The main reason I like the location of The Quays Restaurant in Portavogie is because its home. I’ve lived in Portavogie for the past 16 years now, the same length of time i have had the pleasure of working in The Quays, and I love it more every day. The people are some of the nicest you will meet anywhere, there is always a great sense of community spirit, and everyone looks out for each other. It’s just like one big family.

The location of the restaurant itself, which is situated a directly across the road from the busy harbour, is one of the best in Northern Ireland. The spectacular views overlooking the bay right as far as the Isle of Man, are currently in the progress of being featured in a magazine showcasing restaurants with the best views in the United Kingdom. Where else would you get a view were you can watch the local lobster and crab fishermen haul in their catch and deliver it straight to the restaurant door!

From a chef’s point of view it is a dream come true working in such close proximity to one of Northern Irelands fishing ports. Getting to work with some of the provinces finest produce on a daily basis is an absolute privilege. It’s such a pleasure, which i never take for granted, walking down the harbour and getting to pick first hand the fish and shellfish for my daily specials menu. Examples of such produce that i use throughout the year would be turbot, brill, monkfish, mackerel, red gurnard, langoustines, skate, and scallops to name but a few. One of the greatest moments of my career was when i was the second chef in The Quays and winning the AA Seafood Restaurant of the year for Northern Ireland in 2005-2006.This was a tribute to the great local produce on our doorstep and something i would love to try and achieve again as owner of The Quays.

Fancy giving/receiving something a little different this Valentine’s Day?

This gorgeously gourmet Chocolate Subscription from BitetoSavour is set to paint smiles on the faces of chocolate lovers all over the country this coming Valentine’s.

Sign up for a 3/6 month subscription starting from just £30 and avail of carefully curated selections of mouth watering artisan chocolate delivered directly to their/your door monthly. What a treat!

BitetoSavour also have a fabulous tea subscription for those who might prefer a sophisticated sip of lovingly hand blended tea and the best part is… it’s all local produce. When you buy a BitetoSavour subscription you can delight that your supporting local businesses.

Chocolate of the Month – Yes Please! – BITETOSAVOUR

O.K. so we admit it, we know that as members of the BitetoSavour team we probably have the best jobs in the world. In fact, on days like today when setting up mouth-watering shots of rediculously scrumptious artisan chocolate for our online shop, we can barely call it ‘work’ without cracking a stupid grin.

We were over-joyed when Dot from NearyNogs included some samples of her new flavours in with stock for our new Chocolate Subscription… This chocolate is incredible!

If like us you love artisan chocolate and would like the opportunity to try some new and exciting flavours then BiteToSavour’s Chocolate of the Month subscription is simply a ‘must’. Choose from a 3 or 6 month subscription and avail of a selection of beautiful chocolates sent to your door/ desk monthly. Delivered in dinky BitetoSavour boxes these fit through your letter box and are also very transportable by handbag and satchel… perfect for chocolate lovers of the modern age!

 

Subscribe Today!

Great Taste, the world’s most coveted fine food and drink awards, which champions the very best in the industry, is now open for entry. Organised by the Guild of Fine Food and judged by hundreds of food experts, including chefs, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers, Great Taste has blind-tasted over 90,000 products in the 21 years that is has been running. The unmistakable gold and black Great Taste logo with stars is a recognised stamp of excellence among retailers and consumers alike.

 

Members of the Guild of Fine Food will have exclusive access to submit their entries at a discounted rate during ‘Members’ Fortnight’, which runs from Monday 19 January to Sunday 1 February. Entry opens to all other food producers who supply the independent retail sector, large and small, on Monday 2 February and will close on Friday 27 February. Product entries are capped at 10,00​0 and the rigorous judging process to find the stars of 2015 will commence in March, with the results being announced during the summer.

 

Whether the product receives a 1-star, 2-star or 3-star accolade, Great Taste stars are highly respected seals of approval, bringing significant benefits to food and drink producers, including increased sales and brand awareness through the extensive consumer and trade promotion carried out by the Guild of Fine Food. What’s more, every entrant receives comments from the panel of expert judges, providing highly valuable feedback for market research and product refinement purposes.

 

“The Great Taste logo is an established and trusted mark; for producers it reflects their hard work and commitment to making superb tasting food and drink, and for consumers it is a recognisable, simple and clear logo that confirms they are buying the most outstanding products on the shelf,” explains John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food and Great Taste organiser.

 

Last year’s Great Taste Supreme Champion was Snowflake Luxury Gelato’s Raspberry Sorbetto, made in London. Asad Khan from Snowflake Luxury Gelato, says; “Winning Supreme Champion has been a game changer for the business. It has allowed us to accelerate our growth plans and look into acquiring an additional production facility to meet the demands we have had since our Great Taste achievement. We have watched our sales go up in-store and it has been a very busy period for us.”

For further information, please click here.

Registration has now opened for next month’s ‘Focus on Food’ conference, which will put the spotlight on the importance of food to the tourism.

With Belfast having been named one of the world’s top six food destinations in ‘High Life’ magazine’s annual ‘Hot List’, the one day event – organized by Belfast City Council in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), through its Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme, and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) – will take place at St George’s Market on Tuesday February 17.

According to the most recent edition of the Belfast Tourism Monitor, visitors spend an average of £60 per day on food during their stay in Belfast, resulting in an overall annual spend of more than £453m and a total economic impact of £553m.

The aim of the ‘Focus on Food’ conference is to see what more can be done to maximize the economic benefit of food tourism, not only for Belfast in particular but the region as a whole.  It will look at the long term development of food tourism in the city, and is designed to promote Belfast’s food tourism message; inspire the industry to collaborate and create new visitor experiences; engage producers, chefs and outlets together to better promote the food message to visitors; encourage the use of local produce in menus and enable those in the industry to share experiences, challenges and opportunities.

‘Focus on Food’ will be hosted by the renowned food writer Xanthe Clay, with keynote speakers including award-winning writer and TV presenter James McIntosh, Fia Gulliksson, official food ambassador for the Swedish government and CEO of ‘Food In Action’, and author Joe Warwick.

Other contributors will include hotelier James McGinn, entrepreneur Bill Wolsley, restaurateur Niall McKenna and award-winning producer Peter Hannan, as well as representatives from Tourism Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Food NI.

To register, and for further information, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastfood.  Attendees can also keep up to date with developments on Twitter, by following @belfast_food or #belfastfocusonfood.