Global airline caterer uses Fivemiletown cheese in menus

Gate Gourmet, the world's largest independent provider of catering and provisioning services for airlines and other transport operators, is now using Fivemiletown cheese in menus prepared by its team of chefs.

The international catering industry leader, which is based near Heathrow in London and provides over 200 million meals a year to more than 270 customers at some 120 airport locations around the globe has included two of Fivemiletown's award winning goats' cheese in menus for a major global airline - Boilie Irish goats' cheese pearls and mild goats' log in meals for First and Business class passengers.

The contract with Gate Gourmet is a major breakthrough for Fivemiletown Creamery, Northern Ireland's only producer of speciality soft cheeses, in the huge international food service industry.

Owen Jones, Fivemiletown Creamery's business development manager, commenting on the latest contract, said: "Being chosen by Gate Gourmet for meals is a marvellous endorsement of the quality of our Boilie goats' cheese pearls and our goats' log.

"Both products have won Great Taste and International Cheese Festival awards. Boilie in particular is developing into a major international success because it is marinaded to provide a rich and distinctive flavour that's ideal for salads.

"The contract with Gate Gourmet is strategically important for us because it represents very significant business for us in foodservice, a sector that we've targeted for faster growth with high profile clients outside Northern Ireland.

"We are looking look forward to continuing to work with Gate Gourmet on the creation of deliciously different meals that use our range of award winning soft cheeses," he added.

Gate Gourmet provides in-flight meals to many of the world's biggest airlines. It was founded in 1992 from Swissair catering. In the 1990s, as part of the SAir Group of companies,

Fivemiletown Creamery, which employs 80 people, is Northern Ireland's only processor of speciality cheese. The creamery is a cooperative of around 60 dairy farmers in lush pastures of County Tyrone.

The creamery has experienced a five-fold increase in sales of its range of soft cheeses to major retailers, independents, delis and foodservice organisations particularly in Great Britain and Ireland over the last year. The strong growth has also led to the creation of 10 new jobs in the Co Tyrone town.

Picture caption: Fivemiletown Creamery's Boilie cheese used in a meal developed for a leading international airline by Gate Gourmet chefs.