The Pollock family from Castlerock are the people behind Braemar Farm Ice Cream. They make it the artisan way with oodles of loving care. There’s the traditional Hokey Pokey Honeycomb, their own Starwboffee combinations as well as zingy Lemon and Lime and Mango and Passionfruit to name but a few of their addictive flavours.
They sell from their trailer on Castlerock Beach as well as at shows and events across Northern Ireland. Their retail tubs are also available for sale at scoop counters in delis and shops. They also supply a number of local restaurants.
Fresh, natural and udderly scrumptious.
It was a natural evolution for Dearbhla Reynolds to step into the role of a fermentation revivialist. She is a cross between an old-school pharmacist and a home economics teacher. So, when she first discovered fermentation it seemed to make perfect sense. It’s eco-friendly and the products are superfoods.
She started experimenting with various foods and probiotic drinks using strange looking little starter cultures and many a strange remark was made from friends who tried them. However she says the benefits of these foods and the immense sense of well-being they promote could not be denied.
The Cultured Club was started as an open invitation for those to come and join in the fermenting fun, when they were ready, as opposed to being forced to eat some sauerkraut at her kitchen table. Hence the teaching began and a wonderful timely collaboration with OX restaurant gave home to the learning.
Her classes cover a selection of different aspects of fermentation, from easy drinks to prepare at home, to delicious alternative nut cheeses which will make a surprising dessert. There’s also an array of The Cultured Club’s own Fabulously Funky Ferments to buy.
They’re a very saucy bunch down at the Sauce Works factory in the County Down village of Crossgar. The team have more than 20 years of experience in sauces. They make and dispatch a variety of mouth-watering concoctions to go to food manufacturers. They love the blends, the great prices and the fact that they can develop any flavour ideas you might have.
Flavours include Bar-B-Q, Black Pepper, South-West, Taco Mayo, Sweet Chilli, Piri-Piri, Garlic Mayo and Real Mayo. They’re smooth in texture and pack a tasty punch. They bring any meal alive thanks to the love, care and expertise that’s crammed into every recipe…
That’s why their ‘sauce works’.
It was Henry Johnson back in 1913 who kickstarted this Lisburn family’s obsession with coffee. Since then they’ve been sourcing the best beans from around the world and then roasting and blending them.
They’re a globetrotting bunch. They do everything from the smooth Costa Rican, the rich Kenyan, the individual Java and Mocha, the extravagant Blue Mountain and the chic Bellagio espresso.
They also do teas, biscuits, sauces and syrups as well as supplying and maintaining the machinery to make those blends taste as good as they should. Barista training adds to the package.
There’s a reason why they’ve been in business so long. More than a hundred years of experience in every cup. Mmmmmm
This is a new collaboration between two long-established business in Banbridge ; Quails and Telepizza
Local pizzaiolo Michael Young has successfully run Telepizza for more than 10 years, adapting his menus to local tastes, whist only selecting the finest ingredients from the area
Those Quails know about food. They’re craft butchers and deli owners and now they’ve added this joint venture pizzeria to their portfolio of Banbridge businesses.
The Vault has a proper wood-fired oven for those beauties. There are fourteen varieties with everything from the Classic Pepperoni and Mozzarella to Pancetta, Fig and Shaved Parmesan.
Starters include variations on the ever-popular Garlic Bread as well as a platter of antipasti and a Caprese Salad. We don’t know about you, but we’ve become addicted to sweet potato fries, so we’re delighted to see them on the menu.
The wine list is a real corker (sorry!). There’s a good variety of reds, whites, pink and bubbly with more than one option for glasses and carafes. Well done for that.
Nice to see Long Meadow cider from Portadown nestled among the large range of craft beers, spirits and soft drinks. That cocktail list is well impressive, and they’re adding even more.
OPENING HOURS Sun 15:00 – 21:00 Tue – Thu 17:00 – 22:00 Fri 16:00 – 23:00 Sat 12:00 – 23:00
Nigel and Joann McGarrity (with several of their family) are the team behind this really popular tea room and bistro on the north Antrim coast. The setting couldn’t be more idyllic; a traditional Irish cottage in the bucolic rolling hills.
They’ve been open for four seasons now. The food is as traditional as the cottage it’s served in. There is a full lunch menu using local produce where possible. Think fish chowder, fresh mackerel from the waters of Ballintoy or Ballycastle and of course, Irish Stew. The eggs come from Glenshesk Free Range Eggs. There is meat from local butchers and Causeway Prime Meats. Jamison supplies the potatoes and Scott’s bring the fruit and vegetables.
There are plenty of sweet treats too.
Dine in the cottage itself or the cute wooden cabin in the garden. If it’s cold and wet, sit at the turf fire, if it’s sunny, soak up the rays at the outdoor tables. They’ve got it covered.
We love that you can have your tea and freshly baked scone or dessert on fine china. Food always tastes better off a good china set, don’t you think?
