Below is a picture of University of Ulster Year One BSc Hons International Hospitality Management students with their course director, Ms Nikki McQuillan.
As they are studying the ‘Introduction to Events’ module, in order to gain more experience within the events sector, they volunteered to assist at the ‘Focus on Food’ conference in St Georges Market on 17th February 2015.
The students said that they had a great time and found the event very beneficial not only from the practical point of view but also the information they gained from listening to the keynote speakers.

Cancer Focus NI’s new Well Being Cookbook for cancer patients has come top in the Northern Ireland heat of the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook awards.

The unique cookbook has also been shortlisted for the Best Health Book in the World and Best Charity Book in the World categories.

The Gourmand Awards celebrate global cookbook and wine book publishing and feature many world renowned food writers each year. This is the first year there has been a Northern Ireland section.

The Well Being Cookbook was written by former TV chef Jeanne Rankin and Cancer Focus NI staff members Deirdre Conlon and Niamh McDaid. It is packed with need-to-know tips to help cancer patients during treatment, with their recovery and to help them stay well in the future, and is also great for anyone who just wants to stay healthy.

Edouard Cointreau, from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, said: “Thank you for this wonderful book, and for the hope you bring to many people. Members of the jury consider it as a reference book for the future.”

Deirdre Conlon, Care Services Manager, Cancer Focus NI, said: “We are delighted to have won the Northern Ireland section of this competition and we’re very excited that our book is going forward for the Gourmand world cookbook awards. We never expected it to be this successful.

“Our aim was to write a book that would encourage cancer patients to try out simple recipes with tasty ingredients when they are feeling unwell. There are recipes for those who find it hard to swallow, spicy food for those who have lost their palate due to their cancer treatment, and energy boosting recipes.

“The most important thing is to keep up your strength, which may mean changing your diet. The information and recipes in our book help in a practical way to eat well and keep up energy levels.”

The cookbook contains useful tips on nutrition, food labelling, food safety and store cupboard basics. Jeanne, who is a yoga specialist, has also created a special section on breathing and relaxation techniques to help calm the mind, create an inner peacefulness and de-stress the body.

Recipes include old favourites such as hearty vegetable soup and salmon and leek tart along with quinoa salad, vegetable frittata, blueberry pancakes and chai tea.

The Gourmand Best in the World awards take place in June in Yantai, China. For more details visit www.cookbookfair.com.

For your copy of the Well Being Cookbook, costing £9.95, go to the online shop at www.cancerfocusni.org, email care@cancerfocusni.org or call 028 9066 3281.

MOTHER’S DAY
Make your Mother’s Day
Sunday 15th March

Show your Mum you care and treat her to lunch this Mother’ Day

The Mitre Restaurant
Four course gourmet lunch with a gift for Mum
£50 adults £20 children

Cultra Inn
Buffet lunch with children’s cinema
£30 adults £20 children

Stuart Suite
Gourmet buffet lunch with a glass of Prosecco on arrival
With face painting and old sweet shop for the children
£40 adults £15 children

Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea
9th March to 15th March

£28 per person

Spoil your Mother this Mother’s Day with a delightful Afternoon Tea

The perfect way to spend an afternoon.

£28.00 per person

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

*****

ST PATRICK’S

Cocktails in the Crozier Lounge
Served within the Crozier Lounge on the 17th March

The Crozier Lounge, the newest addition to the Culloden Estate and Spa and it is the perfect location to relax in luxurious surrounding this St Patrick’s Day.

Shamrock Shake Up
Celtic Sea Breeze
Emerald Crush

Cocktails £10.00 each

Cultra
Located in the beautifully landscaped grounds of the Culloden Estate and Spa the Cultra Inn is one of County Down’s finest bars and restaurants.

This St Patrick’s Day enjoy the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere as you sit by the log fire, take in the stunning views and enjoy a Pint of Guinness and Irish Stew.

£8.00 per person
(Stew only £5.00 per person)

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

*****

EASTER SUNDAY
Sunday 5th April

Easter Sunday is a perfect opportunity to get together for a delicious lunch with family and friends

The Mitre Restaurant
Four course gourmet lunch
£50 adults £20 children

Cultra Inn
Buffet lunch with children’s cinema and Easter egg hunt
£30 adults £20 children

Easter Afternoon Tea
30th March to 5th April

£28 per person

Treat the family to our special Easter afternoon tea including freshly baked hot cross buns and simnel cake

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

*****

FATHER’S DAY
Sunday 21st June

Treat your food-loving father to the ultimate BBQ in the grounds of the Cultra Inn

Hog Roast barbeque with a pint for Dad on arrival
£35 adults £15 children

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

****

TALL SHIP’S
Sunday 5th July

Enjoy the view of the Tall Ships as they depart Belfast

Afternoon Tea on the Cumberland Terrace
£28 adults £14 children

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

Tall Ships
The Culloden Estate and Spa is the perfect place to enjoy the Tall Ships as they come from across the globe to anchor in Belfast. Watch as the flotilla of ships depart Belfast for the start of the Tall Ship Race 2015

Enjoy Champagne Afternoon Tea within your Suite as the ship sail past your window

Presidential Suite £1,540 per room
State Suites – £690 per room
Champagne Afternoon Tea – £38 per person

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

Tall Ships
From 2nd to 5th July

The Culloden Estate and Spa is the perfect place to enjoy the Tall Ships as they come from across the globe to anchor in Belfast

Make the most of this glorious occasion and watch as the flotilla of ships depart Belfast for the start of the Tall Ship Race 2015, this is the perfect time for you to entertain your clients

Room Hire from £395.00
Lunch menus from £30 per person
Afternoon Tea from £28 per person

To make a reservation call 028 9042 1066

Improve, the Food and Drink Sector Skills Council, has launched a new ‘Tasty Careers’ website and interactive careers map to further educate young people about the benefits of considering a career within the food and drink manufacturing sector.

As the largest industry in Northern Ireland, there are 15,000 potential job opportunities available for young people across the food supply chain, to be recruited by 2020.

The Tasty Careers website and interactive careers map will provide students with the ability to find out more about the wide variety of specific careers available within the industry in sectors such as finance, sales, marketing, supply chain and logistics and product development. Students can simply click on the specific job sector that interests them to find out more about the variety of available roles, what is expected from a job and qualifications needed to secure a career within their chosen sector.

The website also provides the opportunity for young people to read about the actual experiences of Tasty Careers ambassadors, who are currently working within their area of interest. Young people can learn firsthand about a job, its projected salary range and they can also explore current vacancies within the industry that have been posted onto the website.

Commenting on the launch, Geoff Lamb, NI Operations Manager, Improve, said: “We are excited to launch our new Tasty Careers website and interactive careers map to students across Northern Ireland. As the economy continues to grow, the food and drink sector offers a wealth of job opportunities for young people with over 100,000 people involved in growing, processing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing the food we eat.

“Our new online portal offers young people a vital tool to explore these opportunities within the food and drink manufacturing sector to help them to make informed decisions about their future career path.

“The website is a great addition to our existing school visits that we have been running in local schools for the last five years, where ‘Tasty Careers’ ambassadors provide young people with an insight into their day to day activities and give advice on the most beneficial path to their current role.”

The ‘Tasty Careers’ programme is supported by the Department of Employment and Learning.

For more information about Tasty Careers or to access the website and careers map, simply go to www.tastycareers.org.uk

   

White’s Oats has made significant investment in the repositioning and packaging re-design of its range of porridge oats and oat based cereals, which will see the brand develop further business in its core markets- Ireland and GB.
White’s, based in Tandragee, Co. Armagh appointed Pearlfisher, a global Design agency based in London to create a new contemporary brand identity that will help differentiate White’s products on the shelves of Grocery retail outlets. The brand repositioning will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign comprising TV, outdoor, print, online and in-store across Northern Ireland to showcase the new brand identity.
Danielle McBride, Brand Manager at White’s Oats, says: “By exploring our history and heritage we have developed a strong brand essence that will strengthen our market position in the Irish and GB markets, and offer substantial growth potential for our range of oat products’’.
Research continues to show that oats and particularly porridge is a natural, healthy and nutritious breakfast choice. Our new brand proposition and design identity places the oat at the very heart of the design, allowing it to become the focal point of communication with customers. It builds on our heritage and provenance and brings a strong mark of trust to the White’s brand.
Jenny Dean, Pearlfisher’s Senior Strategist, comments: “The new brand message, ‘White’s takes the time so you can make the most of yours’ recognises the active attitude of oat eaters and is brought to life through three distinctive portfolio pillars that bring meaning to White’s product range relative to both the master brand and consumer behaviour.’’ She continues… “The new brand positioning and portfolio architecture builds on White’s authenticity and quality credentials while leaving space to expand with on-going innovation.’’
A market leading brand within the Northern Ireland retail sector, White’s recently announced a £2 million investment in its processing capabilities, marketing and people. It has an award winning track record in producing great tasting porridge oats and oat cereals and this has been acknowledged by the numerous Great Taste Awards received from the Guild of Fine Food.

Local manufacturer Linden Foods has made it through to the final stage of ‘England’s Best Sirloin Steak’ competition with its ‘Chef’s Larder Premium Extra Mature Sirloin’ steak, which it supplies to a national chain of wholesalers based in England.

Run by EBLEX, ‘England’s Best Sirloin Steak’ is one of three competitions to make up the newly launched Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards 2015. Along with ‘England’s Best Innovative Steak and ‘England’s Best Steak Pie’, the awards recognise steak products that deliver excellent eating qualities and the highest levels of customer satisfaction both in and out of the home.

Butchers, supermarkets and caterers sent in entries to be judged by meat industry experts in all three competitions, but only the highest scoring made it through to the final.

Linden Foods entered the ‘Multiple Retailer/Supplier’ category in England’s Best Sirloin Steak competition and its ‘Chef’s Larder Premium Extra Mature Sirloin’ was one of just six in the category to achieve a prestigious Gold Award.
From those, only the best three sirloin steaks were selected to go through to the final, which means that Linden Foods has a good chance of being crowned winner of the Multiple Retailer/Supplier category.

There were two other categories in the competition – ‘Independent Retailer’ and ‘Foodservice’ – and one of the category winners will go on to be named Overall Champion of England’s Best Sirloin Steak competition.
In the contest, entries were put through their paces with judges marking against set criteria, including aroma, colour, marbling, flavour and juiciness. In addition, scientific ‘shear force’ testing was used to measure tenderness.

Managing Director of Linden Foods, Gerry Maguire commented: “We are delighted to have won a Gold Award and to be voted into the final for our Chef’s Larder Premium Extra Mature Sirloin Steaks. To be among the top 3 best sirloin steaks in England chosen by very experienced judges is a real testament to the quality of our supply chain and a huge endorsement of our product. Hopefully we can go one further and win it.”
Competition organiser, foodservice project manager for EBLEX, Hugh Judd, said: “Sirloin is a prime cut which is one of the nation’s favourite steaks thanks to its fine texture and wonderful flavour. We know there are many excellent examples on sale across the country and we wanted to recognise the very best in the business. The competition so far has been extremely tough. Not only did we receive a great number of entries but the quality of sirloin steaks submitted was incredibly high. Without doubt there has been a fantastic display from businesses, such as Linden Foods. We wish them the very best of luck in the final.”

Pictured: (L-R) Gerry Maguire – Managing Director, David Bevan NPD Chef & Jacqueline Fitzpatrick – Sales Account Manager at Linden Foods