Waffles born in Belgium raised in Northern Ireland

Traditional Li?ge waffles from Belgium are now being made in Northern Ireland by a recently established small business. The new start-up company, currently based near Ahoghill in county Antrim, has been set up by Michael Henderson and has begun selling the waffles at farmers' markets around Northern Ireland. In addition, the waffles are attracting interest from local cafes and coffee shops. What attracted Michael to join Northern Ireland's burgeoning artisan food revolution is a love of baking. "I used to watch my mother baking and learned a lot from her. It was something I always wanted to do. It started out as a hobby and is quite a leap from my original training in metal fabrication. "I wanted to turn my interest in baking into an artisan food enterprise. Publicity surrounding the success of the food industry and the run up to Year of Food and Drink led me to look for a unique bakery product that I could turn into a small firm." A gap he spotted in the local market was for authentic Belgian Li?ge waffles that he could offer initially as a different and delicious 'street food'. "One of the interesting developments I've also noticedhere is the emergence of different street foods. So, why not authentic waffles prepared and cooked on site?" He carried out extensive market research on recipes for Li?ge waffles and began baking them for test marketing with family and friends. They proved popular. His next step was to buy an old horsebox and to transform it himself from his experience of metal working into a mobile waffle bar. He chose to develop Li?ge waffles because they are "a richer, denserand sweeter waffle native to the street food of Belgium. They're an adaptation of brioche bread dough, featuring chunks of pearl sugar caramelized on the outside of the waffle when baked. It's a yeast-raised dough and is more akin to a sweet bread. Overall, there are about 500 Li?ge waffle recipes for me to work on." He was also quick to support local suppliers for ingredients. The flour comes from Andrews in Belfast and coatings such as malted chocolate, Armagh Bramley jam and sea salted caramel from Brambleberry Jams and Sauces in Lisburn, another local artisan. His initial range is cinnamon spice, plain and salted caramel. Michael is following the tradition in Belgium, where most waffles are served warm by street vendors and dusted with confectioner's sugar.