Tastes of Northern Ireland celebrated on St Patrick's Day in Brazil
Smoked salmon with Irish whiskey and blackberry jam with 23 carat gold where just two of a selection of products from The Good Food and Wine Company featured on the menu at the St Patrick's Day celebratory lunch at the Irish Embassy in Brasilia, an event attended by First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness during their visit to Brazil to promote investment and trade exchanges.
The St Patrick's Day lunch, hosted by Frank Sheridan, the Republic of Ireland's Ambassador to Brazil, gave more than 200 business people and other VIPs an opportunity to experience the quality of artisan food from The Good Food and Wine Company.
The Northern Ireland First Minister and Deputy First Minister were special guests at the event. They have been meeting potential investors and other business leaders during their week-long visit to Brazil, their first business mission to the country, now regarded as among the most dynamic global economies.
The Good Food and Wine Company, was formed by husband and wife team Nicholas and Michelle Lestas, both business consultants for over 13 years and both having extensive experience in promoting Northern Ireland food and drink abroad. The company was approached by the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington to provide local artisan food for the high profile event in Brasilia.
Michelle Lestas, commenting on the event, said: "We were delighted to be approached by the Bureau to provide some of our range of artisan foods to such a prestigious event because Brazil could become an immensely important marketplace for our gourmet food and drink.
"We were to respond quickly and to provide products from our portfolio, all sourced locally and featuring exclusive recipes that we have developed as part of our drive to promote the growth of artisan foods from here in global markets.
"Our unique products have been developed over the past year using local food technologiesand were recently benchmarked against current products on sale in exclusive UK retailers. Our research shows our products are superior in quality, appearance and texture.
"Brazil, we believe, offers huge potential for local food. We see significant growth potential in the gourmet food category for the country's increasingly affluent middle class in centres such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Porto Allegre and, of course, Brasilia, the nation's capital.
"There's some work to be carried out by the relevant authorities there to make it easier for food exporters to access what is an immensely exciting marketplace."
The Good Food and Wine Company, which has offices in Belfast and Coleraine, has been assisted by Invest Northern Ireland's R&D support team, the food team and the North West Regional Office to help in developing its wide range of artisan products.