Botanic opts for ice cream luxury
Botanic Inns, the leading Northern Irish operator of hotels, restaurants and bars, is partnering with Fivemiletown Creamery to offer customers the new range of artisan ice cream, as part of a commitment to source more food and drink from local suppliers.
The company, which operates 16 venues, mostly in Belfast, has long championed local producers and is keen to promote the great quality ingredients found in Northern Ireland.
Fivemiletown Creamery, at the request of Botanic Inns, created a new twist on a traditional summer favourite, strawberries and ice cream pud, by adding juicy, local strawberries to scoops of premium ice cream, producing a winning combination of great summer fruits and dairy produce made in Northern Ireland.
Gordon Harvey, quality standard manager at Botanic Inns, says: "We have long listened to what our customers have been asking for and local produce is a priority for many of our guests and diners.
"We have been working with local farmers and artisan producers for years to bring the best ingredients to our kitchens and bars. When we heard Fivemiletown Creamery was launching a range of ice creams we knew we had to check them out, as their cheeses are sublime. After tasting them, I imagined that the simple addition of local strawberries would be an ideal partner and something our guests will just love."
A bowl of this simple and elegant dessert is on offer in Botanic Inns outlets throughout July and can be paired with flavours such as Royal Bourbon Vanilla, Balsamic and Strawberry Ripple, or the delicious Valrhona Chocolate ice creams from Fivemiletown.
Peter Dunlop, Fivemiletown Creamery marketing manager, adds: "We developed our ice cream to combine the best of local produce such as our milk with some of the finest ingredients from around the world like Royal Bourbon Vanilla from Madagascar. And now it's great to see it placed in such good company as fresh, seasonal, local strawberries.
Botanic Inns employs 600 people across its 16 outlets and has won a number awards including 'The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For', for the third year running and UK Pub Company and 'Pub design of the year' at the UK wide Publican Awards.
Established in the 19thcentury Fivemiletown Creamery is a co-operative of 65 family farmers that has been making award winning dairy produce for over 100 years. The company, in fact, first started making jersey ice cream in the late sixties but decided to focus resources to develop an unrivalled cheese range.
Caption: Fivemiletown Creamery girls, left, Samantha Munton and Danielle Barton launch of the partnership between Botanic Inns and Fivemiletown Creamery