Wild Irish Garlic Pesto launched by artisan business

A wild Irish garlic pesto has been launched by Tom & Ollie, a Northern Irish company specialising in olives, salsa, hummus and tapenade products.

The new handmade pesto has been processed by the artisan business from wild garlic foraged from fields near the company's product development operation at Broughshane in country Antrim.

"We've an extensive wild garlic crop just yards from the plant," says Tom & Ollie's Tracy O'Boyle. "We've been developing a range of pesto products and had been exploring market opportunities to use our own wild garlic.

"Test marketing at venues across Northern Ireland has produced very positive comments from shoppers. We've also used the wild garlic in a hummus product and both are proving popular additions to our expanding product portfolio. Both, of course, are seasonal products.

"The new products reflect our longstanding commitment to source as many of our ingredients locally whenever possible. Creating new products is what we enjoy most. We use the very best ingredients to develop deliciously different and flavourful products." she adds.

A 300g tub of the new Wild Irish Garlic Pesto retails at £4.50.

The company, established by experienced food professionals Seamus Mullan, Hugh Cushnan and Fergal McGrainne in 2014, specialises in Mediterranean-style foods. It roasts its own tomatoes on-site at Broughshane, near Ballymena in county Antrim.

As well as the production unit, which is in an old woollen mill, they have opened a deli there featuring their products and those from other local artisans.

And they are reinvesting in expanding the business by means of an on-line delivery service and the introduction of gourmet food hampers. The planned on-line service will have over 300 products available for next day delivery in Ireland.

There will be an unrivalled selection of the best of Irish and European foods, from olives and cheese to honey and hummus. The product range includes more than 40 types of hummus.

They chose the Tom & Ollie corporate identity and product branding to reflect their focus on tomatoes and olives, two mainstays of the Mediterranean diet.

Tom & Ollie is the agent for the brand MezzeMagic, and has extensive European contacts for all things olive, pesto, tapenade, and hummus, with over 65 lines handmade in Broughshane.