Belfast Restaurant Week 2013 

It’s back! The city’s second Belfast Restaurant Week, an initiative brought to you by Belfast City Council in partnership with Visit Belfast and supported by DARD and NITB, will take place from Saturday 5 until Saturday 12 October 2013.

The event aims to encourage residents, local businesses and visitors to eat out, try something new and support great Belfast food.

With special menus designed to suit all tastes and budgets, and food events in restaurants and throughout the city, Belfast’s already vibrant restaurant scene promises to be buzzing day and night with food lovers from near and far.

Get involved

We’re recruiting up to 100 restaurants from throughout the city to be part of Belfast Restaurant Week 2013, from family run cafés to gastro pubs and fine dining restaurants.

If you offer a sit down dining experience and are passionate about quality local produce, great atmosphere and top class customer service, then we would like you to be a part of it!

Register and find out more

Participating restaurants must;

offer a sit-down dining experience;

be located within the Belfast City Council area;

have a Food Hygiene Rating of 3 or above (FSA); and

provide a Belfast Restaurant Week menu or event.

Promotional campaign

Belfast Restaurant Week 2013 will be promoted by Visit Belfast from June to October in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and will include:

Advertising – For example TV, radio, outdoor and press advertising.

Website – Dedicated Belfast Restaurant Week section on visit-belfast.com (with 900,000 visits per year) featuring participating restaurants, events and competitions.

Promotions and leaflets – Tactical promotions and early leaflet distribution through 200 outlets.

PR and press activity – Local media, tourism media, food publications, bloggers and press FAMs.

Social media – Campaign and competitions targeting over 100,000 social media followers.

Email marketing – Email campaigns to Visit Belfast members, local businesses, tour operators, press, travel trade and other tourism agencies and partners as well as our consumer database.

Benefits

Participating restaurants will receive;

A listing on the Belfast Restaurant Week section of the Visit Belfast site and an opportunity to promote details of your specific Belfast Restaurant Week event or menu.

Branded Belfast Restaurant Week point of sale display material e.g. window sticker, badges, flyers, Restaurant Week card, and a marketing tool kit to support your own in-house promotion of Belfast Restaurant Week to existing customers.

Email artwork with Belfast Restaurant Week branding which can be used to promote the event to your customer database.

Opportunity to get involved in PR activity, press releases and inward press FAM activity in NI, ROI and GB markets which will feature member restaurants as appropriate.

Opportunity to get involved in Belfast Restaurant Week social media activity.

As well as a discounted participation fee, Visit Belfast members will also receive a listing within our new Belfast Food Guide.

The booklet will be distributed to the local market as well as business and leisure tourists, ensuring that Belfast’s rich culinary offering and eateries continue to be promoted beyond the Belfast Restaurant Week event.

A digital version will also be available on our visit-belfast.com website and Visit Belfast app.

Registration fee

Visit Belfast members: £100

Non-members: £150

If you would like to register more than one restaurant, group discounts will apply to the above rates (3 or more restaurants 25% discount, 5 or more restaurants 50% discount).

More information

If you would like to know more about taking part in Belfast Restaurant Week 2013, go to

visit-belfast.com/brw

You can also contact our Membership Manager, Lindsey Hall:

Email: lindseyhall@visit-belfast.com

Phone: 028 9023 9026

Follow Belfast Restaurant Week

Keep up to date with Belfast Restaurant Week by following:

facebook.com/belfastrestaurantweek

twitter.com/belfastRW

Summer is here at last! Gift Vouchers and Cookery Classes available for Father’s Day

Summer is her at last! It has been great to see the beautiful blue skies again this month and what an impact this has had on our menus, there have been seasonal changes all around with berries and rhubarb taking over the desserts, whilst there is local lamb available on our set and a la carte menus.   We have been busy with the Cookery School and have a great selection of new classes available to book from “Love Food, Can’t Cook” to a “Friday Lunch Club“.   Don’t forget, our Graduation Menu is available for all those leaving university and wishing to celebrate in style and will run alongside our Set Lunch Menu. Hope you enjoy what plans to be a great month.   Cheers,   Niall

Contact Us 21 James Street South, Belfast, BT2 7GA, Co. Antrim The Restaurant 028 9043 4310 The Bar + Grill 028 9560 0701   In other news Classes at The Cookery School This month sees the launch of several new classes, the first of our “Love Food, Can’t Cook” for those who watch the TV programs have the kit but don’t know where to start.   A selection of “Desperate Housewives” class is one for the women who have been telling us they are stuck in a cooking rut, a master class of “Children’s Cooking” food for kid’s, cooked by kids runs in August for 8, 12 and 15 year olds.   One for all the men is our BBQ classes which will run throughout the summer and are filling up fast.   Don’t forget all our classes are can be booked for private groups and team building events.  To view class schedule click here.

VOTE IN OFM AWARDS

Put your favourite place to eat on the map by voting in the Observer Food Monthly annual awards. The awards are a great way to make sure your favourite place in Northern Ireland gets a look in. Click here to vote.

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The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum and local food producer Mash Direct today announced details of a partnership which will run throughout the summer to highlight Discovery Farm at the museum.

This is the first time the two organisations have partnered together. The alliance will form an on-pack ‘Kids Go Free’ promotion available on a selection of Mash Direct’s products including its Mashed Potato, Champ, Carrot and Parsnip, Turnip, Cheese and Onion and Colcannon packs.

Discovery Farm, which was officially launched earlier this month, is the rejuvenated rural area of the Folk Museum. The project which has been jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board includes an extensive renovation of existing buildings, a new barn, orchards and gardens as well as an enhanced programme of interactive traditional farming activities.

Welcoming the new partnership, Marketing, Communications & Trading Director of National Museums Northern Ireland, Gillian McLean, said, “The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum is looking forward to an exciting summer with the addition of Discovery Farm and a varied events programme. This project will add a new dimension to activities at the Folk Museum and offers visitors the chance to see and participate in life on the farms of 100 years ago. We are delighted to partner with brand leader and award-winning producer Mash Direct in this all-Ireland promotion which is designed to heighten awareness of Discovery Farm and offer families a discounted visit to one of Northern Ireland’s top visitor attractions.”

Martin and Tracy Hamilton, Directors of County Down based Mash Direct, said, “This is a lovely promotion and very fitting for us to team-up with an award-winning museum for the much anticipated Discovery Farm addition. Mash Direct select older heritage varieties for flavour, steam cook and prepare on our family farm, we have five generations of farming expertise. We are delighted to support Discovery Farm which is focused on offering visitors rich history and a wonderful interactive experience.”

The ‘Kids Go Free’ promotion will be available on a selection of Mash Direct’s product and distributed in retail outlets throughout the island of Ireland. The promotion will run until 30 September.

It’s celebrations all round at The Brewer’s House which has been named as Ireland’s Best Gastropub at the prestigious Irish Restaurant Awards. The Awards recognise achievement and excellence in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry throughout Ireland and celebrate all aspects of the Industry from Chefs and Restaurants, Cafes and Gastropubs, to Food Producers, Local Food Heroes and Cookery Schools.  Almost 800 restaurateurs and industry players attended Ireland’s biggest ever restaurant awards at which regional and all-Ireland winners were announced.

Set in The picturesque village of Donaghmore in County Tyrone, The Brewer’s House opned it’s doors in September 2011 offering a warm and comfortable atmosphere to enjoy excellently prepared dishes using locally sourced seasonal produce that display innovative recipes and techniques while still affording the guest a sense of welcoming familiarity.  We locally source all our ingredients where possible, even growing most of our own herbs as well as some fruit and vegetables in our kitchen garden.

‘It is a huge achievement to be named Best Gastropub in the country, less than two years after opening and recognises the passion and hard work of the entire team at The Brewer’s House” commented owner and manager Vicki McCausland.  The All-Ireland award comes only one week after The Brewer’s House received “The Taste of Northern Ireland” award at The Northern Irish Tourist Board awards.

The Brewer’s House is going from strength to strength and the second half of 2013 promises to be just as exciting as the first with plans to launch it’s own microbrewery, The Red Hand Brewing Company on schedule for November.

The Story Behind…

Ciaran and Vicki McCausland never imagined being back in Northern Ireland running a Gastropub. Ciaran and Vicki met 10 years ago while working together in the stock markets at the ill-fated Lehman Brothers. The collapse of Lehman, the ensuing financial crisis and a baby on the way all pointed to a move home to Ciaran’s home village of Donaghmore.

The Brewer’s House was built over 200 years ago by the local Brewer (hence the name). Ciaran’s father was born in this very house. It has been refurbished by the pair who wanted to combine the atmosphere of a local pub with the quality of a top restaurant.

Head Chef, Brian McMonagle said “I am extremely proud to help bring this national award to Donaghmore, I feel lucky to have such a strong team in place and look forward to further success at The Brewer’s House. Donegal man, Brian brought a wealth of experience to The Brewer’s House, following a very successful period as head chef at one of Ireland’s best seafood restaurants, O’Grady’s on the Pier in Galway. Brian has a passion for seafood and you can find daily seafood specials. He has a clear approach to food: to find the best, freshest ingredients and to create great tasting, simple dishes where the quality of the produce speaks for itself.

VION Cookstown, now known as KARRO, has been named as Tesco Outstanding Supplier of the Month for May 2013.

 

The award is in recognition of the enormous effort made by the company to partner with Tesco Northern Ireland as it worked towards the goal of using 100% local pork.

In early April, with the help of KARRO and two other local processors of beef and chicken, Tesco achieved its goal.  Now all of the Tesco fresh pre-packed beef, pork and chicken is sourced from local farmers and producers.

Caoimhe Mannion, Marketing Manager Tesco NI said, “We have introduced an Outstanding Supplier of the Month award, through which we can publicly celebrate and recognise the enormous effort our Northern Ireland suppliers put in for our customers.

“This award is particularly significant because it has taken some six months of planning to reach this point.  In November last year, we set out to switch all our beef, pork and chicken supply over to Northern Ireland produce.  After months of preparation and working closely with almost 120 local pig farmers, KARRO were able to deliver on this plan in early April.  Thanks to their dedication and hard work, all Tesco brand pre-packed pork chops, bacon and pork roasting joints in stores across Northern Ireland are now 100% local.  This is great news for our customers and great news for the local farming industry.”

Trevor Mounstephen of KARRO said, “We are delighted to have been given this public recognition by Tesco.  The pork industry in Northern Ireland has been through some challenging times and yet it has so much to be proud of, in terms of quality and farming.  We have welcomed the challenge of ensuring a steady supply of quality local pork for all Tesco NI stores.  This is a huge statement of the Tesco confidence in, and commitment to the local farming industry.”

Cliff Kells, Commercial Manager, Tesco said, “Local suppliers are tremendously important to Tesco in Northern Ireland.  We want our suppliers to know that their hard work is important to us and we want our customers to know all about it too. Huge congratulations to KARRO – they have given 100% service and have helped us to deliver our 100% local meat promise.  They are a very deserving winner of our Tesco Northern Ireland Outstanding Supplier Award.”

Monthly award winners receive a Bridgestone-style plaque , free publicity in local press, and point of sale promotion in all Tesco stores which stock their product.

This is a further extension of the Tesco Taste Northern Ireland campaign, aimed at educating customers and connecting them with the people and places behind their favourite Northern Ireland food & drink.   For more information on the Taste NI campaign and award winners, follow on www.facebook.com/tastenorthernireland

GUINNESS TO CHAMPION TALENT AND CREATIVITY TO BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Arthur Guinness Projects To Invest €3 Million Over Three Years

GUINNESS® & Co. recently launched a major new cultural initiative, Arthur Guinness Projects®, designed to champion and celebrate people whose ideas, passion and spirit are enhancing and shaping our culture and identity.

Continuing the GUINNESS tradition of supporting talent and ingenuity in Ireland, the initiative sets out to invest in Ireland’s creators, visionaries and innovators across four areas of creativity and culture; Music, Sport, Arts and Food. Together with a mentoring and promotional support programme, Arthur Guinness Projects will invest €3 million in people and their projects across Ireland over the next three years, with up to 20 projects benefitting annually.

The Arthur Guinness Projects panel has been created to choose the overall winning projects, but also to provide mentoring and support to the overall winners. Comprised of 16 experts, four within each category, the panel will be spearheaded by world-renowned Irish band, The Script, who will also be performing at the Arthur’s Day 2013 celebrations on the 26th September, food guru, Dylan McGrath, Donegal inter-county manager and sports consultant, Jim McGuinness and celebrated Irish actor, Chris O’ Dowd.

Applications can be submitted online from today and up until the 9th August, 2013 via www.arthurguinnessprojects.com. The general public will vote online for the projects that they would most like to see come to life during the application period and up until the 23rd August, 2013. The top 10% of applications in each category, as voted by the public, will be reviewed by the Arthur Guinness Projects panel who will then choose the overall winning projects. Additionally, there will be a wild card element to the process. The Arthur Guinness Projects panel can choose from the pool of projects that did not make the top 10% in their respective categories, and award up to four wild card projects. 

In determining successful applicants, the expert panel will be looking for projects that will inspire everyone across the island of Ireland; those that deliver on innovation, creativity, achievability, as well as cultural and social good.

Speaking at the launch, Stephen O’Kelly, Marketing Director, GUINNESS said; “Arthur Guinness Projects has been inspired by our founder, Arthur Guinness. He was a true visionary, one of the original innovators who, along with many generations of the GUINNESS family, made many varied philanthropic gestures. We are continuing this tradition with the launch of Arthur Guinness Projects.  Ireland is a place where there is an abundance of character, talent and creativity and we wanted to play our part in invigorating our inherent culture by championing the wealth of amazing creative potential within the country.  For many people, their dreams or ideas are on hold and through Arthur Guinness Projects, we hope to help them unlock those dreams and set them alight.  We are really excited about bringing together people with real weight and experience, and pairing them with those who have inspiring ideas”.

The Arthur Guinness Projects winners 2013, a reflection of Ireland’s spirit, culture and modern identity, will be revealed on 23rd September. Also, some of the winners and applicants will be showcased as part of this year’s Arthur’s Day celebrations. Full details on the Arthur’s Day 2013 celebrations will be revealed later this summer.

The Script commented; “We are really excited about being involved with Arthur Guinness Projects. There are so many talented and innovative people in Ireland and we can’t wait to see some of the projects brought to life. Having the support of Arthur Guinness Projects will go a long way in helping someone get that important first step into the industry. We’re looking forward to being a part of that journey”.

Chris O’Dowd said, “Ireland has been waiting for an initiative like Arthur Guinness Projects. There are so many people with amazing ideas and coupled with an energy and passion that us Irish are renowned for, I have no doubt that this will help to unearth some incredible talent”.

Dylan McGrath commented; “When I first heard about Arthur Guinness Projects, I instantly knew that this was something I wanted to get involved in. It will create a brilliant platform for those within the food sector, in whatever aspect, to come forward and grab the opportunity to turn aspirations into ideas and ideas into reality. Ireland’s reputation in food is rapidly growing, but we constantly need to be innovating and raising the bar. I am very much looking forward to seeing the projects come through”.

Donegal’s Jim McGuinness said, “My initial thoughts were what a great idea, how exciting the project was and how much good could potentially come from it. I feel in the current economic climate this initiative will give great support to many people in the sport arena so I ‘m really looking forward to being involved”.

For more on the Arthur Guinness Projects cultural initiative, visit www.arthurguinnessprojects.com/ or watch www.youtube.com/watch