Balsamic Rocks from new product-led Craic Foods

Craic Foods, a recently established Northern Ireland company focused on innovation, has launched 'Balsamic Rocks', a new ingredient for foodservice in the UK, Republic of Ireland and further afield.

Balsamic Rocks are freeze-dried vinegar products for use by chefs in flavouring dishes.

Craic Foods was formed last year by Peter Hannan, managing director of multi award winning Hannan Meats, and Paul Clarke, a leading chef who heads En Place UK, a specialist in savoury products such as relishes and jams, several of which have won a series of Great Taste and other awards.

The new business, which is based at Moira in county Down, is focused on R&D for foodservice and has a pipeline of innovative products including Balsamic Rocks and other freeze-dried foods using fruits such as pomegranate, mandarin oranges, coconut, plums and blueberries.

While the primary focus is on foodservice, Craic may, in time, explore retail opportunities particularly from ambitious home cooks influenced by television programmes.

"We've been working with leading chefs through the relationships developed by both Hannan Meats and En Place in developing smart ideas for original flavours. Craic Foods builds on the long established reputations of the two companies in creating outstandingly tasty food.

"The Balsamic Rocks are ideal and convenient for adding different flavours to dishes," Paul Clarke says. "We've chosen Craic as the name of the business because it's Irish for fun and enjoyment. We enjoy what we are doing in coming up with creative food solutions," says Paul Clarke.

Hannan Meats, of course, is an acknowledged global leader in ageing beef and lamb using the world's biggest complex of Himalayan salt chambers and sugar-pit curing of bacon and ham, products supplied to many of the leading chefs in Europe and Asia. The company is only one to win two Supreme Champion titles in the UK Great Taste Awards.