Record golds for Northern Ireland at Irish Food and Drink Awards

Thirty four awards including 11 golds were won by Northern Ireland companies at Blas na hEireann, the National Irish Food and Drink Awards, held as part of the annual Dingle Food Festival in Kerry at the weekend.

In addition to 11 golds, Northern Ireland products won seven silver and 16 bronze awards in what is now the most prestigious event for the food industry on the island of Ireland.

A total of 47 products from Northern Ireland reached the final stages of judging by an expert panel in the annual awards.

Invest Northern Ireland is among the sponsors of the awards, as it is of the UK Great Taste Awards and the recent Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards.

Invest NI presented a prize for the Best New Product 2014, which was won by Nusli, a natural Irish yoghurt mixed with apple juice, wholegrains and nuts, based near Wexford..

The aim of the awards, now in their seventh year, is to recognise and reward the very best tasting Irish food and drink products and the passionate people who make them.

John Hood, Invest NI Director of Food and Tourism, congratulating the local award winners, said: "It's been another excellent year for Northern Ireland in many major categories. The Irish Food and Drink Awards showcase the quality and innovation underpinning the Northern Ireland entrants. They also highlight the export potential of the award winners especially in the Republic of Ireland.

"Our food marketing teams will continue to work closely with the winning companies, both large and small, to help them to turn success in these highly influential awards into sales in the Republic, Britain and further afield. We'll also be encouraging many other food businesses to grasp the business opportunities provided by Blas next year.

*We know that the buying decisions of major retailers in the Republic and elsewhere are influenced by success at the National Irish Food and Drink Awards as well as the recent Great Taste Awards, which also saw a record breaking performance by our companies."

The awards were open to all Irish companies. The products were tasted by panels of selected judges in two tranches resulting in the winning products being awarded gold, silver and bronze as well as some key awards such as Best in Farmers Market and Chef's Choice.

The Blas awards are the biggest blind tasting of produce on the island of Ireland, and the criteria on which the product is judged as well as the judging system itself, which was developed by Blas na hEireann with the Food Science Dept of University College Cork, is now recognised as an international industry standard.

The Blas Awards is a non-for profit organisation and was founded so that quality benchmarks could be established for Irish produce on a level playing field. Winning at Blas has made a significant business difference to winners.

Gold winners from Northern Ireland 2014:

Armagh Cider Company, Portadown for Molly's Mulled Cider

DJ's Ciders and Juices, Lisburn for Tempted? Special Reserve Cider

Doherty and Gray, Ballymena for steak and cracked black pepper sausages

East Coast Seafoods, Downpatrick for hot smoked salmon

Genesis Bakery, Magherafelt for double butter fruit scone

Harnett's Oils, Portadown for pure rapeseed oil

Heatherlea Bakery, Bangor for Armagh rolled oat crisp biscuits

Irwin's Bakery, Portadown for Traditional Irish Barmbrack

Mauds Ice Cream, Carrickfergus for Poor Bear's Delight Ice Cream

Tamnagh Foods, Dungiven for maple, nut and fruit granola

Willowbrook Farm Foods, Killinchy for Mediterranean Salad Bowl

Armagh Cider Company, Portadown for Madden's Mellow cider

Broighter Gold Rapeseed, Limavady for rapeseed oil infused with lemon

Crust and Crumb, Derrylin for lemon, rosemary and red onion stuffing

Doherty & Gray, Ballymena for Irish pork and spring onion sausage

Rademon Craft Distillery, Crossgar for Shortcross Gin

Tamnagh Foods, Dungiven for honey, nut and seed granola

White's Oats, Tandragee for breakfast cereal for Aldi Luxury Fruit Porridge with Sultanas, Apricots and Sunflower Seeds

Bronze

Allied Mills/Neill's Flour, Belfast for brown bread mix for Aldi

Armagh Cider Company, Armagh for Carson's Crisp cider

Broighter Gold, Limavady for Liquid Gold rapeseed oil

Daily Bake, Newry for Spar chicken and leek pie

Donegal Rapeseed, Castlederg for rapeseed oil selection

Hovis, Belfast for Seed Sensations bread

Johnson's Coffee, Lisburn for continental blend coffee

Kay's Kitchen, Armagh for handmade organic raspberry spread

Kookykook Pesto, Portrush for green basil pesto

Linden Foods, Dungannon for Irish Hereford burger

McErlain's Bakery, Magherafelt for white soda bannock

Need of Meats, Newry for BBQ pulled pork

Passion Preserve, Lisburn for Sunshine Relish

Thompson's Family Teas, Belfast for Punjana Irish Breakfast Tea

White's Oats, Tandragee for breakfast porridge for Aldi Luxury Fruit Porridge with Raisin, Cranberry, Apple and Cinnamon