After two years of recognising the UK’s bread heroes, Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food are back to their bread and butter: celebrating the great loaves created by our nation’s bakers.

The Awards, which launched in 2013, consists of 20 categories, ranging from Sourdough and Baguette, to Irish Wheaten Loaf and Flatbread. 

“It’s such a joy to be holding the Awards in the real world,” said Caroline Kenyon, Founder of the Awards. “We are so looking forward to that wonderful sight (and perfume) of hundreds of freshly baked loaves spread across the judging tables. While it has been a privilege to celebrate our Bread Heroes, it will be wonderful to celebrate the loaf itself again.” 

In an exciting addition for this year’s competition, the Awards have introduced the ‘Jubilee Loaf’ category. This new category, which is in honor of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, is calling for bakers to create a loaf fit for a Queen. 

“Creating the winning ‘Jubilee Loaf’ will be a challenge for the bakers as they mark a royal year to remember, it will be a treat to taste,” said Scott Goodfellow, Joint Managing Director of Wilkin & Sons Ltd.

This year’s illustrious judging panel is chaired by Stephen Hallam, Brand Ambassador for Dickinson & Morris. Judges include Ilgin Beaton, Award Winning Sourdough Baker & Teacher, Just Sourdough; Henry Herbert, Fabulous Baking Brothers, Hobbs House Bakery; Marcia Harris, Real Bread Campaign Ambassador; Harry Lomas MBE BEM FIH, Head of Culinary, Wembley Stadium and Jack Sturgess, Author & Channel 4, Sunday Brunch Bread Expert.

Entries for Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food are to be submitted via the website. Submissions close Sunday 9 October 2022. Winners will be announced at a very special Awards Evening on Wednesday 26 October 2022. 

Application Form

We are delighted to announce that Down Royal Race course are holding a Food Truck Festival on 21^st may 2022. This will be a fun day out for all the family with a food village full of quality local food and drink producers, children’s entertainment, food trucks and an onsite bar. There will be a food truck competition, the best food truck will win trading rights on site at the race events for a year.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to register your interest to take a pitch as a food or drink producer, to sell your products on the day. Please be aware there is no licence to sell alcohol.  As space is limited please do let us know of your interest at your earliest convenience.

Company Name –

Contact name –

Position in the company –

Telephone number –

Email address –

Website –

Electricity required? Yes or No? If yes what do you require?

Twitter handle

Please return this completed form to Christine – christine@nigoodfood.com by Wednesday 30^th March 2022. Booking forms will be sent out at the start of Feb 2020. If you have any queries about this please call me on 07735209299 or 02890249449.

Participation fee for a pitch is £65 per company. Space will be offered for companies outside, please be aware you will need to supply your own gazebo/marquee 3mx 3m maximum. If the weather is poor we will move inside and you will be offered a 6ft trestle table.

 As stands are limited we may have to select attendees from each food category to ensure a diverse coverage of produce. Final decision of companies attending is at the discretion of Down Royal Race Course. Please be aware that payment is to be made to the Down Royal Race course directly and will be required once selection has taken place.

Finnebrogue Artisan, Downpatrick, county Down, a UK market leader in free-from and plant-foods, has won the Invest Northern Ireland sponsored award for the Best International /GB launch Award for its highly innovative Better Naked Bacon without the Oink.

The family business, which operates one of the biggest plant-based food operations in the UK, gained the title in the prestigious Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards (NIFDA) 2022.

The NIFDA Awards are run on a bi-annual basis. They recognise the excellent work being carried out across the local food and drink industry. NIFDA, a voluntary organisation, runs the awards as part of its commitment to the ongoing success of the industry. This year’s awards celebrated Northern Ireland’s innovative and sustainable agri-food industry.

The awards were presented at a gala event attended by around 400 business people from the industry and from other sectors.

Finnebrogue, best known for its ‘Naked’ range of bacon, cooked ham and pork sausages without nitrite’s and other chemicals which are listed by supermarkets across the UK, also saw its founder, the late Denis Lynn, named as winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Industry.

Mr Lynn, who was killed in a tragic accident last year, pioneered an impressive range of innovative food products, often setting market trends. He created one of Northern Ireland’s biggest and most successful food manufacturing businesses.

The winners in the awards were:

Large Company Product Award – Dale Farm, Belfast for Dromona Lactose Free Cheese

Medium Company Award – Genesis Bakery, Magherafelt, county Derry for Meringue a Tang Biscake

Small Company Award – Hinch Distillery, Ballynahinch, county Down for its whiskey. Highly commended was Karri Kitchen, Portadown for its mango chicken curry

Micro Company Award – Big Pot, Cookstown, county Tyrone for its soups and other convenience foods

(All above awards sponsored by Firmus Energy)

Service Sector Award – Brunch Box Sandwich Co, Belfast for mango and cranberry overnight oats

(Sponsored by NIFDA)

Outstanding Contribution to Northern Ireland Food and Drink  – the late Denis Lynn, founder of Finnebrogue Artisan in Downpatrick, county Down

0utstanding Leadership in NI Food and Drink – Ursula Lavery of Moy Park, Craigavon, county Armagh for her role in coordinating industry Covid-19 guidance

Best International /GB launch Award – Finnebrogue Artisan, Downpatrick, county Down for Bacon without the Oink

 (Sponsored by Invest NI)

Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Chain Award – Linden Foods, Dungannon, county Tyrone – for NI Wagyu Supply Chain

(Sponsored by DAERA)

Food Safety Champion Award – Dr Gerry McMahon, Moy Park, county Armagh

(Sponsored by Safefood)

Food and Drink Sector Skills Award – Moy Park, Craigavon, county Armagh

Highly commended – Johnson’s Coffee, Lisburn

Healthier Product Innovation Award – Karri Kitchen, Portadown

 (Sponsored by Food Standards Agency)

Environmental Sustainability Award– Dunbia, Dungannon, county Tyrone and Green Fingers Family, Larne, county Antrim

(Sponsored by Re Gen Waste, Newry)

Embrace the Power of Food and Drink

FoodNI & Tourism NI would like to invite you to submit your sustainable dishes to us today! 

We are looking for our Sustainability heroes in hospitality and will support you with social media and/or traditional press. Please complete this short form below and provide a photograph and/or video of your dish. 

Completed application forms should be returned to Food NI at orlagh@nigoodfood.com. We look forward to hearing about your sustainable dishes!

Sustainable Food & Drink Dishes: expression of interest form

Food NI/ Taste of Ulster are delighted to launch a programme that showcases local sustainable dishes up to 30^th April 2022.   We are looking for our Sustainability heroes in hospitality and will support you with social media and/or traditional press.

Please complete this short form below and provide a photograph and/or video of your dish.

Name of establishment

Contact details; email and telephone

Please provide a brief description and the title of your sustainable dish.

What is it about your dish that makes it sustainable?

When will your dish be on your menu (between 1st March and 30th April 2022)?

What is it about the dish that Embraces the Giant Spirit of Northern Ireland & relates to food and drink sustainability?

How much does it cost, per person?

Completed application forms should be returned to Food NI at orlagh@nigoodfood.com.

Top Tips-

What do you have that people will be interested in?

• Authentic Northern Ireland recipe and accompanying image of completed dish
• Cocktail or drink recipe featuring locally produced spirits, ciders, or beers
• Afternoon tea shots featuring local food and drink
• Foraging for edibles during Spring walks
• Imagery of farming visits with strong food and landscape theme
• Video performs best – Where possible please provide in landscape format. Don’t worry about being high tech. A simple video can work very well
•  Please include imagery (high res where possible) and copy along with video to give the content context
• Provide social media handles and we will tag you

County Antrim-based Clearer Water, the ethical brand has been acquired by Soilèir Group from the AEL Charity for an undisclosed sum.

Clearer Water is situated on the shores of Larne Lough and known for its premium, ethical bottled water. The naturally stone-filtered alkaline spring water is taken from a deep aquifer at Maghermorne, offering a pH of 7.8 and rich in essential minerals.

The business began as a social enterprise company, championing a mixed ability workforce, and providing training and employment opportunities for socially disadvantaged young people in Northern Ireland.

The small company’s bottled water is supplied across Northern Ireland, with some sales in England.

New owners Ross Lazaroo-Hood and Sitki Gelmen are founders of Landmark Holding Group, an insurance group and the Principal Sponsor of Larne FC, with Lazaroo-Hood from the county Antrim town.

They operate a joint family charity, The RUSA Foundation, which promotes grass root sports and building community spirit by providing relief to disadvantaged and underprivileged families. It jointly set up The Larne Laptop appeal with the Brighter Futures Charity in 2021.

Soiléir has announced it will maintain the ethos and integrity of the Clearer Water brand, which will operate as a separate entity, retaining all existing staff while developing plans to create further employment opportunities and expand product lines.

A statement by Lazaroo-Hood and Gelmen, joint owners of Clearer Water and co-chairmen of The Soilèir Group, says: ‘In addition to Clearer Water’s unique position and quality water, Clearer has been an inspiration in Northern Ireland communities assisting those with mixed working ability; a growing brand in Northern Ireland with a passion to be recognised further afield.

‘We will be setting out a wide range of expansion plans, building the company over the short to long term future that will see growth for the brand and bringing more mixed ability career opportunities. We want to bring a vision of growth and greater impact to the local communities within the town of Larne and all over NI. At Soilèir, we see the growing demand for exceptional bottled water and the Clearer acquisition will allow the brand to effectively respond to customer demands at home in NI and in new territories.

‘We will be making some exciting announcements very soon to enhance the Clearer Brand and new product ranges – so stay tuned and please support everyone involved at the Clearer Water family; from purchasing our water to following us on all our social media platforms.’

Ross Lazaroo-Hood and Sitki Gelmen, new owners of Clearer Water.

Application Form

We are delighted to announce that Down Royal Race course are holding a Food Truck Festival on 21^st may 2022. This will be a fun day out for all the family with a food village full of quality local food and drink producers, children’s entertainment, food trucks and an onsite bar. There will be a food truck competition, the best food truck will win trading rights on site at the race events for a year.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to register your interest to take a pitch as a food or drink producer, to sell your products on the day. Please be aware there is no licence to sell alcohol.  As space is limited please do let us know of your interest at your earliest convenience.

Company Name –

Contact name –

Position in the company –

Telephone number –

Email address –

Website –

Electricity required? Yes or No? If yes what do you require?

Twitter handle

Please return this completed form to Christine – christine@nigoodfood.com by Wednesday 30^th March 2022. Booking forms will be sent out at the start of Feb 2020. If you have any queries about this please call me on 07735209299 or 02890249449.

Participation fee for a pitch is £65 per company. Space will be offered for companies outside, please be aware you will need to supply your own gazebo/marquee 3mx 3m maximum. If the weather is poor we will move inside and you will be offered a 6ft trestle table.

 As stands are limited we may have to select attendees from each food category to ensure a diverse coverage of produce. Final decision of companies attending is at the discretion of Down Royal Race Course. Please be aware that payment is to be made to the Down Royal Race course directly and will be required once selection has taken place.