Northern Irish artisans in foods to watch 2014

Two artisan businesses in Northern Ireland have been listed in the influential Irish Food Guide which markets Irish food and drink abroad particularly in the US.

The two companies, Tynedale Goat Meat from Crumlin, county Antrim and Keen Nutrition of Bangor, county Down, have been named in the guide's 20 Best Irish Foods to Watch in 2014.

The guide, developed by Irish food specialists John and Sally McKenna, has been compiled from an extensive public survey, including through social media channels, of products. It is also based on the opinions of shoppers at farmers' market in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

The objective of the guide is to highlight the innovation and quality of local products to shoppers throughout the island.

Tynedale Goats' Meat was launched in 2012 by Will Haire and partner Sarah Long, both Nuffield scholars, as a farm diversification project to develop a market in Northern Ireland and further afield for meat from goat kids. The meat is produced from male kid goats unwanted by dairy breeders at the age of six months.

The meat has since been embraced by top chefs in Ireland because it is widely seen as a healthy red meat. Other chefs using the meat from the Northern Irish farm business include Mark Hix in London.

Keen Nutrition was started last year by Aimee Biemers, a Canadian from Thunder Bay, Ontario, who came to Northern Ireland with her graphic designer husband. She launched the small business from the family home in the village of Crawfordsburn, near Bangor in county Down.

A trained nutritionist, Mrs Biemers developed a range of healthier butters using nuts such as almond, pecans and hazelnuts. Her range of nut butters is now on sale in delis in many parts of Northern Ireland and has been listed in the Dublin area.

Most of Ireland's growing artisan food brands started off at local markets. In the close-knit community that surrounds a market, artisan food entrepreneurs are able to develop their product and streamline their decision-making based on honest opinions from regular customers.

This also helps to make the products being offered for sale at a market be of the highest quality possible within a shorter product-development time frame.