Foster celebrates great taste companies award success

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has commended 27 local companies after they scooped a total of 56 gold awards in the UK Great Taste Awards.

The Minister was speaking at a reception organised by Invest Northern Ireland for the local winners in the prestigious awards, the UK’s largest independent evaluation of fine food and drink. The 27 companies, mostly small and medium sized enterprises, struck gold for innovative food products at the awards ceremony which was organised by the UK Guild of Fine Food.

They included four companies which achieved the top ranking of three stars: Glen Tender, Gilford, the overall Northern Ireland winner for its Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steak; O'Kane's Poultry, Ballymena for its Southern Fry Chicken; Crossgar Meats, Downpatrick for its Free Range Duck and The Offbeat Bottling Company, Bangor for its Thick Cut Orange Marmalade.

At the reception, the Minister presented the Invest NI sponsored Best Speciality from Northern Ireland Award to Glen Tender.

Praising the success of the companies, the Minister said: “The Great Taste Awards are a measure of the quality of innovation within the food industry, especially within the small business sector. Winning a Great Taste Award is testament to the consistently high standards our companies are achieving and sustaining, many in markets outside Northern Ireland.

"The statistics of our engagement in the UK Great Taste Awards indicate that smaller companies in particular are increasingly recognising the importance of innovation and new product development. Food is probably the fastest moving and most challenging market, shaped by a number of factors from the changing demands of consumers to environmental concerns.

"The importance of food to the local economy is seen in the statistics which show that 34% of all manufacturing sales in Northern Ireland derive from the food, drink and tobacco sector. Speciality food, the focus of the Great Taste Awards, is an important and growing segment within the overall grocery market, with sales in the UK, worth £3.6billion in 2006.

"Invest Northern Ireland recognises the contribution of the food industry to the health of the local economy and has taken significant steps to increase its practical support to companies across a broad range of areas including marketing, new product development and design."

The 27 Northern Ireland companies competed against more than 1,000 companies from across the UK in the Great Taste Awards. Only 83 companies across the entire UK competition won the elite 3-star gold awards, which are presented for products considered by the judges to be 'exquisite' and faultless’.

Notes to editors:

1. The 27 winning companies for Northern Ireland are:

Allied Bakeries, Belfast
Product: Sunblest Bakers Choice Potato Farls. Star Category Awarded: One

Avondale Foods, Craigavon
Product: Broccoli & Cashel Blue Cheese Soup. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Salsa Dip. Star Category Awarded: One

Baxter Murray Creative Chocolate, Belfast
Product: Dark Chocolate Truffle with Alcohol. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: White Chocolate Truffle. Star Category Awarded: One

Blackthorn Foods, Belfast
Product: Handmade Butter Fudge. Star Category Awarded: One

Braemar Farm Ice Cream, Coleraine
Belgian Chocolate Sorbet. Star Category Awarded: One
Banana Ice Cream. Star Category Awarded: One

Crossgar Meats, Downpatrick
Product: Free Range Whole Duck. Star Category Awarded: Three
Product: Dexter Dry Aged Fillet Steak. Star Category Awarded: Two

Dale Farm, Belfast and Cookstown
Product: Dromona Mild Cheddar Cheese. Star Category Awarded: One

Erin Grove Preserves, Enniskillen
Product: Chilli Apple Jelly. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Onion Marmalade. Star Category Awarded: One

Fivemiletown Creamery, Fivemiletown
Product: Boilíe Irish Goat’s Cheese Pearls. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: O’Reilly’s Irish Goat’s Cheese Original. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: O’Reilly’s Irish Goat’s Cheese with Mustard. Star Category Awarded: One

Genesis, Magherafelt
Product: Fifteens Biscuit & Condensed Milk Bake. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Shortbread Iced Biscuit. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: SQ Date & Walnut Speciality Bread. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: SQ Apricot & Raisin Speciality Bread. Star Category Awarded: One

Glen Tender, Gilford
Product: Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steak 21 day Matured. Star Category Awarded: Three
Product: Aberdeen Angus Rib-eye 21 day Matured. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Aberdeen Angus Fillet Steak 21 day Matured. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Aberdeen Angus 10oz Rump Steak 21 day Matured. Star Category Awarded: One

Gracehill Fine Foods, Ballymena
Product: Black Pudding. Star Category Awarded: Two

Grace’s Irish Foods, Bangor
Product: Irish Oatmeal Biscuits. Star Category Awarded: One

Graham’s Bakery, Dromore
Product: Handmade Wheaten Farls. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Handmade Soda Farls. Star Category Awarded: One

The Heatherlea Bakery, Bangor
Product: Wheaten Bannock. Star Category Awarded: Two

Hoy’s Farmhouse, Ballyclare
Product: Honeycomb Chunks Dairy Ice Cream. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Diabetic Vanilla Ice Cream. Star Category Awarded: One

Linden Foods, Dungannon
Product: Chef Class Steak Burger. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Banquet Royal Rose Veal Fillet Steak. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Banquet Royal Rose Veal T Bone Steak. Star Category Awarded: One

P McCann, Craigavon
Product: Pure Apple & Blackcurrant. Star Category Awarded: One

Punjana, Belfast
Product: PunjanaTeabags, 80’s India/Kenya. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Punjana Green Tea Teabag, from Kenya. Star Category Awarded: One

North South Coffee, Newry
Product: House Blend Espresso. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Rumour Espresso. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Monsoon Espresso. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Napoli Espresso. Star Category Awarded: One

The Offbeat Bottling Company, Bangor
Product: Thick–Cut Orange Marmalade. Star Category Awarded: Three

O’Kane Poultry, Ballymena
Product: Southern Fry Chicken Portions. Star Category Awarded: Three
Product: Free Range Whole Fresh Chicken. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Organic Whole Fresh Turkey. Star Category Awarded: One

Rich Sauces, Newtownards
Product: Gourmet Mayonnaise. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Pad Thai Sauce. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: French Dressing. Star Category Awarded: One

Ristretto, Banbridge
Product: Espresso Blend. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: ACFCR Certified Reserva San Bosco Filter Coffee. Star Category Awarded: One

Suki Tea House, Belfast
Product: Fairtrade Belfast Brew, from Tanzania & India. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Fairtrade Organic Earl Grey Blue Flower from India, Albania & Germany. Star Category Awarded: One
Product: Green Rooibus Citrus Organic from South Africa. Star Category Awarded: One

Tamnagh Foods, Claudy
Product: Challah Bread. Star Category Awarded: Two

White’s, Tandragee
Product: Organic Jumbo Oat Flakes. Star Category Awarded: Two
Product: Real Fruit Porridge – Cranberry Apple & Cinnamon. Star Category Awarded: One

Key:
One star: Close to perfect
Two stars: Faultless
Three stars: Wow, you must taste this!

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