We all know it’s the most important meal of the day, but breakfast is also one of the most important parts of our Northern Ireland food economy. Marking the start of Farmhouse Breakfast Week (20-26 Jan), Tesco has revealed that it purchases over £56Million of products from local companies whose foods we love to eat for breakfast.

Independent consumer research* carried out in May 2012 revealed that favourites such as wheaten bread, potato bread and the humble Ulster Fry are among the top items cited by shoppers as summing up “the taste of Northern Ireland”.

Tesco is celebrating the local suppliers of our favourite breakfast heroes with its own Taste NI Tesco Breakfast Week.  Local companies including White’s Oats, Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt, Punjana Tea, Skea Eggs, Cookstown and Irwin’s Bakery will be taking part in the big Tesco Breakfast roadshow this week.  They will be in a selection of stores, offering shoppers free samples and tastings of their latest breakfast products and sharing their passion for the local foods that start the day.

Tesco Breakfast is part of the ongoing Tesco Taste Northern Ireland campaign to connect shoppers with the local people, producers and places behind their favourite foods.

Cliff Kells, Commercial Manager, Tesco NI said, “Farmhouse Breakfast Week encourages people to make time for breakfast and to take advantage of the excellent range of home grown produce here.  It’s a meal we do really well in Northern Ireland and it’s the one that visitors and ex-pats long to come home to.  We have a superb range of traditional cooked breakfast goods and breads made locally, and we’re seeing local bakeries like Irwin’s and Genesis really capitalising on the love of regional favourites like scones, pancakes and soda breads, with superb ranges on offer in our stores now.

“We’re seeing growth in healthier breakfast items, with companies such as Co Armagh’s White’s doing great business with its Toasted Oats and porridge.  We also have a brand new supplier, Just Live a Little, a small family business based in Portaferry making a delicious range of granola and muesli.  Team this up with some of Clandeboye Estate’s Heavenly Herd Greek yoghurt with Mango or Strawberry and you’ve got a really delicious, healthy and all-local kick start to the day.”

In commercial terms, breakfast is big business for local companies including Downpatrick’s Finnebrogue which supplies Tesco Finest sausages to Tesco stores in Northern Ireland, Dungannon-based Skea Eggs which supplies eggs under the Skea brand locally and also under the Tesco brand in both Northern Ireland and GB, and Dale Farm which supplies all Tesco-brand milk in Northern Ireland.

Cliff Kells continued, “Buying local breakfast goods means supporting local jobs, farmers and producers.  It’s a healthy start to the day and it’s keeping our agri-food economy healthy too! We would encourage people to get into the healthy breakfast habit and to enjoy and celebrate the excellent range of local, high quality breakfast foods available across Northern Ireland.”

This week, you can share your favourite breakfast ideas online by uploading and sharing photos of your favourite NI breakfast to www.facebook.com/tastenorthernireland.

15th January 2012

Local food was on the menu today at a Farmhouse Breakfast in Greenmount. The agri-food industry sat down to breakfast together to support the HGCA’s Farmhouse Breakfast Week (20th – 26th January 2013) which encourages people to make time for breakfast and to take advantage of excellent home grown ingredients.

The breakfast was a collaborative venture supported by HGCA, DARD, UFU and FoodNI with all ingredients provided by local suppliers. CAFRE students provided floral and food displays celebrating the best of local ingredients.

Opening the event UFU Seeds and Cereals Chairman and FoodNI Chairman John Best said; “ This event is set up to encourage our guests to get into the healthy breakfast habit and to enjoy and celebrate the excellent range of local, high quality breakfast foods available across Northern Ireland.   Our agri-food industry currently turns over £4 billion a year and events such as the annual Farmhouse Breakfast week, provides us with the opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of this industry and to celebrate the contributions of Northern Ireland’s producers.”

Martin Grantley-Smith, HGCA’s Head of Business Development visited the province to support this prestigious event.  He said; “HGCA is delighted to be returning to enjoy Farmhouse Breakfast at Greenmount.  The strong support we continue to receive from Northern Ireland’s farmers and producers play an important role in continuing to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast – and the wealth of wonderful breakfast produce available.” www.shakeupyourwakeup.com

UFU President Harry Sinclair added; “Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, so it is apt that we are celebrating this important industry with a breakfast meal. Despite rising production costs, Northern Ireland’s producers are still committed to ensuring that delicious and healthy food is available for our breakfast tables. With the success of another Farmhouse breakfast I would like to extend a special thanks to all the breakfast partners for their support and contributions today.”

Michele Shirlow from FoodNI concluded; “It is a privilege to have been able to work with Northern Ireland producers to put on the Northern Ireland Farmhouse Breakfast this year. There is an abundance of good food grown locally here in Northern Ireland, as can be seen by the contributions at this event, so there is no excuse for consumers not to be eating a healthy and delicious breakfast. Not only is this event highlighting the importance of breakfast but it is providing an excellent platform for recognising the quality of food produce here in Northern Ireland and the hard work and commitment of producers.”

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is supported by retailers, producers, schools, restaurants, cafes, hotels and farmer’s markets, so there’s no excuse for not getting out there and benefiting from the best meal of the day-breakfast!

Sincere thanks to the following companies who have provided the ingredients for our breakfast:

Dale Farm, Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt Company, Armagh Cider Company, White’s, Irwin’s, Fivemiletown Creamery, Hannan Meats, Gracehill Black Pudding, Annaghmore Mushrooms, Clements Eggs, Bailies Coffee, Suki Tea, Punjana Tea, Harnett’s Oil, Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, Linwoods.

 

Brussel Sprouts sourced directly from family business Gilfresh Produce, based in County Armagh are now available at Tesco stores across Northern Ireland.  This quintessential Christmas dinner vegetable comes through Gilfresh Produce from a number of local growers including Robert Thompson, from County Down.  Shoppers should be delighted to hear that the Northern Ireland sprouts will be available for the duration of the festive season in Tesco stores.

Normally considered as the ‘love them or hate them’ vegetable, Brussels Sprouts are like miniature versions of the common cabbage, they grow in multiple rows along a thick, central stalk and have a sweet, nutty flavour.  They also have many health benefits as they contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folic Acid and Dietary Fibre.

Sandra Weir, Tesco Northern Ireland Buying Manager, said: We have had an extremely wet summer which has had a major impact on local farmers and produce yields. However thanks to the dedication, hard work and expertise of both Gilfresh Produce and their growers, Tesco customers will continuously be supplied with fresh vegetables sourced from Northern Ireland,  including Brussels Sprouts, throughout the Christmas period.”

Search is on to find Northern Ireland’s Young Cook of the Year!

The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland today began its search to find the best cooking talent in school’s across Northern Ireland with the launch of the Young Cook of the Year competition.

To celebrate that Derry ~ Londonderry has been awarded the honour of the first ever UK City of Culture for 2013, the popular cooking competition is inviting students to chose an event from the calendar of activities and prepare a two course meal to entertain friends who will be watching the celebrations.

The cookery competition, which aims to promote cooking skills and highlight the importance of a balanced diet, is encouraging students to use locally sourced ingredients, including dairy products to produce a nutritious meal.

Dr. Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, said: “We are looking forward to starting our search to find Northern Ireland’s next budding chef.

“We recognise that 2013 is set to be an exciting time for Northern Ireland. We want to celebrate this while educating young people about the importance of using dairy products to create a meal that is suitable for sustaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

“We would like students to make use of a wide variety of dairy ingredients such as milk, cheese, yogurt and buttermilk when considering their meal plan to showcase that dairy products are a simple and economic part of any balanced diet.”

The competition has been developed in consultation with the Education and Library Boards and supports the Home Economics curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.

Winners will be chosen from each Education and Library Board area, with the overall category winners and the Young Cook of the Year announced at a special cook-off in March 2013.

Entry forms will be sent to all schools and colleges in Northern Ireland and are also available online at www.dairycouncil.co.uk. The closing date for completed entry forms is 1st March 2013.

Caption: Alana Buckley from Ulidia Integrated College helps Michael Drayne, Chairman of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland to launch this year’s Dairy Council Young Cook of the Year competition.

At the risk of becoming boring, we just wanted to tell you that they’ve won more awards!!

These ones are really important as they’re for their favourite thing (behind bacon, of course and beef maybe?) – sausages.

This National Sausage Competition had over 200 entries and was organised by the Ulster Pork and bacon forum.

“We were delighted to have been awarded the following:

 

National Sausage Competition

1st Prize – Gourmet Speciality Pork Sausage – Spicy Italian sausage.

Product Innovation Award – Sweet Italian Pork sausage

2nd Prize – Pork sausage – Regional

 Our Italian sausages, both the spicy hot and non-hot (sweet) are 100% local pork, coarsely ground and authentically seasoned with fennel, garlic, black pepper, etc.

They are delicious in pasta dishes, on top of pizzas or grilled on some good bread with simple salad leaves.

You can use them on top of robust beans or lentil dishes, or add them to other meats in hearty stews or cassoulets.

The Italian sausages cost £6.60/kg and are available to order now.

The pork sausages cost £4.40/kg and are available in a range of flavours.

NB: All sausages have always been produced with local pork, by hand, by Hannans

Award-winning local chef, Danny Millar is supporting the Department of the Environment’s ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ campaign which kicked off during the European Week for Waste Reduction,  joining leading food industry professionals across Europe who are pledging their support to waste less food.   Danny, whose County Down restaurants Balloo House, The Parson’s Nose and Lisbarnett House are included in all the leading food guides, is providing recipes, hints and tips to encourage the use of leftover food.  The chef, who regularly appears on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen believes this is an excellent initiative which encourages people to be creative, commenting: “Wasting food costs the average household £480 a year, rising to £680 for a family with children. Families can save up to £50 a month by following simple guidelines and doing practical everyday things. The benefits of using leftovers, food storage, controlling portion sizes and sourcing local ingredients can make a huge difference on family budgets, the environment and can really support the local economy. Danny Millar is pictured with [Debbie Nesbitt from the campaign with] one of his delicious dishes, made using a variety of leftover food. More recipes and other waste reducing hints and tips are available at: www.ni.lovefoodhatewaste.com.