Records broken by Northern Ireland in UK food awards
Forty-six food and drink companies racked up a record 198 gold stars for quality products in this year's UK Great Taste Awards, Alastair Hamilton, Invest Northern Ireland Chief Executive, announced today.
Hannan Meats in Moira also set an all-time record in the awards by winning 26 gold stars the highest ever won by a single producer.
Among the most successful companies are McCartney's Butchers, also based in Moira with 14 gold stars and Punjana, Belfast, with nine gold stars for its teabags and loose-leaf teas.
Five companies - Cloughbane Farm Shop, Pomeroy, Hannan Meats, Moira, Kettyle Irish Foods, Lisnaskea, McCartney's Butchers, also Moira, and Punjana Tea, Belfast - achieved the top award of three stars and will be in the running to be named as Northern Ireland Regional Champion, an award sponsored by Invest NI, and overall Supreme Champion, a title secured last year by McCartney's Butchers in Moira for its corned beef, a reworking of a traditional British favourite food.
Congratulating the successful companies, Mr Hamilton said: "The awards for quality and innovation just keep coming for our food and drink. The record number of gold stars won last year has been easily surpassed in 2012/13.
"The performance of our companies, both large and small and across most sectors in what has become one of the most important competitions of its type in Europe, is truly outstanding.
"We can justifiably claim to have some of the very best food and drink products available anywhere in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The awards show that our companies have original and richly flavoured products that often exceed what competitors in Britain and Ireland have to offer grocery retailers and, of course, their discerning customers.
"The immensely impressive achievements in this highly regarded annual competition should inspire the award winning companies to grasp the extensive opportunities that Invest NI provides to assist them grow their business by increasing sales outside Northern Ireland. We want to assist this strategically important industry, currently worth over £3 billion a year in sales, to drive exports well beyond the current figure of £1.5 billion," added Mr Hamilton.
The Great Taste Awards, organised by the influential UK Guild of Fine Food, is the UK's leading food and drink event. This year the competitionattracted more than 8,800 entries from companies throughout the UK and Ireland and further afield.
In total, 2,793 food and drink products have been awarded one, two, or three-star gold, with just 123 entries winning three stars. The annual programme culminates in next month's 'Golden Fork' Awards in London and the naming of the Great Taste Supreme Champion.
udges during this year's Great Taste included Masterchef winner and restaurateur Matt Follas, restaurant critic Charles Campion and food writers Lucas Hollweg and Xanthe Clay as well as more than 300 food buyers from leading food halls, delicatessens and farm shops across the country.
Gold standard food and drink companies from Northern Ireland:
A Slice of Heaven, Newtownards
Two stars - Tiramisu with mascarpone cheese, Irish cream liqueur, Saviordi biscuits and strong coffee
Abernethy Butter Company, Dromara
Two stars - Hand churned butter
ABP, Newry
One star - British beef matured for 28 days, thick cut and extra matured
One star - British beef sourced from registered Wagyu bulls matured for 15 days
One star - British minced beef sourced from registered Wagyu bulls matured for 15 days
Alfie Murray Butchers, Killyleagh
Two stars - Prime Beef Sausage
Two stars - 6oz steak burger
One star - Steak burger with cracked black pepper
One star - Prime cut of pork sausages
Ann's Pantry, Larne
Two stars - Egg and cream custard pie
One star - Malted wheat flour brown bread with caramalised sugar and various seeds
One star - Traditional oven wheaten soda with stout
One star - Brown bread made with spelt flour, soft seeds and honey
One star - Shortbread with local butter
One star - Carrot cake with dates, walnuts, honey pieces topped with homemade cream cheese icing
Blackthorn Foods, Belfast
Two stars - Handmade butter fudge in small batches with Madagascan vanilla extract
One star - Handmade butter fudge with Madagascan vanilla extract
One star - Butter fudge with white chocolate and Irish cream liqueur
One star - Butter fudge with dark chocolate and honeycomb pieces
Broighter Gold, Limavady
One star - Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil
Bailie's Handroasted Coffee, Belfast
Two stars - Fairtrade and Rain Forest Alliance coffee blended from Colombian, Ethiopian and Guatemalan beans
One star - Hot Chocolate
One star - Jasmine Petal single estate loose leaf tea
One star - Puccini Espresso (100% Arabica)
One star - Sweet Wonders Espresso
Bruce's Hill Farm Shop, Ballymena
One star Grass-fed Dexter Fillet Steak Medallions
One star Grass-fed Dexter Sirloin Steak
One star Grass-fed French trimmed Rib Roast on the Bone
Chapman's, Portadown
One star - Handmade biscuits with marshmallows, sultanas, soft chocolate, butter and granola
One star - Hand piped slow baked meringue fingers
One star - Sticky toffee pudding with dates, vanilla sponge and butterscotch
One star - Moist banana and vanilla cake
One star - Handmade chicken and leek pie
Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt, Bangor
One star - Luxury Greek style layered yoghurt with Senga strawberries
One star - Greek style layered yoghurt with lemon curd
Cloughbane Farm Shop, Pomeroy
Three stars - Traditional rare Irish Moiled Rib-eye steak
Two stars - Traditional rare Irish Moiled Fillet Steak aged for at least 28 days
One star - Traditional rare Irish Moiled T - bone steaks
One star - Handcrafted mince pie with carrots, peas and rich gravy
One star - Mince pie with carrots, peas, potatoes and gravy
CoCouture, Belfast
Two stars Chocolate fudge brownie with luxury plain chocolate and vanilla
Crossgar Foodservice, Seaforde
One star - Pedigree Gloucester French trimmed pork chops
One star -Dry-aged rib-eye aged on the bone for 21 days in a Himalayan Salt Chamber
One star - Dorset lamb sirloin
One star - Artisan pork sausages from Gloucester Old Spot pigs with cracked black pepper
Dale Farm, Ballymena and Cookstown
One star - Freshly churned easy spread butter
One star- Medium Cheddar
One Star - Matured cheddar over 18 months
One star - Medium cheddar
One star - Naturally matured cheddar
One star - Extra matured cheddar
The Deli Bistro and Patisserie, Bangor
Two stars - Fresh all butter scone
One star - Organic lemon curd
Donegal Rapeseed Oil, Castlederg
Two stars - Donegal Rapeseed Oil
John R Dowey & Son, Lurgan
One star - Sirloin steak
One star - Vegetable soup
East Coast Seafoods, Downpatrick
One star- smoked cod
En-Place Foods UK, Cookstown
Two stars - Rhubarb and elderflower jam
Two stars - Blackcurrant and orange jam
One star - Relish
Finnebrogue, Downpatrick
One star - Gluten-free Northern Irish pork chipolata sausages
Fivemiletown Creamery, Fivemiletown
Two stars - Irish butter
Two stars - Cow's cheese pearls filled with green pesto
One star - Cow's cheese pearls with sun dried tomatoes
One star - USA full fat cream cheese
Gracehill Fine Foods, Ballymena
One star - Traditional oatmeal black pudding with fresh onions handpicked beef suet and pork
One star -Traditional white pudding with fresh onions, hand picked beef suet and pork
Greenmount Farm Shop, Antrim
One star - Sirloin steak from grass-fed cattle
Grounded Espresso Bars, Belfast
Two stars - Ground filter coffee with blend of South American and African Arabica beans
One star - Grounded House Espresso
Genesis Crafty, Magherafelt
One star -Handcrafted high fibre rye loaf with rye flour, wheatflour, wholegrain and mixed seeds
One star - Hand rolled and cut glazed scones with butter and cherries
One star - Yeast-free Irish soda
One star - Yeast-free Irish soda with Irish buttermilk and Turkish sultanas
Glastry Farmhouse Ice Cream, Kircubbin
Two stars - Dairy ice cream with yellowman
Hannan Meats, Moira
Three stars - Moyallon Guanciale
Two stars - Shorthorn sirloin steak
Two stars- Shorthorn beef fillet
Two stars - Shorthorn beef rib-eye
Two stars - Hereford fillet steak
One star - Shorthorn beef and leek sausage
One star - Sirloin steak from loins aged on the bone
One star - Rib-eye aged on the bone
One star - Dry-aged fillet steak
One star- Rib-eye chop chosen for extra marbling and flavour
One star - Dry-cured thick cut bacon
One star - Traditionally dry cured, sliced bacon collar
One star - Selected pork rack dry-cured
One star - Selected pork rack dry-cured and sweetened
One star - Selected pork rack traditionally dry-cured and glazed with Bramley apple juice
One star - Selected pork rack dry cured to a old recipe
One star - Loin pork chop from free-range rare breed pigs
One star - Dry-cured, lightly smoked bacon belly
One star - Dry-cured bacon collar smoked over applewood
One star - Moyallon burger
Heatherlea Bakery, Bangor
One star - Butter based oat biscuit using rolled oats and hint of coconut
One star - Traditional Northern Irish Christmas pudding
Hungry House, Craigavon
One star - Caramel slices with shortbread base covered in milk chocolate
One star - Smoked bacon and cheddar quiche
Johnson Brothers, Lisburn
One star - Pure Arabica grown on Mount Kenya
Kestrel Foods/Forest Feast, Craigavon
One star - Tropical mix of dried mango, pineapple, banana and coconut
One star- Dried sliced coconut
One star - sweetened green mango
One star - mix of cranberries, goji berries, blackcurrants, physalis, blueberries and strawberries
One star - Tropical dried pineapple
One star - Roasted mix of cashew nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecan, macadamia with crunchy croquants crisp coated herbs, onion flavoured peanuts
Kettyle Irish Foods, Lisnaskea
Three stars - Marrow bone butter
Two stars - Wing rib from 100 per cent British Beef, dry aged on the bone for 28 days
One star - 28 day aged rib-eye
One star - 100% British Fillet Steak
One star - Traditionally dry-cured bacon from Gloucester Old Spot pigs with blend of sea salt, maple and Demerara sugar
One star - Traditional dry cured back bacon from Gloucester Old Spot pigs smoked over peat and mountain heather
Linwoods, Armagh
One star - Nutritious seeds containing Omega 3,6,9 with iron and magnesium
One star - Cold-pressed sunflower and pumpkin seeds
One star - Whole sun dried goji berries
Mash Direct, Comber
One star - Mash with Maris Piper Potatoes
One star - Home grown Savoy cabbage shredded and steam cooked and tumbled in herb butter glazed with Thyme and onions
One star - Potato cakes
Mauds, Carrickfergus
One star - Vanilla and honeycomb ice cream
McCartney's of Moira
Three stars - Dry-aged beef
Three stars - Dry cured, slow cooked pork shoulder
Two stars - Steak and ox kidney pie with shortcrust base and puff pastry
One star - Limousin Sirloin Steak aged at least 21 days
One star - Limousin Grass-fed Rump Steak Joint aged 21 days
One star - Sweet cured gammon coated with honey and lightly dusted with brown sugar and flash roasted
One star - Pie with lean matured steak pieces in crust base and puff pastry and dark brown gravy
One star - Chicken and lean ham pie with shortcrust base and white sauce
One star - Pork belly sausages with fresh leeks, rusks and ice water
McKee's Butchers, Holywood
One star - Homemade vegetable soup with fresh carrots, onions, leeks, celery and parsley
Orchard Organics, Craigavon
One star - Organic tomato and onion chutney
One star - Handmade organic strawberry preserve
Premier Bakeries, Belfast
One star - Wheaten bread with cut wheat and rye and no artificial colourings or flavourings
Punjana, Belfast
Three stars - Finest second flush Assam and Kenyan tea bags
One star - Blend of tea bags from finest Assam and Kenyan gardens
One star - Assam tea bags selected during peak growing months of June, July and August
One star - East of Kenyan Rift Valley teas and selected Assam and Sri Lankan team for tea bags
One star - Blend of dry weather Kenyan tea for bags
One star - Blend of finest Assam and Kenyan loose leaf teas
One star - Rift Valley, Kenyan single estate tea bags
Quail's Deli, Banbridge
Two stars - Chicken liver and shallot parfait
One star - Gammon joint produced from own recipe with Farm Quality Assured Irish pork
Suki Tea, Belfast
Two stars - Fairtrade Tanzanian black loose leaf tea and organic Chilean flower pearls
Two stars - Fairtrade organic Tanzanian chamomile flower
One star - Chinese rolled white loose tea
One star Indian black loose leaf tea with Turkish apple pieces, Bulgarian coriander and citrus slices, cloves etc
One star Indonesian black loose tea with aniseed, cinnamon pieces, ginger bits, pepper, cloves, chicory roots and flavouring
White's Speedicook, Tandragee
Two stars - Organic jumbo oat flakes
Two stars - 100per cent Irish wholegrain old fashioned oats
Two stars - Easy cook jumbo oats
One star - Oat bran medium cut
One star - Toasted Oats granola with apple and cinnamon
Whitewater Brewing Company, Kilkeel
One star - 4.2% ABV stout brewed with roasted barley, rolled oats and chocolate malts
One star - Malted barley and wheat ale
Yellow Door, Portadown
Two stars - Handmade traditional Irish bread with three flours with 100per cent buttermilk
Two stars - Wild mushroom soup with porcine mushrooms for extra flavour
One star - Wholemeal bread with black treacle and finished with seeds
One star - Organic salmon traditionally cured and flavoured with home grown beetroot and whiskey.