TASTE OF ULSTER AT GALGORM

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Northern Ireland already has a voracious appetite for golf and the same can be said of our food and drink offering, so combining the Good Food Festival with an international tournament at Galgorm makes perfect sense.

From castles to cooking and a wonderful ‘Taste of Ulster’ this year’s Ulster Bank Good Food Festival will serve up a treat during the Northern Ireland Open in association with SPHERE Global and Ulster Bank at Galgorm Castle.

The Northern Ireland Open Good Food Festival, supported by Food NI, will set up once more within the grounds of the stunning Jacobean Castle at Galgorm. For one weekend only this 17th century landmark will lay out its table to showcase the very best of Northern Ireland’s produce from the local food and drink industry.

Last year’s inaugural food festival at the NI Open proved a great success and this year a full range of products and suppliers from across the province will be on site. From Broughgammon Farm to Braemar Farm Ice Cream and Café Livanto, a wide-ranging mix will be available to sample and purchase at Galgorm.

“Golf enthusiasts and other visitors to the event at Galgorm will be able to sample the breadth, quality and outstanding taste of food and drink now being produced in Northern Ireland,” enthused Michele Shirlow, Chief Executive Food NI.

For some time now Northern Ireland’s array of suppliers, from small artisan producers to larger enterprises, have been punching above their weight in a hugely competitive marketplace. And they have the awards to prove it with titles and trophies from the ‘Great Taste Awards’ and ‘UK Guild of Fine Food’ making their way back to these shores.

It is estimated the food tourism industry in Northern Ireland already generates over £350 million to the local economy, which combined with a world class international golf tournament makes for a winning recipe.

The Northern Ireland Open Good Food Festival is sponsored by Ulster Bank, a longstanding supporter of tournament golf at Galgorm. This year the Food Festival will take place over the weekend of Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August with the Food Village based once more at the castle where exhibitors and producers will set up. The Good Food Festival is open from 10am each day until 6pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.

This really is the perfect place to kick back and relax and enjoy some great food and drink if looking to take a break from the golf. There will also be a Live Music Festival within the walled gardens of the castle from 4pm to late on the Friday 7th, this is a ticketed event – please visit niopen.co.uk for further information.

“It really is a great idea in a truly stunning location,” added Shirlow. “Northern Ireland has changed so much in recent years and there has been a real renaissance among local producers and suppliers.”

The Good Food Festival at Galgorm forms part of an overall strategy in the build-up to 2016, Northern Ireland’s Year of Food.

Earlier in the year the then Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster announced the ‘Year of Food’ as part of a major tourism initiative to attract new visitors and showcase the best of ingredients here on our doorstep.

“We boast some world class produce, not to mention talented chefs, restaurants, skilled cookery schools and rich food heritage,” said Foster. “The Year of Food will enable us to continue to raise our profile nationally and to promote Northern Ireland food tourism on the international stage.”

Shirlow added: There’s now a growing international recognition that our food is so good. Our aim will be to carry on the work at major events such as the Northern Ireland Open into the planned Year of Food in 2016.”

In many ways Galgorm Castle is ahead of the game because for years they have been “Combining World Class Golf with Northern Ireland’s World Class Food” and what better place to sample both than at this year’s Northern Ireland Open.

Ambitious, stylish and delicious, OX wins their first Catey – the Oscars of the hospitality industry – for Best Menu!

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The award for Best Menu at the 32nd Catey Awards, the hospitality industry’s answer to the Oscars, went to OX Belfast, and co-owner Alain Kerloc’h collected the prestigious trophy on 7th July at a spectacular awards ceremony at Grosvenor House in London.

“Winning Best Menu at the Cateys is fantastic,” says 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, 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.”

“Winning an award like this is always a recognition of the work of the whole team at OX,” says Alain Kerloc’h, manager and co-owner of OX, “and it was a real honour to accept the award for Best Menu at the Cateys and be in such amazing company.”

OX Belfast truly were in excellent company on the night as among the other award winners were legendary chefs Daniel Boulud, who won the International Outstanding Achievement Award, and Nico Ladenis who won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Recognising the industry’s highest flyers, strongest performers and latest emerging brands, as determined by those best placed to decide – the industry itself – with 21 categories covering all facets of the business, the Cateys awards night is the culmination of months of judging and preparation. More than 140 judges (chosen on account of their expertise, industry knowledge, and past successes as Cateys winners themselves) met over three days of lively debate to arrive at the shortlist and choose the winners, and the Cateys were awarded at a ceremony presented by actor John Hannah, where the evening’s menu was designed by leading chef Mark Sargeant.

Judges described the menu at OX in glowing terms, with Giovanna Grossi of AA Hotel Services calling it “imaginative, inspired, seasonal and intelligent”. She continued “The price point is sensible and the dishes would certainly encourage anyone to go to Belfast.” Clare Smyth MBE, Northern Ireland’s only 3-star Michelin chef and chef-patron of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay said the OX menu is “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.”

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.

Best Menu award-winner OX always has a fascinating menu, showcasing excellent meats and sustainably sourced fish but with equally careful attention given to seasonal vegetables and fruit. Chef Stephen Toman’s uniquely enthusiastic approach to seasonal produce and his close relationships with local suppliers means vegetables at OX are no longer considered just a side or a garnish, but as equal partners and occasional stars of the show.

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 Best Menu at the Cateys!

Restaurant ‘James Street South’ Scoops Reader Award for Best Local Restaurant in Northern Ireland

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“Perfect” Belfast Eatery Scores a Culinary Hat Trick

 A restaurant in Belfast has beaten eateries across Northern Ireland to be named a Regional Winner in the Waitrose Good Food Guide Reader’s Restaurant of the Year Awards. James Street South has been nominated by its customers to be their top local restaurant in Northern Ireland for the third time.

 The establishment beat off stiff competition from some of the best-known restaurants in Northern Ireland. James Street South sealed its win for brilliant dish ‘combinations’ and ‘good value’ menu deals.

 The Good Food Guide, published by Waitrose, called for diners, back in March, to nominate their favourite local eatery.  The coveted awards honour the very best independent restaurants, pubs and cafés from around the country.  The annual awards recognise the top dining establishments across ten different UK regions and are based on public nominations with a panel of Good Food Guide judges choosing the most outstanding for their overall winner, which this year is The Miller of Mansfield in Goring, Oxfordshire. 

 Elizabeth Carter, Waitrose Good Food Guide Editor, says: “This award is a celebration of independent restaurants that specialise in amazing quality food, often at great value prices. While trained inspectors carry out all our reviews, we rely on readers to let us know about eateries that might otherwise be overlooked. They are incredibly sophisticated when it comes to eating out, so it makes sense to listen to their opinions.

 “‘Perfect’ seems to be the word of choice for readers summing up Niall McKenna’s flagship restaurant – that’s if they are not using ‘brilliant’. This is a restaurant that has always pushed the boundaries of new combinations of flavours and tastes, with a great wine menu and good value lunch and dinner deals.”

 Says Niall McKenna of James Street South, “We are incredibly proud to receive this honour, which is a fantastic endorsement of the hard work and dedication of all our colleagues working across the James Street South Group. This prestigious accolade underlines our focus on quality, innovative cooking, locally-sourced produce, great staff and a warm ambience.  It comes as we launch the second year of our Apprentice Scheme, a further measure of our commitment to ensuring the future of excellence in the Northern Ireland hospitality sector.

 “It’s been an incredibly busy year for James Street South with the opening of Cast & Crew, as well as developing plans for another new restaurant on Belfast’s Donegall Quay and we’d like to thank our loyal customer base, and indeed all our guests who took the time to vote for us.”

 James Street South was previously the 2008 and 2015 Waitrose Good Food Guide’s ‘Reader’s Restaurant of the Year – Regional Winner for Northern Ireland.

 The regional winners and overall winner have been announced today (30th July 2015).  Now in its ninth year, the award attracted 18,000 nominations after calling on diners to name their favourite local eatery in March 2015.

 The regional winners are as follows:

 North West, Lunya (Liverpool)

 South East and Overall Winner, The Miller of Mansfield (Goring, Oxfordshire)

 London, Boqueria Tapas  (Brixton, London)

 North East, Lockwoods (Ripon, Yorkshire)

 Northern Ireland, James Street South (Belfast)

 Scotland, The Gardeners Cottage (Edinburgh)

 Wales, The Gallery (Barry)

 Midlands, The King and Thai (Broseley)

 South West, Ben’s Cornish Kitchen (Marazion, Cornwall)

 East England, The Leaping Hare (Stanton, Suffolk)

 

 

MASH DIRECT NEWS RELEASE

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Date: 28th July 2015

Title: Mash Direct’s Vegetable Burgers shortlisted for prestigious award in London

Mash Direct is celebrating the news that its Vegetable Burgers are up for a Grocer New Product Award this October.

The Grocer’s New Product Awards are an extremely prestigious set of awards, which are widely respected throughout the industry. The awards celebrate the outstanding innovation and quality in both food and non-food product categories, with winners chosen by a combination of consumer research and panel of experts.

Mash Direct’s Vegetable Burgers are shortlisted for the Vegetarian Sausages & Burgers
Category where the winners will be announced on Friday 2nd October 2015 at the London Marriot Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

Martin Hamilton, Managing Director of Mash Direct said: “At Mash Direct we are at the forefront of food innovation and it is wonderful to be recognised at this level.  With the Vegetable Burgers we wanted to keep the traditional flavours of our vegetables rather than being a mere meat alternative.  It is already our best-seller in London and Dubai and we think that it is a game-changer for us”.

Vegetable burgers have traditionally sat in the frozen section of supermarkets, focusing on imitating a burger rather than celebrating the vegetable aspect.  By concentrating on the origin and flavour of the vegetables Mash Direct have been able to produce a Vegetable Burger that is a not only healthy but also convenient and gluten-free.

As the farmers, Mash Direct can guarantee complete traceability for the vegetables which are grown and gently steam cooked on the family farm making it the only field-to-fork Vegetable Burger on the market.  Unlike other Vegetable Burger products, Mash Direct use their Great Taste Award winning vegetables to celebrate the flavours of their heritage varieties rather than hiding poor quality vegetables in a different form.

Mash Direct’s Vegetable Burgers are available in a variety of stores across Northern Ireland including Asda, Tesco, Spar, Dunnes Stores and NISA.

//ENDS

Media contact
Clare Forster
Marketing
Mash Direct
clare@mashdirect.com
02891 878316
www.mashdirect.com

Upcoming Events at Titanic Belfast

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A Taste of Titanic

Taste your way through the story of RMS Titanic with a signature two hour food tasting tour – the ultimate combination of culture, history, food and fun! Enjoy a guided journey through the Titanic Belfast Galleries; learn about the fascinating story of the world’s most famous ship and sample culinary delights from the era. Whether it is a shipyard worker’s hearty snack or a First Class champagne treat, Titanic Belfast will take you on a culinary and cultural journey, using only the best of local produce.Taste of Titanic 1

What’s Included?

  • Entrance to Titanic Galleries
  • Guided Tour
  • Food and Drink Tastings
  • Branded Souvenir Photo

Friday 21st August, tours will run at 6.30pm or 7.30pm and will last approx. 2 hours. £35 per person. To book, visit www.titanicbelfast.com or call +44 28 9076 6399.

Afternoon Tea by the Grand Staircase

Enjoy Sunday Afternoon Tea at Titanic Belfast in the opulent surroundings of the Titanic Suite featuring the stunning replica staircase with live jazz. Sunday 9th , 23rd and 30th August, starting from £24 per person. To book, visit www.titanicbelfast.com or phone +44 28 9076 6399.
 

Taste of Titanic

New Water Menu at The Merchant

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It’s been home to the world’s most expensive cocktail and the world’s oldest Old Fashioned, now Belfast’s Merchant Hotel is breaking the mould yet again with the launch of Ireland’s first dedicated water menu.   This summer, The Merchant Hotel will launch its new water menu, with an exclusive range of 13 bottled waters.  The handpicked selection has been curated to include some of the world’s purest waters, with bottles originating from 10 countries including Italy, Iceland, Finland, the Faroe Islands and Fiji.  Prices on the new water menu start from £4.95 and go right up to £26.45 per bottle, with a description of the water and its mineral content guiding guests through the options available.

Never ones to do things by halves, The Merchant has also appointed two new water butlers that can help guests choose the water that is right for their palate, explaining the unique benefits, tastes and attributes of the different brands,  many of which can be rarely found in the UK and Ireland.

Gavin Carroll, general manager of The Merchant Hotel said: “Just like wine, the location where water is produced will impact on its taste and flavour.  Whilst experts can differentiate between the mineral content and PH balance of different types of water, discerning consumers are also increasingly demanding a wider choice of waters.

“The brands featured on our new menu are some of the world’s best and have been sourced from a range of global locations including glaciers, tropical islands and mountains.

“Of course, we know these luxury waters won’t be to everyone’s taste and new menu will be offered as an additional option to our current water menu that includes local Irish brands and for those that don’t want to splash out on water, we can still offer a glass of ‘Belfast water’, free of charge.”