Donaghadee Festival

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SATURDAY 17TH AUGUST

Donaghadee Chefs Uncovered
WHEN: Saturday 17th August 2013
WHERE: Lemons Wharf, (Childrens’ play area on the shorefront)
TIME: First Show 11AM
DONAGHADEE FESTIVAL FORTNIGHT
Celebrate Ulster Scots Day and bring home local chefs’ secrets all from the
picturesque shore of Donaghadee.
Bringing the Taste of Ulster open air kitchen to Donaghadee for the first time for a full
day of food preparation demonstrations has already seen chefs from Pier 36, Governor
Rocks and Grace Neills signed up to share their skills, alongside secrets revealed from
Deelicious and Paul Bond.
You can expect to enjoy seafood delights from Pier 36’s Ricky Madden as he will kick
off the showcase at 11am by gutting and preparing fresh fish before your eyes, sharing
his trade secrets along the way.
Ryan Carlin head chef at Grace Neills will be cooking venison stew. Using local produce
and venison he will show you how to prepare the vegetables and how you can slow
cook the venison to get the meat nice and tender.
If you want to learn how to make your own wheaten bread, Donaghadee’s own Paul
Bond will be ‘kneading’ your time at 1.30pm.
Luke Cummins, Governor Rock’s young Donaghadee sous chef will be cooking a
variety of mussel dishes. All the mussels will be from co-owner Kevin McMillen, who
has mussel farms in Strangford Lough. Kevin specialises in rope cultured mussels
suspended from the seabed, which means no ingress of grit or impurities. The mussels
take 3 years to grow from seed in the A grade water of Strangford. Kevin hopes this
will spark a trend in mussel festivals and our heritage beliefs.
This will be followed by Patricia Brocklehurst of Deelicious, who will show us how to
make old time apple pies.
Giving you the chance to take top preparation skills home, all our resident chefs will be
answering any questions you may have while they prepare their meal. Pop by to see a
local chef in action or relax for a day full of food delights and perhaps some sampling.
Recipes and guidelines will be available for you to take home if you see something you
would like to re-create or alternatively book a table at your favoured chefs restaurant
to sample some more of what he or she has to offer.
For full details don’t forget to check online at www.visitdonaghadee.com or follow all
the action on facebook by joining Donaghadee Commerce and Development Group
The full programme is as follows
11.00am Ricky Madden (Pier 36) Fish
12.30pm Ryan Carlin (Grace Neills) Venison stew
1.30pm Paul Bond Wheaten bread
2.30pm Luke Cummins (Gov Rocks) Seafood
3.30pm Patricia Brocklehurst (Deelicious) Apple pies

For more information on the full event please click the link below:

http://www.visitdonaghadee.com/downloads/spectatorfestival2013.pdf

Tesco thank Northern Ireland

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Tesco says: THANK YOU NORTHERN IRELAND   

90,000 meals donated to NI FareShare Charity

Tesco has issued a message of thanks to all its Northern Ireland customers who supported last week’s National Food Collection by donating almost 90,000 meals to food charities, the Trussell Trust and FareShare, making this the biggest event ever.

On the 5th and 6th July, Tesco customers were encouraged to pick up an extra item of food from a selected shopping list and donate it at the end of their shop. Tesco then topped up all donations by 30%.

FareShare is a unique charity fighting hunger by redistributing surplus food to 60 local Northern Ireland charities ranging from homeless shelters and women’s refuges to children’s breakfast clubs and luncheon clubs for the elderly.

Donations in store by Tesco customers help the charity to get hold of cupboard essentials to complement the fresh produce it receives from the food industry.  By ensuring good food is not wasted FareShare helps to feed thousands of people every day across the UK.

The collection also supported the Trussell Trust whose 9 Northern Ireland foodbanks provide three days of emergency food to individuals and families in crisis.

Brendan Guidera, Operations Director Tesco Northern Ireland said, “To all our generous customers in Northern Ireland, we say a huge Thank You.  This is the UK’s biggest food collection event and with your help, we collected enough food for almost 90,000 families, eldery people and children facing crisis, many through no fault of their own.  Northern Ireland people have a big heart and we are privileged to be able to tap into this to support these charities.”

In total, across the UK, the collection, coupled with a 30% top up by Tesco, gave enough food to provide 3.5million meals to those in difficulty.

This is the second food collection event run with Tesco for Trussell Trust & FoodShare, with the next one scheduled in the busy pre-Christmas period in December.

Seafood Festival Invites Food Lovers to Sample the Flavours of the Foyle

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All the ‘Flavours of the Foyle’ will be on offer, and fun is up for ‘crabs’ during a free two-day seafood festival taking place on 20th and 21st July in the Guildhall Square Derry-Londonderry.

The event led by Derry City Council, promises to be one of the highlight’s on this year’s culinary calendar.  Live cookery demonstrations will be on the menu in the seafood festival marquee and food stalls will be hosted by local chefs and restaurateurs providing authentic seafood dishes to try and buy.  Accompanying family entertainment with the ‘Taste Adventure’ and Loughs Agency Riverwatch Aquarium’s Touch tank will be combined with the city-wide Seafood Trail which takes place across 20 restaurants citywide, with varied fish dishes on offer for a full week from the beginning of the festival.

Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly speaking at the launch today said:

“’Flavours of the Foyle’ is a unique event and an opportunity to bring together families, locals and visitors to pay homage to the rich resources of our river.  Now a staple in the summer event calendar, this year promises a weekend of all things fishy, flavoursome and fun.  Building on the legacy from the inclusion of the Festival at the Clipper Homecoming last year, a move to the Guildhall Square promises a more varied festival and in continuing with the level of superb events for the City of Culture year, I have no doubt this will be a fantastic weekend.

A boulevard of over 20 food providers will include live cookery stalls with participating restaurants including the Beech Hill. Gardiners, Custom House, Browns, The Sooty Olive, Pyke n Pommes, La Sosta, Primrose Café, Feast or Famine, Queen’s Quay Social,  Quaywest, Donegal Prime Fish and many more.

Mary Blake, Derry City Council Tourism Development Officer, organiser of the event said:

“The North West has a fantastic array of seafood right on our shores with some very talented chefs.  Seafood is on the menu on all our best restaurants and I think it is something we really need to appreciate and celebrate. The Seafood Festival is one of many food tourism initiatives running across the city and follows on from the recent launch of the citywide LegenDerry Food Guide.  This 2 day festival is an ideal family day out, and builds upon the hugely successful Seafood festival enjoyed by thousands at last year’s Clipper event.

“We have planned some very inspiring live demonstrations, as well as an opportunity to sample dishes that can easily be prepared in your own kitchen, so there is no excuse for food lovers not to take home with them authentic flavours from the Foyle!”

Speaking in advance of the weekend event, Chris Moran, Custom House Chef who is taking part in the seafood festival said:

“I have worked in kitchens all round the world and nothing compares with the seafood that comes from the North West coast of this island.  I think it is time we showcased to the world the wonderful food products and culinary talent we have up here.  Seafood and other local products have played a big part in our culture and heritage and the festival will help us to rediscover and celebrate that part of our history.”

‘Flavours of the Foyle’ brings with it a flurry of entertainment for the young and young at heart with ice sculptures, street theatre, storytelling with ‘fishy tales’, puppetry, a marine touch tank, storytelling, Spreya the Mermaid, Giant Lobsters and other fun activities.  The event will be supported by a wide ranging musical and animation programme.  In addition to Flavours of the Foyle, Mayor Martin Reilly will host a family fun opening day on Sunday (21st July in the newly restored adjacent Guildhall with a range of children’s crafts and activities.  Derry-Londonderry will also host the Walled City Music Festival making this a great weekend to visit the city.

The boulevard of chefs and theatre of food kitchen is supported by FoodNI and will include a demonstration from acclaimed chef and radio presenter Paula McIntyre.  Also taking part at the event is Derry’s own Ian Orr from Browns Restaurant in the city, recent winner of the Irish Chef of the Year award in the Georgina Campbell awards 2013.  Ian and Paula will join a range of acclaimed local and celebrity chefs to share a little seafood magic at the event.

Flavours of the Foyle will run from 12 noon to 7pm on Saturday 20th July and 12noon – 6pm on Sunday 21st July. The event is being organised by Derry City Council with support from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, and the Loughs Agency. More information on programme times etc on www.derrycity.gov.uk/seafood

National Allotment Week

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NATIONAL ALLOTMENT WEEK   5th to 11th August 2013

OPEN DAY at Ards Allotments on Saturday 10th August 2013 10am – 4 pm

This is an ideal opportunity to come along and view the amazing work of the

plot owners of Ards Allotments.

Avail of expert advice and guidance.

The plots are set on the rich fertile land at the edge of Strangford Lough

tidal pathway.

Free hot dogs sponsored by McKee’s Country Store Newtownards, Bring your own

picnic.

Turn food miles into food inches.

4 months’ rent free when you take on a plot Carol Klein from Gardeners World

Says  ‘ Gardening turns you on ‘

NATIONAL ALLOTMENT WEEK   for more information contact
http://www.nsalg.org.uk/news-events-campaigns/national-allotments-week/

Heavenly Tasty deal for Omagh Baby Food Company

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Heavenly Tasty deal for Omagh Baby Food Company
Omagh-based baby food company, Heavenly Tasty Organics, has secured its first listing in a major supermarket after negotiating a deal with Tesco which will see it on the shelves of 28 Northern Ireland stores.
The fledgling company which has bagged several innovation and entrepreneurial awards since it was set up in 2011, makes a range of fresh fruit and vegetable purées and blended meals for babies aged from 4 months.  All of the products are made using the same cooking processes mums use at home, they contain no additives or preservatives and are made using the finest organic ingredients.   The baby purées come in a unique frozen ice cube tray for freshness and the weaning meal tubs are in two stages for a developing baby from 7 months and 9 months.
Shauna McCarney-Blair, Managing Director of Heavenly Tasty Organics is thrilled to have secured this listing with Tesco NI.  She said, “Our journey to this point has been a tough but exciting one.  We knew all along that there is a big market for a product like this and we are very pleased that Tesco have given us this opportunity.  In an ideal world, every mum wants to give her baby the best start she possibly can and prepare everything from scratch, but in reality, we are busy and don’t always have the time.  This range really is the next best thing – our Stage 1 purées are made using fresh organic ingredients, which are steamed, gently puréed and frozen to retain all the goodness. The ice cubes can be popped out one at a time, to keep them fresh and minimise waste.
“The stage 2 and 3 products are big meals for little people, with options like Chicken Curry and Spaghetti Bolognese, which many grown-up tasters are surprised to find taste like real, tasty food! They encourage chewing, are nutritionally balanced and have more protein content for growing babies.   We are the only baby food company which is completely dairy-free, with nine products which are also gluten-free.  Our products give mum and dad more time with their baby and less time spent preparing food.”
Steven Murphy, Tesco Buying Manager said, “We are delighted for Shauna and Heavenly Tasty Organics.  Not only are they a small, home-grown business, they are producing a really fantastic, high quality and innovative product.  A listing in Tesco is sure to give this little company a big and well-earned boost.   This is a great addition to our Taste Northern Ireland range of locally sourced products.  Tesco shoppers will find the full Heavenly Tasty Organics range in the frozen food section.”
For more information on Tesco Taste NI home-grown and locally-made products follow on www.facebook.com/tastenorthernireland