Four premium meat lines have launched into 12 stores in Northern Ireland, including Guinness flavoured burgers

Kettyle Irish Foods has hit the shelves in Asda stores across Northern Ireland, supplying four lines of its premium meat range, including a unique Guinness flavoured burger that pairs perfectly with the iconic stout.

The four lines include Rump Heart Steaks, Fillet Tail Diamonds, Guinness Burgers and Salt Moss Dry Aged Burgers. The Fillet Tail Diamonds will be an Asda store exclusive, offering the same flavour and tenderness of Fillet steak but at a fraction of the cost.

Kettyle Irish Foods is part of ABP Food Group and was founded by Maurice Kettyle 20 years ago, born of a desire to age meat using natural processes to give a deeper, more robust flavour. All products from the range are dry aged with a unique salt moss method. A brick made from Irish organic virgin sea salt and Irish sea moss draws the moisture out of the meat, creating a deeper flavour and better caramelisation on the frying pan.

Hannah Kee, Sales and Marketing Manager at Kettyle Irish Foods said:

“We’re so delighted to launch into Asda with four fantastic lines from our range. All of our meat products are hand-prepared by master butchers to deliver the taste, quality and tenderness that Kettyle is known for. We are passionate about showcasing the quality of the meat on the island of Ireland – and we only select the best.

“From there we apply our patented salt moss dry aging process, created using sustainably sourced Irish sea salt and sea moss. This process is completely unique to Kettyle, developed from decades of care and attention to crafting the perfect meat products. We are very proud to secure our first retail listing with Asda and are looking forward to growing our relationship in the months to come.”

Cathy Elliott, Northern Ireland Local Buying Manager at Asda added:

“We are so passionate about supporting local brands and Kettyle Irish Foods is a fantastic example of the excellence of produce here in Northern Ireland. More customers are now looking for those high quality, premium meats, still with affordability, and our first listing with Kettyle has really answered that call.

“We are pleased to launch the Fillet Tail Diamonds product as an Asda exclusive – a premium cut of meat ideal for family meal times. The Guinness burgers are also a highly anticipated product – bringing together two iconic brands from the island of Ireland to create a brilliantly flavoured product we’re sure shoppers will love.”

The Kettyle Irish Foods range is now available in stores and online at www.asda.com

Best-selling cookery writer and TV chef, Rachel Allen, will headline this year’s Comber Earlies Food Festival on Saturday 22 June. The renowned teacher at the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork will be joined by experienced broadcaster Lotte Duncan at the popular foodie event, where visitors can grab the opportunity to discover how best to cook the prized Comber Earlies potatoes.

Running as part of Taste Summer in Ards and North Down, the free-to-attend festival will be located in Comber Leisure Centre car park for the second year running. A move to the venue in 2023 saw an increased number of stalls and the addition of live music.

The festival is one of the highlights in Ards and North Down’s foodie calendar, offering a wealth of artisan food and drink stalls, vintage tractor display, celebrity chef demos and children’s entertainment, all coming together to celebrate Comber’s famed potato. Chefs will showcase their culinary talents while visitors can enjoy discussions with local food heroes and be entertained by the live music while sipping on a refreshing drink from the Artisan Bar.

Enjoy the potato-themed cooking demonstrations by Rachel Allen and find out more about our local food producers as they showcase their products with Lotte Duncan on the Food Producers’ Stage. Also at the festival, chefs from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) will run a Comber Cookery School where you can try your hand at creating some delicious dishes using traditional Comber Earlies recipes.

There will be lots for children to enjoy too. Enjoy walkabout entertainment, fun with Mr and Mrs Potato Head, ride on tractors, sensory activities and keep an eye out for the golden spuds hidden throughout the event. If you find one, take it to the Visitor Information Caravan (opposite the Leisure Centre entrance) to claim a small prize!

Comber Earlies potatoes have enjoyed Protected Geographical Indication status since 2012, a recognition of their unique taste and flavour thanks to the micro-climate in which they’re grown in the rich soil of the Ards Peninsula and Comber areas. They share this status with products such as feta, camembert, and champagne.

The Comber Earlies Food Festival is open from 11am – 5pm on Saturday 22 June. For more information, go to visitardsandnorthdown.com/TasteSummer.

Two DELI LITES New Product Development Technologists are celebrating after being named among the UK’s top sandwich and food to go creators by an industry-leading awards body.

Kirsty Fitzpatrick and Kirsty Beck from DELI LITES represented the company at the Sammies – the sandwich and food to go awards – in London after triumphing in the UK regional heats of the Sandwich & Food to Go Designer 2024 awards.

The pair, who work at DELI LITES IRELAND, based in Warrenpoint in the Innovation and New Product Development department took part in the prestigious annual competition to find the UK’s best sandwich and food to go creators.

The regional heats were held earlier this year in Darlington, where the DELI LITES duo won in all five categories they entered; an industry first.

Kirsty Fitzpatrick won the Delightful Breaded Chicken, Gorgonzola Piccante and Nut Free categories with creations called ‘Second to Naan’, ‘Honey I’m Feeling Blue’ and ‘Banging Chicken’.

Kirsty Beck scored the top prizes in the Gouda and Chutney & Curd categories with ‘Too Gouda to be True’ and ‘It Takes Two to Mango’.

Following their regional success, the pair travelled to the national live grand final at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel. At the final, Kirsty Fitzpatrick was crowned the winner of the Futura Foods’ Gorgonzola Piccante category with her ‘Honey I’m Feeling Blue’ creation.

“We were over the moon to win at the regional heats and to represent our company at the grand final in London was incredible,” said Kirsty Fitzpatrick. “It was an honour to compete against the very best sandwich and food to go creators in the UK and we’re both overjoyed that our creations were so well received by so many,” added Kirsty Beck.

“The Sammies is the Oscars of our industry and everyone at DELI LITES is so proud of the achievements of our two Kirstys,” added Brian Reid, DELI LITES co-founder and CEO. “Getting to the national final in London confirmed what we already knew here at Deli Lites – that our super talented innovation and new product development team are the best in the business. We’re lucky to work with them every day and I thank them for everything they do for our company and our customers. A national win for ‘Honey I’m Feeling Blue’ was the icing on the cake!”             

“We’re so pleased to have a national winner in our midst at DELI LITES. Our two Kirstys never fail to impress our team and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements,” added Gary McDowell, Head of Food Innovation and Development. “At DELI LITES, we’re passionate about empowering our young team to meet its full potential and events like the Sammies offer a platform to help us achieve that. Well done again to the Kirstys – we’re all really proud of you.”

DELI LITES, based in Warrenpoint, produces over 30 million delicious food to go and artisanal bakery items annually that are sold globally.

In 2022, DELI LITES obtained certification as a BCorp company—a global initiative that evaluates businesses based on their involvement with people, communities, and the environment with the goal of transforming business into a force for good.

Award winning ice cream brand launches products in Sainsbury’s stores across Great Britain

Morelli’s Ice Cream, Ireland’s oldest ice cream producer, has announced its award-winning products will be available to customers across Great Britain thanks to an expansion of its partnership with Sainsbury’s.

The announcement follows the launch of Morelli’s partnership with Sainsbury’s in autumn 2023, which saw Morelli’s products stocked in freezers in all Sainsbury’s Northern Ireland stores. 

The developing partnership will see a further 120 Sainsbury’s stores stocking the Morelli’s Ice Cream 950ml take home tubs, which are available in two flavours – Double Cream Vanilla and Honeycomb.

“The Morelli’s team is so excited to make this announcement and continue our partnership with Sainsbury’s as we further our expansion into Great Britain,” said Daniela Morelli, Sales and Marketing Director at Morelli’s Ice Cream. “Sainsbury’s is one of retail’s most iconic names and we are pleased to continue developing our relationship with the team as we grow the distribution and availability of Morelli’s Ice Cream across the UK and Ireland.”

Morelli’s Ice Cream take home tubs are now available in over 120 Sainsbury’s stores in Great Britain including Crayford, Milton Keynes and Preston. 

Morelli’s Ice Cream, Ireland’s oldest ice cream producer, was established in 1911 by Peter Morelli. Since then, the brand has flourished and expanded. The company currently has five family-run outlets and eleven branded stores in Northern Ireland as well as supplying Tesco, Dunnes Stores and various independent retailers all across Ireland.

For more information about Morelli’s Ice Cream visit www.morellisices.com or on the brand’s social media – Facebook, Instagram and X.

Bertie’s Bakery, the award-winning family firm with 50 years of baking heritage, is expanding its relationship with Henderson Group through the rollout of an innovative new product line in over 80 Henderson Group stores across Northern Ireland.
The Magherafelt-headquartered bakery has experienced strong growth in sales since it began listing with Henderson Group, just over four years ago in March 2020.

The latest expansion of the bakery’s relationship with Henderson sees the introduction of
Bertie’s Bakery’s new high-protein rolls into Henderson Group-owned stores, a move that is
expected to see Bertie’s brand sales grow further due to strong consumer demand.
Brian McErlain who founded Bertie’s Bakery says: “Protein is one of the top food trends this
year due to many people wanting to reduce their carbohydrate intake and increase their intake of protein. And as consumer needs and wants evolve, we want to be at the forefront of that. Over 21 percent of the calorific content of our new rolls is protein, which allows them to be classified as high protein, and we expect them to be in strong demand when they go on sale”.

“As a local company, it has been fantastic to work with Henderson Group over the last four
years, making our products increasingly widely available to consumers across Northern Ireland. We are delighted to expand our offering with Henderson Group and are very grateful to them for their ongoing support and collaboration.”

Bertie’s Bakery’s wide range of products, which includes scones, buns and cakes is stocked
across 150 independent SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO stores in Northern Ireland in addition to
81 Henderson Retail stores.

Neal Kelly, Fresh Foods Director, Henderson Group, commented: “We’re proud to work
together with Brian and the team at Bertie’s Bakery to expand our offering of Bertie’s products in stores across Northern Ireland. This builds on a very successful relationship over the course of the last four years. Bertie’s is a local business with a long history in Northern Ireland and we are excited to be able to take this next step in our long-standing partnership by offering their new high protein rolls to Henderson customers.”

Food preparation sessions at the Food NI Food Pavilion are now one of the many highlights at the four-day event at the RUAS at Balmoral Park. They provide tremendous opportunities for home cooks in particular to sharpen their culinary skills and learn about new food and drink.

Several inspirational chefs, including Noel McMeel, the acclaimed executive head chef at the five-star Ebrington Hotel in Derry, will be offering opportunities to benefit from their expertise, experience and knowledge.

The Moy Park Theatre Kitchen, where visitors will find inspiration for quick and delicious chicken recipes, as well as new ways to spice up family mealtimes, will be running throughout the show.

Joining the Moy Park team will be another two theatre kitchens, all with busy programme for visitors and featuring interactive sessions with local producers and makers, as well as tastings from both much loved, and new food and drink brands. 

The Tesco Theatre Kitchen will also host the highly competitive Steak Competition on Thursday 16th May. The kitchen, in addition, will also host ‘Female Friday’, a day dedicated to celebrating female chefs, and food and drink producers from Northern Ireland.

New to the pavilion this year is the Talks & Tastings Stage, which will host over 20 producers, including several of our most successful artisans, over the four-day event, giving visitors a real insight into the makers and stories behind much loved and award winning food and drink, and promoting food and drink experiences in Northern Ireland.

A separate Drinks Area will be featured due to popular demand in celebration of excellent local beer, cider, gin and whiskey producers.

Opportunities to sample a wide range of local food and talk directly to their producers will also enable visitors to the show to include more produce in their meals at home. Some will be on group stands organised in collaboration with Food NI by local councils including Mid and East Antrim Food Network, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh City Councils.

Many of the hundreds of products from around 100 exhibitors have won national and international awards for quality and outstanding taste against competitors from other parts of the globe, demonstrating that our produce is genuinely world class. 

The local industry certainly deserves your support in the supermarkets, convenience stores, independent grocers, delis and farm shops across the province. Buying local food and drink, in fact, has never been easier.

Our Food Power of Good (www.nigoodfood.com), a promotional campaign created and launched by Food NI, highlighted the quality and variety of local food and drink, and the economic, environmental and health benefits of making local produce a shopping priority. Put simply: Buying more locally is good for everyone in Northern Ireland.           

Balmoral is Food NI’s most important event in a busy programme of activities organised by us especially for our members in food and drink and also for caterers through our Taste of Ulster operations that seek to help local restaurants, cafes and food-to-go providers develop business. It’s a sector currently in need of support from Government to ensure its very survival.

Organised by the small but dynamic Food NI team with the RUAS and our members, the extensive pavilion, now among the biggest and busiest of its kind at Balmoral, is designed to ensure the continuing success of food and drink, our single most important manufacturing industry, one which annually generates around £5 billion for the local economy, especially rural communities in which many of the companies, big and small, are located.

Upwards of 100,000 are employed by the entire food and farming industry. Many original foods owe their development and success to our enterprising farming community.

It’s a fact that many grocers, both large, including all the supermarket chains, and small in Britain and the Republic of Ireland now depend on produce from here

Another measure of the importance of the industry to the economy is indicated by the remarkable statistic showing that our food and drink is now enjoyed by families and individuals in around 80 nations. And many of the most successful exporters are smaller enterprises.