Omagh’s foodie innovator Mervyn ‘smashed it’ with tasty new bacon
Tyrone farm entrepreneur Meryyn Kennedy has created a new taste experience using the bacon that has won him a host of awards here and in Britain.
Meryyn, who rears pigs near Omagh and runs the successful Kennedy Bacon artisan business, has just launched an innovative ‘Smashed Bacon Grill’ that’s already in the running for a prestigious Blas na hEireann, Irish Food Award, the results of which will announced at the big food and drink festival at Dingle, Co Kerry in October.
The innovative product, influenced by the growing success of smashed burgers, is the latest innovation from Kennedy Bacon, a small business known for the taste and quality of its dry-cure rashers, ham and pork sausages.
“Our new bacon grills are based on a new recipe using our popular bacon and sausages. We’ve flattened them for greater convenience, especially for BBQs,” explains Mervyn, who has developed a successful business at Northern Ireland food markets including Causeway Coast in Coleraine, Omagh, Comber, Antrim and leading agricultural shows such as the Food NI pavilion at the RUAS at Balmoral Park.
“We were thrilled when the expert judges at Blas na hEireann shortlisted the grills for the final stages of this year’s important event in Dingle. We’ve won a number of awards there in the past, as well as UK Great Taste Awards for our popular dry-cure bacon,” adds Mervyn. “We’ve everything crossed for October.”
Mervyn started Kennedy Bacon in 2013 to produce high quality products from the family farm on the back of his extensive experience and skills in dry curing pork. All his bacon and pork products are carefully cured by hand. He has developed an extensive range of artisan products which are also now sold in delis and convenience stores in Northern Ireland and Donegal.
“We do not over-process our products. We add less salt and no phosphate or water, ensuring our product is the healthiest it can be. Our aim, as a company, is to produce premium and tasty products at competitive prices,” he says.
