitors that they can expect highly creative menus here with dishes using wholesome ingredients with safety and provenance. It is also an important development as we prepare for next year’s Northern Ireland Year of Food, a year-long programme which will focus attention on dynamic, innovative and quality conscious restaurant scene and our superb local food and drink.”