Food and Fun comes to Moira Demesne

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Northern Ireland’s burgeoning food scene takes pride of place at Moira Demesne this Saturday, 15 August with the region’s first Speciality Food Fair, which promises to have something to appeal to all the family.

The one-day event will feature over 30 artisan food and drink producers in an artisan food market which will host award winning food producers from within a 15 miles radius of Moira. Abernethy Butter, Passion Preserved, Krazi Baker, Brambleberry Jams, and Hilden Brewery, to name but a few, have recently been crowned with multiple Great Taste Awards accolades. They will be joined by some of the best food producers in Northern Ireland who are all equally committed to their craft and the provenance of the produce they source.

Funded by Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and the NI Regional Food Programme, the Chairman of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Development Committee, Alderman Allan Ewart, explained, “The council feels there is an appetite for an event of this nature by the NI food sector and the local community. We have the privilege of having an abundance of artisan food producer’s, many of them award winning, right on our doorstep, who are passionate about the quality and distinct nature of Northern Ireland’s food scene. As a council, we see the Speciality Food Fair as the stepping stone to many such events in the city over the next 18 months as we approach 2016 Year of Food.”

It would seem that timing is everything with the recent arrival in town of Great British Chef, Chris McGowan. Fresh from filming this year’s series of Great British Menu, Chris has just embarked on renovations in the old Ivory building in the centre of Moira with a new restaurant venture opening this autumn. “We had literally just broken ground in the old Ivory premises when word of the Speciality Food Fair started to spread. My wife Davina, always one to have her ear to the ground, immediately got in touch with the event organisers and asked what could we do. We are thrilled to be involved in what promises to be a great event. I am blown away by the quality of produce available literally right on our doorstep and also to the passion and commitment of the producers.”

There promises to be food and fun for all the family with children’s craft workshops such as t-shirt printing, fruity five hat-making, story-telling and of course the obligatory face painting! Grown-ups can experience foodie heaven with kitchen sessions led by Chris McGowan and Stevie Higginson of Square Bistro, Lisburn, with a focus on food provenance and inspirational ideas that can easily be created at home.

All this temptation can make a person hungry, but not to worry, there will be plenty of choice available for a bite to eat from the gourmet street food vendors, with Pizza Box, Broughgammon Farm, The Fabulous Food Factory and The Crepe Makers all featuring. Those essential Saturday caffeine kicks will be covered and you can even sample a beverage from our budding craft beer, cider and spirits producers.

It would certainly seem to be the right time for such an event with the forthcoming ‘NI Year of Food 2016’. Hopefully, this Speciality Food Fair will be the first of its kind.

Start Time: 10.00am

Finish Time: 04.00pm

SFM (3 of 16)

 

 

Northern Ireland Potato Festival

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As this is now the third year of the festival it is growing rapidly and received some positive media coverage compared to year one as the site is more prominent and attractive from its move last year. This year they are incorporating the festival into the National trust opening day which allows visitors to go to the Giant’s Causeway and visitor centre for free therefore they expect a footfall of up to 10,000 people. This is an opportunity NOT to be missed and we would love to have your presence especially because we want to promote the best NI product the potato.

 

This Year’s NI Potato Festival will be held on the 3rd October at The Causeway. We see this as a fantastic opportunity to display Northern Ireland’s finest potato produce as  well as bringing people from around NI to experience the fantastic food we have to offer. There will be a range of potato products to showcase the diversity of potatoes and to emphasis the nutritional value they have to offer. This is a fun day out for all the family with events for children as well as adults. This gives individuals the opportunity to see how the potato is developed through the stages from the planting to the ploughing to the final potato product whether it be a boiled potato or a chip!

cookingdemos

For more information on the NI Potato Festival please feel free to contact Food NI by phone or email.

 

Hospitality Ulster Launches New Look Pub of the Year Awards 2015

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SEARCH BEGINS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND’S HOSPITALITY STARS

The search to discover Northern Ireland’s best pubs, hotels and restaurants is getting under way as the new look annual Pub of the Year Awards are launched for 2015.

In recognition of the widening scope of the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland, a record FOURTEEN Awards are up for grabs, each designed to highlight the very best that the sector has to offer.

With the introduction of three Pubs of the Year Awards, recognising the best pubs and bars in rural, urban and city locations, this year’s Awards are set to be the most inclusive ever.

Also new for 2015, three Commitment to Local Food Awards (in partnership with FoodNI/Taste of Ulster) will recognise the growing importance of locally sourced food within Northern Ireland’s best pubs, hotels and restaurants.

With community involvement continuing to be an important focus for the local hospitality industry, 2015 also welcomes the introduction of three Commitment to the Community Awards for pubs, hotels and restaurants.

This year’s Best Hotel Bar category features two accolades with Awards for the Best 1, 2 & 3 star Hotel Bar and Best 4 & 5 star Hotel Bar.

One Award category will invite nominations from the general public. People can nominate their favourite barperson by writing to The Sunday Life, which is joining forces with Hospitality Ulster once again to find out who’s the Best Barperson in the pub personality stakes.

The Awards will also recognise the industry’s rising stars and those that have played a vital role in shaping the sector with two new Awards: Hospitality Ulster’s Rising Star (in partnership with Ulster University) and the Industry Legend Award (in partnership with Hospitality Review).

All submitted Award entries, along with public nominations from the Best Barperson and the Industry Legend Awards will be vetted and judged by an independent judging panel comprised of industry experts, before being mystery shopped to ensure they meet industry standards and best practice guidelines.

Commenting on the Pub of the Year Awards 2015, Olga Walls, chairman of Hospitality Ulster, said:  “The Pub of the Year Awards celebrate all that is great about our Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry and the Awards are hotly contested each year.

“We have some of the best hospitality venues in the world right on our doorstep and many of these are setting industry standards when it comes to their customer offering and service as well as innovation.  

 “As our industry has evolved, so have we as an organisation and so too have our Awards. That is why we are introducing a number of new categories for 2015, which recognise the widening scope of the industry.

 “Whilst retaining the proud title of ‘Pub of the Year Awards’ and celebrating and honouring all that is great about the Ulster Pub, we have also introduced several new Awards that recognise the growing diversity of our pubs, hotels and restaurants.

“I would encourage all businesses to get involved and enter this year’s Awards, as we strive to celebrate the real heroes of Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry.”

The prestigious Awards aren’t all that’s up for grabs; the winners of each Award will be offered an exclusive place at an interactive Masterclass, with one of the UK’s most sought after speakers and trainers, David Meade.

David will guide the chosen few through a host of practical techniques that focus on driving sales by developing their customer experience.  In this unique session, exclusively for award winners, David will reveal the real secrets behind motivating staff and driving sales. Combining his personal interests of popular psychology, consumer behaviour and choice, this innovative workshop will encourage participants to think critically about the challenges around them and how to strive for success in a challenging marketplace.

The Pub of the Year Awards are the only industry recognised awards. This year’s Awards are supported by Britvic, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Dillon Bass, Henderson Foods, Heineken Northern Ireland, Molson Coors, Richmond Marketing, Tennent’s NI, Drinks Inc. and media partners, Sunday Life, Downtown/Cool FM and Hospitality Review NI.

The closing date for entries for Hospitality Ulster’s Pub of the Year Awards 2015 is Tuesday 15th September 2015. A final shortlist will be announced by the end of October, revealing the premises shortlisted in each category. The winners of the 14 Awards will be revealed at a prestigious Gala Dinner on Wednesday 11th November 2015 at La Mon Hotel and Country Club.

For further information about the Pub of the Year Awards and to enter online, visit www.nipuboftheyear.org

 

Pubs of Ulster

Comber Farmers’ Market Celebrates 1st Birthday

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Comber Farmers’ Market was delighted to welcome Michele Shirlow from NI Good Food who was invited to celebrate the 1st birthday of the artisan food market on 2 July 2015 by cutting our birthday cake.  The fabulous tasting layered sponge cake decorated with slices of fresh fruit and chocolate was made my French chef Franck Breteche of Mangetout Deli from Downpatrick who have a stand at the market.

 Deborah Girvan who helps to run the market on behalf of Comber Regeneration Community Partnership said, “We invited Michele to be our guest of honour as she was very supportive of our vision to start the food market last year and gave us some good advice and encouragement.   It is brilliant to have an organisation such as Good Food NI and their excellent staff to help develop the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland.  I am very proud of the traders who attend our market and the wonderful food and plants that they produce is second to none.”  

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Double Great Taste Awards Success for Mash Direct

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Northern Irish Food Companies top the podium at this year’s Great Taste Awards. Over seventy local producers were awarded for the quality and taste of their produce.

Michele Shirlow, CEO, Food NI comments: “Our producers just keep getting better and better. The range of foods and drinks that our members are producing is far more diverse than ever before. We are so proud of all of their success.”

Mash Direct, the unique award-winning County Down farming and food production enterprise, which produces an innovative range of convenient potato and vegetable dishes, has been recognised with Great Taste Awards for two of its products; Carrot and Parsnip and Carrot, Turnip and Parsnip. This brings the total number of Great Taste Awards won to date by Mash Direct to an impressive 16. Regarded as the industry Oscars, The Guild of Fine Food’s annual Great Taste Awards are the UK’s largest independent evaluation of fine food and drink.

The judges commented that the Mash Direct Carrot and Parsnip had good, clean honest flavours with a good balance of carrot and parsnip and a pleasant level of sweetness, whilst they praised the Carrot, Turnip and Parsnip as having sweet root vegetables aromas.

Martin Hamilton, Managing Director of Mash Direct, said: “We grow our carrots, parsnips and turnips for their flavour, not their appearance.” Our focus on the quality of our vegetables and our cooking methods set us apart and the whole team is delighted as our products are very much a team effort from everyone here. The Great Taste Awards are a great chance for us to showcase the quality of our products in a blind taste test and to win two more this year is just out of this world”

 Mash Direct’s core principal is to bring the traditional vegetable varieties straight from the farm to the fork in a convenient and traditional style.   As the farmers, Mash Direct can guarantee complete traceability for the vegetables which are grown and gently steam cooked on the family farm using no artificial preservatives, flavourings or colourings. Mash Direct steam cook and package all of their vegetables on the farm with bespoke machinery to recreate traditional cooking styles and keep all of the goodness inside the vegetables securing the taste and texture of homemade food to make sure that it is as good as our Granny’s.

Mash Direct’s innovative and 100% gluten free product range continues to evolve and currently includes over 40 products.

Comp-Carrot & Parsnip