Ireland's first-ever Black Pudding Festival held in Fermanagh

Ireland's first-ever Black Pudding Festival is being held at Enniskillen, county Fermanagh this month.

The festival is the brainchild of local food entrepreneur Pat O'Doherty, the managing director of O'Doherty's Fine Meats, one of Northern Ireland's most innovative speciality butchery and food processing businesses.

Black puddings from many parts of the world are being featured in the event and being sampled by people from Fermanagh and other parts of Northern Ireland shopping at O'Doherty's.

O'Doherty, commenting on the unique festival, says: "Black puddings are celebrated, particularly in Europe, and it seemed a great idea to bring one to Northern Ireland because the traditional blood sausage is such a part of our renowned Ulster Fry breakfast. It's also, of course, an integral part of the classic 'full English'. We want to make this an annual feature of the food/tourism calendar in Fermanagh.

"There's a Black Pudding Festival that's been held every March at Mortagne-au-Perche in the Orne area of Normandy since 1963 and has become a major tourism attraction. This event, known as the World Cup of Black Puddings, celebrates everything to do with the French blood sausage, the boudin, and attracted more than 500 entries, including traders, artisans and butchers to sample puddings from parts of France and from further afield.

"In France, the boudin is now seen as a delicacy. France, furthermore, has a Brotherhood of the Knights of Black Pudding Tasting! Our customers found the French boudin to be very soft in texture because it's made solely from blood, spices and onions. There's even a black pudding from Japan!

"The French festival has also become a magnet for food tourists and contributes to France's overall image as a gastronomic centre of excellence. The event includes a range of competitions for locals and visitors to enjoy. I am convinced that we can turn our event into something equally entertaining," he adds.

Among the products being sampled during the month-long festival in Fermanagh is O'Doherty's own Enniskillen Black Pudding, which he describes as "a solid bite with a decent flavour from a blend of traditional ingredients with a bit of a kick from a sprinkling pepper".

O'Doherty has been creating and supplying black puddings to major food halls outside Northern Ireland including Harrods for around 20 years. The product is also among the most popular with customers calling at his butchery business which has been in the centre of Enniskillen for almost 50 years.

Other black puddings featuring in the festival include a variety from Argentina that includes chocolate and orange for a distinctively tangy flavour. They've also been experiencing a Spanish black pudding that includes rice and paprika, a fiery Mexican chilli blood sausage and another from South America made from fruit and pine nuts.