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.

Honey Fair application form

Hillsborough Castle, 6th and 7th August 2022

• Company Name for Invoice  

• Main contact (for correspondence/forms etc)

• Main contact email

• Main contact direct line or mobile number

• Total stand cost (£ + VAT)

Please note that this cost does not include electrics (for chillers, freezers, cookers, hand washing sinks, kettles and other equipment) and is an additional cost. Hire of furniture and all cooking, chilling equipment is additional cost. Food NI can send you recommended suppliers.

• Invoice address

Purchase Order Number (IF REQUIRED)

Participation will be based on a fee dependent on company size and if you are a Food NI –

Producers –

Members – 1 to 5 staff members – £240 plus VAT

                   5 plus staff – £380 plus VAT

                   50 plus staff £480 plus VAT

                   100 plus staff – by negotiation, will depend on size of stand

Non members – 1 to 5 staff – £330 plus VAT

                           5 plus staff – £500 plus VAT

                           50 plus staff £680 plus VAT

                          100 plus staff – by negotiation, will depend on size of stand

Food to go – 

Tea/coffee/

ice cream/dessert – Members £335 plus VAT

                               Non-members £425 plus VAT

Hot food – Members £540 plus VAT

                 Non-members £640 plus VAT

Electric for all extra, cost tbc by HRP. 

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE

Please submit all necessary paperwork with the application form. For producers this will include food hygiene ratings and public liability insurance and a risk assessment. For food to go this will include food hygiene ratings and public liability insurance and gas certificates and staff food hygiene certificates and a risk assessment. All certificates and paperwork need to be supplied with the application forms; these will not be accepted without all necessary paperwork. Please do not make payment at this stage, there is a selection process to ensure there is as broad selection of food types and little duplication. RHP has final say on who attends the event. Submitting this form does not guarantee you a place at the event. Closing date for receipt of this application is 15^th April 2022.

When you have been informed of selection for the event, we will take payment at this stage.

 Please make cheques payable to Food NI.

BACS details: Ulster Bank Sort Code 98-04-40Account Number: 10222454

*Please use the reference HoneyFair22 and your company name when making BACS payment. Please email remittance to maria@nigoodfood.com

Exhibitors will be required to adhere to any public safety requirements as issued by the NI Exec and we (Food NI) will be on hand to help advise on what these requirements might be closer to the time.  Separately, Royal Historic Palaces will be issuing their own guidelines in the form of an exhibitor manual, this will be sent out once all paperwork and payment has been received. By signing this application form, you agree to follow all terms laid out in the exhibitor manual which covers your safety, the public’s safety and the care and good treatment of the grounds and property of RHP. Any damage done to the property or grounds by any individual must be paid for in full or put right.

Trading space is provided as space only in a marquee, everyone has the same space (2m frontage x3m deep). Trestle tables can be provided at a small cost. If you intend to bring your own stand, please discuss this beforehand to ensure it fits your space and doesn’t encroach on other producers. If this is not discussed before the event it may be turned away during set up.

There will be a small wash area provided for producers, although if you are handling open food (cakes etc) you should have your own hand washing facilities on your stand.

Food to go must have their own hand washing and dish washing facilities.

In the event of withdrawal by Exhibitors, we may resell or reallocate the Stand to a new or existing Exhibitor. We will only reimburse any payments made prior to withdrawal, once the Stand has been reallocated. Exhibitors who pull out 1 week or less before the event will not be entitled to a refund.

Please be aware, if the event is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund. If the event is postponed your payment will be transferred to the new date for the event. 

Food NI will reserve the right to release any trade stand for resale if these terms are not met.

Signed:                                                      Date:

BY SIGNING THIS FORM, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OULINED IN THE EXHIBITOR MANUAL AND ABOVE

                                           Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

Food NI Ltd     Belfast Mills     71 – 75 Percy Street     Belfast    Co Antrim     BT13 2HW

Three Northern Ireland producers have won prestigious recognition in the annual National Ice Cream Competition run by the Ice Cream Alliance (ICA) 2022 held in Harrogate as part of the Ice Cream and Artisan Food Show, a unique event showcasing the entirety of the ice cream industry.

A huge assortment of ice cream varieties, equipment and supplies were showcased across the three-day event. Run by ICA, the only trade association for the UK industry with a 76-year history.

The show attracted 2,500 visitors when last held in 2020. It is the only dedicated exhibition for the UK ice cream industry bringing in a specialised visitor profile from one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors – Ice Cream Parlours grow by 20 percent annually.

The Northern Ireland winners of a total of 16 awards are Lick Gelato, Newcastle, county Down; Maud’s, Carrickfergus, county Antrim; and Morelli’s, Coleraine, county Derry.

The awards won by the local companies are:

Lick Gelato

Silver Challenge Cup

Silver Cup for Chocolate Ice Cream

Diploma – for Vanilla

Diploma Minchella Bros Cup for Vanilla

Maud’s

Special Diploma of Merit – Pistachio

Diploma of Merit – Mint Choc Chip

Diploma of Merit – Sea Salted Caramel

Morelli’s

Bronze Medal for Vanilla

Special Diploma of Merit for Vegan ice cream

Special Diploma of Merit for Chocolate Ice Cream

Diploma of Merit – Hazelnut Vegan

Diploma of Merit – Raspberry Sorbet

Diploma of Merit – Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream

Diploma of Merit – Caramelised Hazelnut

Diploma of Merit –  Vanilla

Diploma Michella Bros Cup- Vanilla

UK food producer Finnebrogue, which owns the Better Naked brand, has renamed its plant-based Chicken Kiev to Kyivin solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they continue to defend against Putin’s invasion.
 
Finnebrogue has also pledged 50 percent of its profits from sales of the Better Naked Kyiv in 2022 to the humanitarian relief effort in Ukraine, starting with an immediate £10,000 donation to UNICEF and the Red Cross.
 
‘Kiev’ was the standardised spelling for the Ukrainian capital under Soviet rule, but recent Russian aggression has seen more Western institutions heed calls to abandon it in favour of the Ukrainian alternative.
 
The much loved dish of chicken surrounding garlic butter and coated in breadcrumbs bears the name Kiev, the city it originates from.
 
Now the food producer Finnebrogue has renamed the plant-based chicken “Kyiv” it sells under its Better Naked brand in several British supermarkets.
 
Finnebrogue chief strategy officer Jago Pearson says: “The world is appalled by the disgraceful events being perpetrated by the Putin regime in Ukraine. All our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people as they defend their homeland and stand up for the principles of self-determination and free, liberal democracy.
 
“So many of us in the UK feel utterly helpless, but still determined to do what little we can. That’s why at Finnebrogue we are donating to the humanitarian effort and renaming our Better Naked Chicken Kyiv in recognition of the Ukrainian people’s brave defence of their proud nation.”
 
UNICEF boss Catherine Russell has said UNICEF is ramping up its support across the country as families seek safety and refuge. Thousands of people – most of whom are women and children – are fleeing to neighbouring countries in freezing conditions.
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross is also responding to the emerging humanitarian crisis. It is helping to provide food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes and shelter.
 
The UK Government has been referring to its embassy as being based in ‘Kyiv’ for years since 2014.
 
Ukraine’s capital is known as Київ in Ukrainian and Киев in Russian. Both terms do not have a direct translation into the Roman alphabet, with Kiev, Kyiv, Kyyiv or Kiyev all being possibilities. 
 
But the spelling ‘Kiev’ is intrinsically linked with the old USSR.
 
It was not until the Maidan uprising of 2014 the issue hit the public consciousness, with the ousting of pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych and the creation of a new administration seeking closer ties to the West. 
 
Young Ukrainians see ‘Kiev’ as a relic of the Soviet past, and this view is now shared by the government, which launched a ‘KyivNotKiev’ campaign in 2018.
 
The Better Naked plant-based Kyiv is a vegan take on the dish traditionally made from chicken fillet rolled around garlic butter and coated with bread crumbs.
 
The Better Naked plant-based Chicken Kyiv is made instead using pea protein and is on sale in several UK supermarkets, including Waitrose, Morrisons and Ocado. 
 
50% of Finnebrogue’s profits from these sales will now be donated to the Ukrainian relief effort via Unicef and the Red Cross. Finnebrogue is one of the UK’s leading food producers. A family-owned business based in Northern Ireland, it made its name producing premium sausages for leading supermarkets, before launching its revolutionary Naked Bacon, made without nitrites in 2017.

The company employs 1000 people across four sites in county Down. It opened the doors to a new state of the art plant-based factory in 2020, the largest of its kind in Europe, where it now produces 15 meat-free products under its own Naked brand, and supplies numerous own-brand products to leading UK supermarkets.