Speciality-Food-Magazine-JanuaryFebruary2025

specialityfoodmagazine.com 15 BROUGHGAMMON FARM Husband and wife team Becky and Charlie Cole are on a mission to demonstrate the ethical, sustainable side of farming. The couple joined Charlie’s parents on their smallholding in Ballycastle in 2011. “They’d retired to enjoy ‘the good life’,” Becky says, adding when Charlie (who’d studied agriculture) couldn’t find a job that suited him, he decided to set up a farm on his parents’ land. “Before we knew it we were raising a few kid goats from the dairy industry. The boys get put down at birth, there’s no use for them usually, so we decided to bring them on for meat. Slowly we built it up with bull calves from the dairy industry.” Today the pair sell goat meat boxes and operate a small farm shop while producing excellent quality charcuterie. “We’re all about showing customers what farm to fork means, the impact of their choices, and the importance of closed loop, regenerative farming,” Becky continues. Broughgammon Farm charcuterie is made using rose veal, with free-range pork fat to create a creamy, soft mouthfeel. “The flavour and texture are wonderful,” says Becky. “My favourite is the classic peppercorn, and Charlie’s is our sujac – it’s like a spicy, Turkish-style chorizo that’s great for cooking.” TWO STACKS This County-Down-based bonder/blender has been exciting the Irish whiskey market by looking to the techniques and traditions of the past, and folding them into bold new formats. “We’ve gone back to the old ways of Irish whiskey being marketed and sold,” explains Liam Brogan. “Distilleries were really production facilities, and bonders, grocers and merchants would have matured what they made in their warehouses.” Two Stacks works with 15 Irish distilleries to produce its range of expressions. “Working like this allows us to continue to expand, and lets us create a library of different flavours and styles.” This includes the ‘dram in a can’ concept, delivering single whiskey serves. “Those have been incredibly popular for us,” Liam says. “They’re lightweight and efficient to ship – we can get 30% more product on a pallet versus glass.” A hero product (available in canned format) is the super smooth Double Irish Cream Liqueur. “This is our first year doing it and it’s gone behind all expectations. It’s got a blend of four types of whisky and whey spirit, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process. That helps to stabilise it. Our version contains eight times more whiskey than our competitors. It’s very rich with a butterscotch, toffee taste.” ARMAGH CIDER COMPANY ‘From blossom to bottle’ is the strapline for the Armagh Cider Company, which encompasses an array of award-winning products, including Armagh Cider Company cider, Doyles flavoured ciders, Winter Warmers, Orchard Twist (sparkling apple juice), and Troughtons premium soft drinks, tonics and mixers. Founded in 2006, it’s Northern Ireland’s first commercial cider producer, the fifth generation Troughton family squeezing the best out of their 80 acres of orchard – which grows, amongst other varieties, the PGI Armagh Bramley Apple, used throughout its ranges. “We have something for everyone,” says Esther Paul. “Our Maddens and Carsons ciders are very popular. Cafes love our Orchard Twist drinks and range of lemonades. And our Honeyhill spiced apple, served warm, is a hug in a mug.” Two things taking off for the company right now are the zero per cent cider, and premium tonics, appealing to consumers who are increasingly moderating their alcohol intake. “The quinine levels in our tonics are lower,” Esther says. “They’ve been designed so they can be enjoyed as a standalone drink. They’re so refreshing.” PARTNER CONTENT acres is used to grow crops that feed into an anaerobic digestor. We built the facility two years ago. It’s accredited to BRC AA standards, and it’s given us a massive increase in capacity and capability.” Key to Clandeboye’s success is its array of Greek-style yoghurts. “We’ve seen an explosion of interest in those, particularly as people are looking for healthier breakfast options,” Patrick continues. “It’s a very very clean recipe. We don’t add any powders, thickeners or stabilisers. It’s just whole milk and cultures. We’ve been using the traditional Greek technique of straining for over an hour. The whey runs off and gives us that thicker, richer texture which is a real USP for us.” Plain and Madagascan Vanilla remain the hero flavours, with Honey also performing well. New launches are snacking pots – Apple & Cinnamon Crumble, and Raspberry & White Chocolate. “They’re really indulgent for that after dinner occasion, or as an alternative to a chocolate bar or cereal bar at lunch time.” LECALE HARVEST Award-winning Lecale Harvest’s Gallic-inspired range ticks a lot of boxes. The products (including pates, tapenades, hummus and confits) are all ambient, contain nothing artificial, and are crafted using Irish ingredients. It’s a family affair at the helm, led by French founder Patrice Bonnargent, his wife and daughter. Every pack, jar and pot is a love letter to Patrice’s childhood, bringing a modern feel to classics such as chicken liver pate, duck liver pate, and confit duck. “We use traditional methods,” says Patrice’s daughter Perrine. “The confits are very popular. They’re salted overnight with herbs and garlic, before being slowly cooked and packaged. You can heat them at home in 15 minutes. Each pack serves two and we think they make a nice easy option for Sunday lunch!” the opportunity to meet buyers from across Ireland, GB, South and North America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Northern Ireland’s food and drink industry is one of its crowning glories, worth approximately £8 billion annually, and employing an incredible 24,000 people. It has, says Invest NI interim director, Grainne Moody, grown at a pace recently as demand for produce from the country, in both local and global markets, increases. One of the most noticeable sectors of interest on the world stage is alcoholic beverages. “If we go back to the 1980s, we really only had two distilleries in Northern Ireland,” Grainne explains. “Over the last decade that’s grown. We now have around 20 distillers and craft brewers.” Bakery is very important too. “We are obsessed with baked goods,” Grainne smiles. “You will see things here you wouldn’t see anywhere else across the UK or Ireland, like Fifteens.” If you’re coming into the New Year with a vision to explore and discover new products, Northern Ireland is ripe for the picking, Grainne adds, saying GB is the country’s biggest market, with strong, well-trodden trade routes, and distributors in England and Scotland poised to help you import products that will intrigue and delight your customers. The advantages of working with Northern Ireland’s artisans are passion and adaptability, Grainne continues. “There is a real passion for food and drink in Northern Ireland. I feel like we’ve hidden it under a bushel for so many years – now’s the time we need to shout about it. Also, I think that our businesses are very good at pivoting and working with buyers to deliver what they want. So they can be adaptive and try to produce something that’s slightly different. We’re good at developing relationships which I think is really important.” of nearly two million, with the capability to feed 10 million, they’ve been actively extending the invitation to mainland GB, Europe – the world – to sample, and enjoy what they have to offer for many years. A demonstration of this, and a highlight of the calendar, is Invest NI’s Showcase, held in 2024 at Clandeboye Lodge Hotel in Bangor. At the event more than 100 of Northern Ireland’s most revered food and drink businesses had S omething that binds the people of Northern Ireland is generosity. The people radiate an openness and warmth which trickles through into every part of daily life – but is especially felt throughout its food and drink industry. Northern Irish folk are rightly passionate about their long heritage of growing, making, churning, brewing and distilling, and burst with the enthusiasm to share their bounty. As a population WHAT IS INVEST NI? Invest NI is the main economic development agency in Northern Ireland, its parent department being the Department for the Economy. The organisation works withmore than 3,500 businesses, with a focus around exporting outside of Northern Ireland, and helping to drive growth through investment in equipment, people, training, energy efficiency, and sustainability initiatives.