Northern Ireland triumphs at first Free From Ireland Awards
Northern Ireland companies were hugely successful at the recent Free From Food Awards Ireland in Dublin, claiming two overall awards, five golds, five silvers and four bronzes out of 37 categories.
The Northern Irish successes in the inaugural included the top awards of Product of the Year and Product Range of the Year.
The achievements reflect the strength of the Free From category in Northern Ireland, where companies are increasingly exploring the business opportunities being presented by the developing market demand for such products.
Northern Ireland companies gained the following awards:
Product of the Year 2016
Rule of Crumb, Antrim for Gluten Free Salted Caramel & Chocolate Profiteroles
Product Range of the Year 2016
BFree, Crossmaglen, County Armagh
Category Awards
Bread Products
Gold - Rule of Crumb, Antrim - Part Baked Rolls
Silver - Bfree, Crossmaglen - Soft Whites Rolls
Bronze - Crust & Crumb, Derrylin, county Fermanagh - pizza bases
Biscuit & Cookies
Bronze - Sunstart, Ballymena, County Antrim for Lidl - Just Free Caramel Shortcake
Innovation
Silver - Bfree, Crossmaglen - Multi Wraps Quinoa &Chis Seed
Kids Choice
Gold - Doherty's Meats, Derry, County Londonderry - Gluten Free Cocktail Sausages
Meat Free
Silver - Mash Direct, Comber, County Down - Vegetable Burgers
Desserts & Puddings
Gold - Rule of Crumb, Antrim - Gluten Free Salted Caramel & Chocolate Profiteroles Rolls
Ready to Cook
Gold - Mash Direct, Comber, County Down - Potato Croquettes
Meat Products
Silver - Doherty's Meats, Derry, County Londonderry - Gluten Free & Wheat Free Beef Burgers
Bronze - WOW, Cookstown, County Tyrone - Steakburger
Poultry & Game
Bronze - WOW, Cookstown, County Tyrone - Sweet Chilli & Garlic Turkey Sausages
Pizza & Pasta
Gold -Crust & Crumb, Derrylin, County Fermanagh for Lidl - Just Free - Margherita Pizza
Silver - Pizzado, Newtownards, County Down - Gluten Free Pizza Kits
The Free From Food Awards Ireland were founded by John Burke, a coeliac and businessman from Dublin, who has been a judge in the UK awards for a number of years. The purpose of the awards is to reward the producers of gluten free products for quality and innovation and also, importantly to provide feedback to those producers.