Hospitality review february 2014

review NI

FEBRUARY 2014

The VOICE of Northern Ireland's catering, licensing and tourism industry

drinks trade

14-18 World of Wines: Food matching and by-the-glass sales offer opportunities for trading up, while trends in the market include new varietals and continued New World growth but also a revival of Old World favourites.

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Café culture: HRNI’s coffee feature includes a profile of forward-thinking chain Ground Espresso Bars, which continues to expand and has enjoyed its best year to date after 12 years in business.

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Hudson hipsters: This month’s Bacardi Brown-Forman profile is The Hudson Bar on Gresham Street, Belfast, an everexpanding venue representing another shining example of regeneration.

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Pubs of Ulster: Great Ulster Pub Week over May 1-9 offers opportunities for venues to showcase everything that makes them great from drinks and food to music and entertainment.

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Lakeland leadership: Northern Ireland’s Lakeland Hotels Association has appointed Terry McCartney of Belmore Court & Motel as its new chairman, to continue working with Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism and the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation to market, promote and represent the region.

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Northern Ireland Hotels Federation: You had to be there; see picture galleries from the Federation’s recent annual trade lunch in the Park Avenue Hotel and day out at Down Royal Racecourse.

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Appetite for authentic experiences: As population trends shift towards an older profile, the Northern Ireland Tourist board identifies baby boomers – and their higher disposable cash resources – as an important target market.

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news From left, Howard Hastings, chairman of NITB, and Paddy McKenna, commercial manager of Diageo Northern Ireland, are pictured at the launch of this year’s Northern Ireland Tourism Awards.

Editor’s t n comme

Finding the middle ground

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mood of optimist tinged with caution continues as 2014 settles in. For every announcement of multi-million investment projects such as the approved Belfast Waterfront extension and proposed new film studios, tales of woe are also forthcoming. Belfast city centre pub White’s Tavern, although likely to thrive again with its owner Beannchor taking over management, lost its landlords who decided enough was enough 12 years after taking on the lease. Recent unrest from the flag protests to bomb scares, on top of the high cost of city centre rent and rates proved too much to take.

And therein lies the contradiction of our local hospitality market. Northern Ireland offers scenic beauty, ‘craic’ and sites of tourist interest; has significantly improved its venue offer from pubs and restaurants to hotels in recent years; and is seeing major investment across the hospitality sector again.

Then you have a pub losing trade as its customers can’t get past rioters or bomb cordons.

Ross Kemp’s Extreme World visit to Northern Ireland, aired on Sky 1 this month, will certainly do no favours to the efforts of our tourism industry to bring more visitors in from GB. One of our wine experts profiled later in the magazine notably characterises the province’s white wine tastes as veering between the very dry and the very sweet. His mission is to introduce more varietals occupying the middle ground.

Perhaps, if successful, he should be the new Richard Haas.

Alyson Magee

February 24 deadline for NI Tourism Award entries

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ntry is now open for the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards, recognising excellence in the tourism industry, to be held at the Ulster Hall on Thursday, May 29.

Organised by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) in association with Diageo NI, the event is regarded as one of the main highlights in the tourism calendar.

NITB is encouraging tourism organisations of all sizes to enter and attempt to win recognition for their hard work and professionalism.

Nine award categories are up for grabs including hotel of the year and event of the year and, this year, NITB has introduced two new categories, ‘best use of social-digital media’ and the ‘innovation award’.

A website, www.nitourismawards.com, has also been set up to provide details on categories and how to enter. The deadline for submitting entries is Monday, February 24.

Howard Hastings, NITB chairman, says the awards play a significant role in recognising best practice in the local tourism industry.

“The past two years have been nothing short of transformational for the industry and in that period tourism professionals have been toiling away to give our visitors the best possible experience of Northern Ireland,” he says. “From world-class customer service in hotels and attractions to the quality of our events and festivals to the excellence of the local produce delivered to our restaurants, much has gone on behind the scenes to enhance our reputation and create excellent visitor experiences.

“This is the work that has helped fuel the strong forward momentum in the industry and this is what the NITB wants to celebrate in 2014. We encourage all kinds of tourism businesses to get involved. Winning could be as simple as telling us how you have evolved to take advantage of the new tourism environment or how you have gone that extra mile to set your business apart from the competition.”

Paddy McKenna, commercial manager of Diageo Northern Ireland, said: “Diageo is proud to work in partnership with a successful tourism industry that continues to grow and we are delighted to get behind the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards for the sixth year in succession.

The awards provide a great opportunity for the hospitality sector to gain recognition for the role they play in ensuring that visitors experience the best of what Northern Ireland has to offer.”

Manager: Nicola Daly Editor: Alyson Magee Art Editor: Helen Wright Production Manager: Stuart Gray Contributor: John Ferris Subscriptions: 028 9078 3200 (Price £27.50 UK, £37.50 outside UK) Accounts: Gerardine Carson Publishers: James and Gladys Greer.

Published by Greer Publications: 5B Edgewater Business Park, Belfast Harbour Estate, Belfast, BT3 9JQ. Tel: 028 9078 3200 Fax: 028 9078 3210.

Contact: alysonmagee@greerpublications.com. Tel: 028 9078 3246 / nicoladaly@greerpublications.com. Tel: 028 9078 3234 The Review is the official publication for: Pubs of Ulster: 91 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1HP. Tel: 028 9032 7578.

Chief Executive: Colin Neill Chairman: Mark Stewart.

The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation: The McCune Building, 1 Shore Road, Belfast, BT15 3PJ. Tel: 028 9077 6635 Chief Executive: Janice Gault President: Mandy Patrick The Institute of Hospitality, NI Branch: 80 Bryansburn Road, Bangor, BT20 3SB. Tel: 07886 594770. www.instituteofhospitalityni.co.uk. Chairperson: Stephen Meldrum.

Design & Production by: Greer Publications Design Printed by: W. & G. Baird Ltd. The opinions expressed in Hospitality Review are not necessarily those of Pubs of Ulster, the NIHF or the Institute of Hospitality.

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Hospitality Review is copyright © Greer Publications 2014 Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/HospitalityReviewNI Look at our Website: www.hospitalityreviewni.com

An artist’s impression of the planned Belfast Waterfront extension.

City Airport leads UK passenger growth

Belfast targets corporate hospitality with £29.5m Waterfront extension

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unding for a £29.5m extension to the Belfast Waterfront was approved late last month, signalling a return to confidence in the hospitality sector.

Construction is set to begin this summer, adding 4,000 square metres of conference, exhibition and banqueting space as Belfast sets its sights on the lucrative corporate hospitality market.

The project is expected to be completed by December 2015, with the extension fully operational by the following summer.

Belfast City Council is investing £11m in the project, as part of its £150m investment programme. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment has, meanwhile, approved £18.5m, of which £14.5m is coming from the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland, administered by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, which is also providing funding of £4m.

The extended building will skirt the River Lagan, and include five new breakout rooms, each catering for up to 200 people.

“This is great news for both tourism and the economy, following on the heels of the newly opened Visit Belfast Welcome Centre,” said Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, Lord Mayor of Belfast. “It will also provide employment opportunities with up to 400 construction jobs created during the building phase and the contract will include social clauses to provide placement opportunities for the unemployed, apprentices, students and trainees.”

Alderman Gavin Robinson, chairman of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, said: “Business tourism is recognised as being a significant growth area for Belfast during the next 10 years and we believe the new facilities will enable the Waterfront to attract 50,000 conference delegates to Belfast every year – twice the current rate.

“It is estimated that the expansion will generate an additional £39m income for the city every year and create around 370 new jobs. We are confident that as a result of the announcement today, we will quickly see the commercial benefits and in the very near future we hope to be in a position to show some early return on this investment in the form of major conferences and events being confirmed as a result of today’s announcement.”

Belfast City Council is to invest £233m in the city over the next three years, including the Waterfront extension and restoration of the old Floral Hall building in the grounds of Belfast Zoo.

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eorge Best Belfast City Airport is laying claim to more air transport movements in 2013 than any other local airport with passenger numbers up by 13%.

The Airport is citing figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which show it handled more air transport movements in 2013 than any other Northern Ireland airport while also outperforming passenger growth at any other major UK airport.

“With just over 2.5 million passengers being transported through the airport and 36,867 flight movements, 2013 was one of the busiest years in our 30-year history,” said Brian Ambrose, chief executive of Belfast City Airport.

“The triumph of the World Police and Fire Games plus the influx of visitors around the G8 and the success of our summer European services culminated in a great year for the airport.

“As Northern Ireland’s sole link with Heathrow and with regular daily services to Gatwick, our London routes witnessed large volumes of passengers throughout the year. 2014 looks set to be as busy and we hope to build on our European network offering flights to European cities not currently served from Belfast.”

In addition to increased passenger growth, air transport movements at the airport in 2013 saw an increase of 2.6% on 2012.

Pub licence lapses highlight the need for vigilance

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ublicans have been reminded to keep a closer eye on the renewal date for their liquor licences after a number of establishments were forced to close last month due to administrative oversights.

Belfast’s historical Crown Bar on Great Victoria Street, owned by the National Trust and operated by the Birmingham-based Mitchells and Butlers group, was among venues having to shut their doors for a short period following the lapse.

The Crown’s licence was due for renewal in September 2012 but the oversight was not detected until January 2014.

Three other Belfast pubs failed to renew their licences, and were subsequently shut for a short period last month, including The Great Eastern on the Newtownards Road, Cock & Hen on Lord Street and the Royal Bar on Sandy Row. The pubs all had to undergo a new licence application hearing before reopening.

Under local laws, liquor licences have required renewal every five years since 1996.

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Think pink and make the most of the Giro

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ourism officials are hopeful the Giro d’Italia will bring legions of international cyclists to Northern Ireland long after the event has finished.

Further legacy value could be extracted from securing Northern Ireland as a location for the Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia, a non-professional cycling race.

Immediate opportunities are, of course, offered by the forthcoming Giro d’Italia Big Start, which is expected to draw a conservative estimate of 140,000 visitors, while attracting 775 million global TV viewers and generating £2.5m in economic activity Susie McCullough, director of business support and events at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, outlined and £10m in media coverage. It will opportunities associated with Northern Ireland hosting be held over May 9-11, with Day the Giro d’Italia Big Start during a roadshow.

1 featuring a Belfast loop, Day 2 a Causeway Coast Route and Day 3, leaving Armagh for Dublin.

Businesses and communities along the route are encouraged to adopt the event’s pink theme associated with the jersey worn by the winner and the iconic La Gazzetta dello Sport Italian newspaper owned by RCS. And tapping into Italian cuisine, music and imagery is a further way in which the hospitality sector can make the most of the event and attract extra custom, and marketing opportunities.

A mascot, ‘Freddie Forte, has been created for the event and will feature across promotional material, set to include cinema spots, taxi strips and various above- and below-the-line marketing.

Volunteers are also being sought for marshalling and support services, with the hope they will then be trained and ready for other future events.

Martin McCrossan City Tours scores five-star rating

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artin McCrossan City Tours, one of Derry~Londonderry’s most innovative tour guide enterprises, has been accredited as a fivestar experience by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) quality scheme.

Only two other ventures – Titanic Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre – have to date received five stars, the highest rating, under NITB’s Visitor Attraction Quality Grading Scheme.

The rating signifies that an attraction is operating to an ‘outstanding’ level of quality.

In 2013, some 72,000 people took a tour with McCrossan’s thriving operation.

NITB Quality and Standards Manager Caroline Adams is pictured with Martin McCrossan and the five-star plaque for his City Tours.

Film tourism opportunities expand in NI

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orthern Ireland’s burgeoning film industry looks set to move up a gear with a planning application lodged for a £14m expansion of Titanic Quarter facilities including two new film studios and production workshops.

Film tourism was identified as one of the key areas of focus late last year, when Trade Minister Arlene Foster set ambitious targets of boosting tourism’s contribution to Northern Ireland’s GDP. The planning application, if approved, would expand the film studios at Belfast’s Titanic Quarter to over 250,000 square feet.

Much of HBO TV series Game of Thrones is shot in the Titanic Quarter studios, as was Hollywood movie Your Highness starring Natalie Portman and James Franco. Two new studios were added to the site in 2012.

food news

Historical book promotes North West as a culinary tourism destination

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erry~Londonderry chef Emmett McCourt has published a new book, Feast or Famine, looking at the influence of the city’s cuisine worldwide.

The book is the core product of the multifaceted and awardwinning Irish Food Heritage Project, which seeks to drive inward investment in the agrifood industry via food revival and promote the country as a cultural culinary tourism destination.

Published by the local Guildhall Press, the book took five years to research and write, and was recently launched at the City Hotel in Derry with over 300 people gathering to try out some of the ancient local Derry recipes it contains.

It tells the tales of emigrant farmers from Derry and Donegal, who were the first to plant the Americas, bringing the Irish potato, apples trees and recipes later feeding their descendants on both sides in the Civil War. Influence on US cuisine ranges from Scots-Irish bringing their distilling skills to produce whiskeys, bourbons and moonshine across the Southern states to fishermen from Inishowen who settled on the New England coast and helped found some of the finest fishing ports in the New World.

“When it comes to food and drink, the North West of Ireland has a heritage second to none,” says McCourt. “The history of food has always been something which has fascinated me as a chef, but it is the human stories that were unearthed along the way which was something I hadn’t expected.”

The book is available from www.ghpress.com, Amazon, Waterstones and local book shops.

Outdoor catering company Ferncall Catering Specialists is adding a new, mystery dish to the menu it brings to events such as the Balmoral, Dalriada and country shows. “It’s a mouth-watering dish which is used across the world, but it’s not that well-known in the north and south of Ireland,” said Ferncall owner Wayne McCall. “Keep your ears open and your mouths ready for it at events from April.” Ferncall was one of the main caterers at the Opening Ceremony at the World Police and Fire Games last year, and specialises in local fare such as Cloughbane burgers, Linwoods bread, Pinkertons sausages and Kee’s Saddleback pork.

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food news

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster and Dame Mary Peters were among guests at the recent launch of Fermanagh Chef Noel McMeel’s book, Irish Pantry, held in the Europa Hotel. Also there were, from left, Alistair McLaughlin of Bunzl McLaughlin, Victoria Gibley of Running Press and Noel Branagh of Bunzl McLaughlin. Bunzl McLaughlin is a supplier of non-food catering equipment to the hospitality and food industries, with access to over 50,000 products from the world’s leading catering manufacturers.

Flogas offers free foodie event listings

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logas is creating a calendar of food festival and charity food events throughout Ireland to run on its www.flogastronomy.com blog aimed at foodies.

From smaller, local events to bigger festivals, flogastronomy.com is happy to help organisers promote their event, free of charge, to its growing network of visitors.

“We are working with well-known food blogger, Caitriona Redmond of Wholesome Ireland, to promote and support the food and local community throughout Ireland,” said Paul Ruegg, sales and marketing co-ordinator for Flogas NI. “We’re also happy to receive food news, views, and recipes and there’s an opportunity to become a guest blogger as well.”

Details for the calendar or any recipes, cooking tips and culinary-related news local restaurants and chefs would like to share should be sent to Caitriona Redmond on flogastronomy@gmail.com. Guest bloggers are also welcome. Flogas is on Facebook www.facebook.com/flogasireland and Twitter @FlogasIreland.

Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children corporate fundraiser Sorcha Chipperfield is pictured with Deanes at Queen’s head chef Chris Fearon, after diners at Deanes restaurants raised £5,300 in one month by making a small donation while paying their bill as part of the Make a Change Campaign.

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chef profile Sponsored by:

Chef Profile John Ferris interviews Marty Murphy, head chef of Howard Street, Belfast

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ged 20, Marty Murphy walked into a restaurant in Florida to work as a kitchen porter. It was a job he got thanks to a family friend who owned the place but it was that one moment that would go on to shape his career.

On holiday for a “few weeks” turned into six months in the Sunshine State, and cemented his belief the restaurant trade was for him.

“I started as a kitchen porter and I fell in love with the game,” says Marty, who has just recently opened Howard Street in Belfast.

“I went from there to working in a restaurant in Florida called Gypsy Cab and it was a pretty full on setup. I got on the starters, and came back to Belfast and catering college.

“At Brunswick Street, I was working for Michael for about a year and a half and then left there and went to Shu for about a year.”

After leaving Shu, Marty spent two years travelling around Australia, working for some of the country’s top chefs including a stint in ARIA, before coming home to spend six months in James Street South then to Amsterdam to work in a two-star restaurant.

“Obviously Michael Deane was the first big influence in terms of how serious a kitchen can be and a standard. It was all about the standards; there was a great team of chefs working there at the time, all very driven, ambitious guys. Vermeer in Amsterdam was a good idea of how high a standard it can go to and how hard you have to push to reach perfection.

“But fine dining, especially in Belfast, is not really for me. It’s had its day; that’s why in Howard Street, we tried to create a relaxed environment but at

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the same time push really hard for the standard and try and maintain what we set out to do.”

Murphy spent three years at the helm in the Potted Hen after it first opened its doors in the Cathedral Quarter, at a time when there was virtually nothing else there.

“There was 27 Talbot Street, but that was about it. It was a risk and I remember suppliers at the time saying there was nothing down there but my belief is if you produce the right product and it’s consistent, then people will always come. If it’s in a nice environment with good service, people will check you out and that’s how we went with the Potted Hen and it just kept building up and up.”

The move out on his own, with Niall Davis, has been a long time in planning. Having spent 14 months

looking for the right premises, he walked into what used to be the High and Mighty clothing shop and knew immediately he’d found his new restaurant.

“We looked at a few places that we were very close to signing for, but as soon as I walked in the door of this place I knew I wanted it. I fell in love with the features of the place.

“We had looked everywhere - the Cathedral Quarter right down as far as Holywood. When we saw here we just knew – it’s a great location, superb unit, we knew… that’s the restaurant.

It’s a bit deceiving from the outside especially when it was the clothes shop.

It screamed restaurant to me. It’s over 100 years old; we chipped into some of the original features like the floor.”

Finding the right location was only the starting point but the business plan

they created is on track.

“It’s a scary thing; you can look at business plans all you want. We did ours with best and worst case scenarios and everything in between too. You can’t be blind to it… who knows what will happen when you open your doors? You may have a nice restaurant and believe in your food but you could open the door and no one comes.

There’s no guarantee.

“When I fell in love with this industry and when I walked into that kitchen in Florida, there was no doubt in my mind that one day I’d open my own restaurant in Belfast. It’s hard to get it to come around, you have to find a colossal amount of money, you have to find everything you need… the right premises, the right format. It’s a long, long very draining and very stressful process but in the end here it is.”

Café Merlot John Donnelly, co-proprietor, maitre d’ and sommelier at Café Merlot and Restaurant No. 6 in Enniskillen tells HRNI about his venue’s French recipes with an Asian fusion twist served to local business people and cross-border trade.

When did your restaurant open and what inspired you to open it?

Café Merlot opened its doors to the public in October 2003. Both myself and my co-proprietor and head chef, Gerry Russell, had worked and qualified extensively throughout the world, and we were very keen to return to Ireland and establish a family-run business utilising the experience we had garnished abroad.

What is your restaurant space like?

We can cater for 74 people per sitting.

We also have a 50-seater dedicated function facility, Restaurant No. 6, where we hold our regular ‘Wine & Dine’ events.

What feel are you aiming for?

Our lunchtime menu is geared towards business lunches, local employees and cross-border visitors, attracted by Enniskillen’s reputation as a traditional cross-border shopping hub.

What’s on your menu and what is the inspiration behind it?

Our lunchtime and evening á la carte menus feature classic French recipes with an Asian fusion twist, inspired

by Gerry’s 10 years spent working in Australia.

Does your menu change often?

Yes, we change all our menus seasonally to both maximise availability, and showcase local Fermanagh produce.

What else do you do to improve and drive your menu?

We continuously embrace new trends and ideas from the hospitality sector, to improve our current high standards and augment the Café Merlot dining experience.

What is your food sourcing policy?

Where possible, we source only the best local produce from a host of reliable Fermanagh suppliers.

How was trade in 2013?

Trade has been steadfast throughout the year. The resounding success of the second Enniskillen International Beckett festival during the summer provided a welcome mid-summer seasonal boost.

How do you see your restaurant developing in 2014?

We will continue to both maintain and improve our standards whilst concentrating our efforts on attracting new customers to the Café Merlot/ Restaurant No. 6 dining experiences.

Gerry Russell and John Donnelly

Who are your customers?

Our lunchtime menu attracts local shop/ business employees, local business people and their clients, out-of-town shoppers and peak-season tourists.

Our evening menu is geared towards Ardohowen Theatre goers (our pretheatre menu has been a resounding success since its inception) and special family and group occasions, as well as accommodating our regular clientele.

Have you faced any particular challenges to date?

Like all businesses in the hospitality sector, we have had to cope with the fall out from the economic downturn.

By providing a top quality dining experience at a competitive price, we have been able to remain ahead of the competition.

How do you make your restaurant stand out from competitors?

We have to thank the regular repeat business from our loyal client base (local and further afield) that we have built up over our very successful 10 years of business for giving us our competitive edge.

Address: 6 Church Street, Enniskillen Email: cafemerlot6@gmail.com Facebook: https:facebook.com/ pages/Cafe-Merlot

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drinks news

Aussie wine trip competition launched by McGuigan W

WKD launches St Patrick’s promotion

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KD is helping licensees make the most of St Patrick’s Day with a fun promotion offering free ‘Shamrock Head’ hats to on-trade consumers.

The promotion offers a ‘Free Genuine Irish Shamrock Head (Made in China)’ with any two purchases from the full WKD range.

Kits containing rate-of-sale driving posters, pre-promotion posters and a supply of WKD Shamrock Head hats are being distributed to WKD stockists across Northern Ireland in preparation for St Patrick’s Day, which this year falls on a Monday (March 17).

Additional posters feature a range of WKD cocktail recipes created for St Patrick’s Day; WKD 4 Leaf Clover, Paddy Pitcher and Lucky Green.

“WKD is well-known for its musthave promotional headgear and our WKD ‘Shamrock Head’ hats will certainly make wearers stand out in a crowd,” said Debs Carter, marketing director for WKD at SHS Drinks.

“With St Patrick’s Day falling on a Monday, there are opportunities for licensees to start celebrations at the weekend in order to maximise sales uplifts. As the leading RTD in Northern Ireland1, WKD has a strong track record in helping stockists maximise seasonal events, and this year’s St Pat’s activity will create a real buzz amongst consumers and generate incremental sales.”

1 Source: Nielsen NI On Trade Audit RTD category volume (L) & value (£) share, MAT March 2013

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ine lovers are being offered a chance to win a trip to Sydney and the world-famous Hunter Valley wine region as part of a competition run by McGuigan Wines, distributed in Northern Ireland by United Wine Merchants.

The award-winning wine producer has a partnership with celebrity chef, John Torode, who will host an exclusive luncheon at the end of the trip.

Between 27 January and 27 April, McGuigan Wines will give consumers the chance to win five double return flights to Sydney, Australia and Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest winemaking region.

Winners will spend a week experiencing the wonders of Sydney and the Hunter Valley region, exploring picturesque vineyards and visiting the McGuigan cellar door. The trip will end with an exclusive luncheon hosted by John Torode and legendary Australian winemaker, Neil McGuigan.

To enter, customers need to buy a bottle of McGuigan wine and visit a specially designed microsite via: the QR code on the bottle; visiting the competition microsite url: www. mcguiganwinescompetition.com or logging onto the McGuigan website www.mcguiganwines.co.uk.

Australian winemaker Neil McGuigan is pictured, left, with celebrity chef John Torode.

Aside from the main prize, wine lovers will also have the chance to win a six-bottle mixed case of McGuigan wines every day during the promotional period.

Customers can keep an eye out for the promotion in major retailers with POS appearing across Wineflair, Supervalu and Curley’s, as well as independents throughout Northern Ireland. Digital support for the promotion will also be driven through social media platforms to further spread awareness and interaction.

“We’re thrilled to see McGuigan Wines continue its fantastic relationship with John Torode through this exciting consumer promotion,” said Martin McAuley, managing director at United

Wine Merchants. “Both John Torode and Neil McGuigan bring decades of food and wine knowledge to the table, which will ensure consumers experience Australia’s Hunter Valley in all its glory.

“McGuigan Wines is investing heavily in this year’s promotion to ensure good visibility for the brand throughout the period of the promotion and we hope that consumers will be excited by the great prize that is on offer.”

The Hunter Valley is one of the jewels of NSW; only a short two-hour drive from Sydney, it is Australia’s most visited wine region. With a rich history, the Hunter Valley consistently produces an impressive diversity of varieties and styles, including its famous Semillon and Shiraz.

Heineken hosts Ulster Rugby event at The Albany

Pictured at Heineken’s GETINTHEGAME event at The Albany on the Lisburn Road, Belfast, were the Heineken NI team Leza Nulty and Chris Mills with Ulster rugby players Andrew Trimble (left) and Chris Henry (right).

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eineken recently ran a promotion inviting Ulster rugby fans to

compete on social media for the chance to attend the Heineken Cup match at Ravenhill and

meet some of the players afterwards.

Fans first competed in a variety of social media competitions, online quizzes and Twitter Q&As with players Andrew Trimble and Chris Henry, to secure entrance to the event at The Albany.

At the bar, attendees were then given the chance to win one of 25 pairs of tickets to the match that night by playing the Heineken Virtual Kick Game, registering with Heineken GETINTHEGAME online games, entering the best Tweet competition or playing the last tickets in town quiz with TV pundits Bryn Cunningham and Ryan Constable.

The 50 lucky winners were then coached to and from the match that night at Ravenhill while, post match, Andrew Trimble and Chris Henry made an appearance at The Albany to give fans an exclusive lowdown on the game.

drinks news

FASHIONWEEK enters 10th year W est Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK recently launched its spring/summer 2014 schedule at Kris Turnbull’s new designer emporium and luxurious fine dining restaurant Saphyre.

A key event for the city since it first launched in 2005, this year FASHIONWEEK celebrates a remarkable milestone with 2014 marking the beginning of its 10th year.

The landmark event’s spring/summer shows will take place from March 19-23 at various venues in Belfast, and will include catwalk shows showcasing local design talent and high street trends, a theatrical make up show

by Paddy McGurgan and a ‘Charity Shop Challenge’ catwalk show, as well as CRUISE fashion teas at Saphyre and Style Sunday at SHU in aid of Mencap.

Speaking at the colourful and lively launch, Karen Anderson (brand manager of sponsor West Coast Cooler) celebrated the partnership, saying: “FASHIONWEEK has stood the test of time and never disappoints when it comes to providing an exciting and varied schedule of events. I’m looking forward to another busy season of show-stopping catwalk shows and to celebrate, in style, what has been a wonderful collaboration between FASHIONWEEK and West Coast Cooler.”

Director of FASHIONWEEK, Cathy Martin, said: “When I created FASHIONWEEK at my kitchen table in 2004-2005, I could only have dreamed that it would become the much celebrated and anticipated event that it is today, and it’s been a pleasure to watch it – and all those who have been involved, including designers, models and many other creatives – evolve and flourish over the years. I’m looking forward to showcasing the talents of our local designers and new spring/ summer collections from our high street stores and local designer boutiques, but also to ‘giving back’ a little with our Charity Challenge and to let loose some fantastic creativity with Paddy McGurgan’s theatrical make up show. These extras, as well as some new plans for autumn, will help celebrate what has been a remarkable decade for FASHIONWEEK.” The full show schedule is available online at www.belfastfashionweek.com.

Schedule of shows Wednesday, March 19 Goddess and Swift Studio Launch, 5-7pm.

Designers and Designer Boutiques, 8pm, Ulster Museum.

Thursday, March 20 High Street Catwalk Show, 8pm, Ulster Museum.

Friday, March 21 Charity Challenge Catwalk Show & Paddy McGurgan Make Up show, 8pm, Stormont.

Saturday, 22 March CRUISE Fashion Teas, 2pm, Saphyre.

Sunday, 23 March Style Sunday, 2pm, SHU, Belfast.

United Wine adds Santa Rita wines to portfolio

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Martin McAuley, managing director of United Wine Merchants, is pictured (left) with Terry Pennington, commercial director of Santa Rita Europe.

nited Wine Merchants has secured a new deal to exclusively distribute the award-winning Santa Rita range of South American wines in Northern Ireland.

The Santa Rita deal follows the success of sister brand Doña Paula, which United Wine Merchants has distributed in Northern Ireland since 2012.

“Santa Rita is one of South America’s leading wines and we’re delighted that Santa Rita Europe Ltd (SREL) has chosen United Wine Merchants to distribute the product in Northern Ireland,” said Martin McAuley, managing director of United Wine Merchants. “Santa Rita joins Doña Paula in a rich brand portfolio at United Wine Merchants and we’re looking forward to working with the team at Santa Rita on another leading wine.”

Terry Pennington, commercial director of SREL, said: “Santa Rita enjoys a leading position from Chile in both the on- and off-trade sectors in Northern Ireland and we feel that our partnership with United Wine Merchants will further increase sales of the wine.

“We’re confident that our partnership with United Wine Merchants will allow our established customers and new customers alike to gain access to Santa Rita in a way which no other distributor in the market can offer.”

Santa Rita is one of Chile’s oldest wine producers, and was founded in 1880

by Domingo Fernandez Concha. It boasts an Irish link, in the legend that Irish descendant General Bernardo O’Higgins and 120 of his men took refuge in the estate cellars after defeat at the battle of Rancagua in 1814 but then went on to gain liberation for Chile.

Viña Santa Rita was acquired by the Claro group in 1980 and includes the Santa Rita 120, Reserva, Medalla Real, Pehuen, Triple C and Casa Real brands.

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wine feature

Using the right glass, by the glass Denis Broderick, the only Member of the Association of Wine Educators in Northern Ireland and among only two on the island of Ireland, tells Alyson Magee about trends in the local wine market and his work in food and wine development at Woodford Bourne Wines.

I

t’s all in the glass, says wine expert Denis Broderick, with the type used greatly influencing the wine drinking experience while offering more wines by-the-glass will encourage customers to experiment and hopefully spend more.

“The right wine demands the right glass,” says Denis. “Some establishments need to revisit their glassware. With glasses, ‘functional’ and ‘practical’ criteria should not be allowed to win over in the pleasure stakes.”

During a recent wine study programme and exam Denis was undertaking in Dublin, he attended a tasting in the Shelbourne Hotel using glasses made by Riedel, which produces 60 million a year.

“The effect of the various shapes of glass on the range of wines tasted was simply dramatic,” says Denis.

“Even the perception of the very water changed and it is all about perception as, with the water and the wine, you are not improving the quality.”

Staff training is also vital to elevate the experience. While staff can’t influence the quality of wine in a bottle, they can help determine how it is perceived by the customer when served, says Denis.

Knowledge of wine regions, grapes and style is important but even more essential are the skills necessary to serve the wine from storing wine at the correct temperature and using a decent corkscrew, to pouring in the right order to the right fill level and topping up as appropriate.

“The style of service will, obviously, vary with the type of dining environment from the very formal to the casual,” says Denis. “But the basics are all very important if the customer is to have that desirable wine experience.”

Luring customers outside of their comfort zone Food and wine matching offers great potential for restaurants to expand their wine range and returns, and offer customers something different.

“Many chefs are now showing more interest in the wine element,” says

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Denis, by adding – for example – wine recommendations to the side of their food menus. “Customers, and the sometimes-untrained staff charged with serving wine, love the guidance and the suggestion to try something different.”

A special wine dinner can be a real draw for foodies. “A fixed menu with, possibly, many courses and pre-determined wines to match is a dream experience,” he says. “Food and wines are tasted under ideal conditions, with each complementing the other.”

People enjoy moving outside of their usual, unadventurous choices of food and wine, says Denis, and can also be encouraged to do so during more casual dining experiences if a greater range of wine is on offer by-the-glass.

“If different dishes across a range of courses have been decided, it’s asking a lot to find a ‘one bottle to suit all’ solution,” says Denis. “Now it is great to see establishments offering a range of six, eight or possibly a dozen wines by-the-glass.”

Such a range should straddle various price points and glass sizes and offer options accommodating the dishes on offer from an aperitif wine including a ‘bubbly’ to a post-meal port.

“From the customers’ viewpoint, what could be better,” says Denis. “And it’s also good for the establishment; giving greater flexibility, the opportunity to promote ‘higher end’ wines, and increased contributions.”

Customers get to try more expensive wines without the risk factor associated with paying for the whole bottle. However: “If lucky, the experience will prove that the wine was well worth the money, with future bottle purchases confirming, once again, that life is too short to drink cheap wine,” says Denis.

While some ‘gulping’ wines are easy to drink by themselves, other wines “demand food if they are to be experienced at their best,” he says, “and customers should be guided accordingly.”

Converting more diners to dessert

wine feature wines is a particular mission for Denis, who says: “Getting more and more wine consumers to embark on that road to experiencing a palatal orgasm, from one of the many forms of dessert wines, may be a long one but I am more than happy to show the way.”

NI wine market remains price-focused “The wine market in Northern Ireland is very price-conscious,” says Denis.

“Generally, hotels and restaurants have been looking more and more at price, and restricting what they sell at the higher-price end.”

WFB has adjusted its portfolio accordingly, adding more budgetpriced wines. “Some hotels and restaurants have even removed relatively higher priced wines from their lists so as not to frighten customers,” says Denis. “For many typical brasserie-type operations, £25 would now be the maximum cut-off ceiling.”

Restaurants are more likely to see better overall wine sales if they aren’t too greedy in terms of mark up.

“Better to sell two enjoyable bottles to a table, rather than the one that leaves an expensive bitter taste with the paying customer,” says Denis, with the shift in volume wine sales towards off-licenses highlighting “the fact that customers feel ‘value’ influences ‘taste’. As we know, ‘value’ is very subjective but it does drive decisions.”

With the cost involved in buying, storing and serving a bottle of wine broadly similar whatever its price point, Denis says the hospitality sector should take advantage of the credit terms offered by wine suppliers. “Worked well, in most cases the money is in the till before the statement has arrived for payment,” he says.

Introducing a fixed mark up per bottle within cost price bands is more likely to please customers and encourage uptake of a second bottle “than be dreaming about that desired 70%+ GP whilst the dust gathers on the unsold bottles.”

Old World wines enjoying a revival The Northern Irish wine market is generally most reflective of sales in the Republic of Ireland, says Denis, with the most popular suppliers Australia (25%), Chile (20%) and France (15%). He has, however, observed a recent revival of interest in Old World wines during tastings and talks to wine societies and clubs.

Quality rather than bulk brands are seeing growth. “Many get comfort and reassurance when seeing an ‘old friend’ appear on the wine list,” says Denis. “The dilemma is in being torn between that desire to be adventurous, with an element of playing Russian Roulette with your wine choice, or going for recognised quality – at whatever level. Many prefer to be sure, rather than sorry.”

Among popular quality brands in

Woodford Bourne’s portfolio are Old World choices Chapoutier, “the most admired French Wine Brand in the World,” and Torres, another family business offering a range of price points and styles from various regions in Spain, together with vineyards in Chile and California. It also supplies Marques de Riscal, one of Spain’s oldest Rioja producers and ‘2013 European Winery of the Year’.

New World wines, however, continue to be in high demand with brands offered by Woodford Bourne including the Australian Penfolds range, third in Drinks International World’s Most Admired Wine Brands and “topped with the iconic Penfolds Grange,” says Denis.

“Also recognised, in the 2012 International Wine & Spirit Competition as the ‘NZ Wine Producer of the Year’ was Matua, the company that brought us the first Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand – and that, for the wine anoraks, was ‘only’ as far back as 1974,” he says. “Now that is ‘very new’ New World, and yet it seems as though Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has always been with us.”

Looking at all white wines, New World Sauvignon Blanc is a popular choice alongside un-oaked Chardonnay and, for ladies, Pinot Grigio and ‘Blush’.

“But also working their way on to the more enlightened lists are beautiful Albarinos and Verdejos from Spain,” says Denis. “Torres will soon be launching their version of the former and our Marques de Riscal Rueda is a stunning version of the latter. They are great wines for food matching.”

Aromatic varieties, such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer are less wellknown but a good choice for wine dinners, while “also being talked about is Austria’s signature grape, Geuner Veltliner, or the GruVee as trendy Californians like to call it.”

Turning to reds, Denis highlights New World Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz as in vogue with Northern Irish consumers, with Malbec from Argentina finding favour with meat eaters.

“Tempranillo from Spain, and Rioja in particular under its many aliases and price points, may not pack the same weight but usually offers great interest and complexity,” he says.

Champagne appears to be making a comeback, says Denis “but during its recent slumber Prosecco increased its foothold.”

“Well done to the Italians who changed the name of Prosecco, the then-grape, to Glera, and established the Prosecco name as a protected geographical region,” he says.

“That cut short the attempt of other countries to capitalise on the growing demand for those enjoyable, but less expensive, bubbles.”

The wine journey is never-ending, says Denis, who is taking great comfort in the message that wine really is good for us from the book he is currently reading, The Good News about Alcohol by Tony Edwards.

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wine feature

Drinks Inc gets serious about wine

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rinks Inc is getting serious about wine. Already wellknown in the Northern Ireland licensed trade as a traditional wholesaler, a key focus for Drinks Inc in 2014 is the development of their wine business. The company’s comprehensive portfolio of over 1,000 products covers the spirits, wines, beers and soft drinks categories. It includes many specialist products and a growing number of brands for which Drinks Inc is the exclusive agent or distributor, with wine brands from premium producers like Treasury Wine Estates and wineries such as Vina Maipo, Vina Maycas, Vina Palo Alto and the UK’s No 1 brand Isla Negra.

Drinks Inc sources a wide range of premium brands to deliver a unique customer experience, including market leading and speciality/bespoke brands, with a commitment to monitor

all the latest trends and offerings to ensure its product offering stays ahead of the game. The company endeavours to continue to source award-winning wines by country and grape variety and consistently aims to ensure it gets the best quality from its entry level range through to the fine and rare selections. While only getting into the grapes less than four years ago, the Belfast-based drinks company has rapidly acquired a sizable portfolio of leading wine brands and is making a splash with its focus on innovation, flexibility and education.

One such brand is the popular Chocolate Box range. Established in 1999, Franc Rocha and family converted a former cow paddock into a state-of-the-art winery, to be known as Rocland Estate. The easy going nature, inherited from the Rocca family’s European back ground, together with an experienced wine-making team, combines to produce food friendly, approachable wines from Rocland’s vineyards and surrounding contracted vineyards.

One of the smaller producers in the Barossa Valley, Rocland Estate prides itself on producing good quality, uniquely labelled wines. The Barossa Winery is one of the flagships in the export market over the last year and is collecting many prestigious awards in international competitions. In the James Halliday 2012 wine companion, Rocland Estate was the only South Australian winery to be awarded a Top 10 placing in ‘The best of the best’ Dark horse wineries of 2012. As well as the flagship Chocolate Box range, 2013 saw Drinks Inc add the Rocland Estate, Duck Duck Goose and Ass Kisser ranges from the producer to their offering.

New to the popular Chocolate Box portfolio in 2013 was the chocolate

‘Zest’. This Sauvignon Blanc Semillon was created for the range as part of a demand for the Gleneagles Hotel.

The brief given to the winemaker was to create a fresh, clean wine with all the high points of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but without the gripping acidity. This lively, slightly softer style, has been a great success

“Operating across the whole of Northern Ireland, the Drinks Inc direct sales team of seven reps plus a wine specialist has strong customer relationships across all trade channels and has many years of collective experience gained with other world class drinks companies like Diageo, Inbev and Anheuser Busch. The team is equipped with the latest handheld mobile technology to further enhance customer service levels. Drinks Inc is delighted to have been dealing with many new customers in the past year and will continue to focus on their service, product range and value offering to ensure they retain and grow our customer base in 2014.” with Drinks Inc customers so far.

Last year, Treasury Wine Estates, the largest listed wine company in the world, appointed Drinks Inc to distribute its Rosemount Estate brand.

Treasury appointed Drinks Inc after an extensive tender process involving drinks distributors in Northern Ireland

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and RoI. Rosemount Estate is a leader in the Australian wine industry and a brand loved the world over. Rosemount’s brand home is McLaren Vale, South Australia and is exported to over 50 countries internationally. Led by chief wine maker Matt Koch, Rosemount crafts a fruit driven wine style

delivering consistent quality throughout the portfolio from the Blends tier to the Flagship tier. The Rosemount family of wines was developed to make it easier for consumers to clearly identify each range – making it simple for consumers to trade up and down while staying loyal to Rosemount, no matter

wine feature

A sampling of wine brands supplied by Drinks Inc Bonterra Our collection of Californian wines represent the highest quality fruit produced in California, using earth-friendly practices including organic and biodynamic wines from Bonterra. We actively reduce our environmental impact in everything we do, and this is tasted through our wines, which are of exceptional quality and value.

Kate Utting, brand manager for Bonterra

what the occasion. Today Rosemount Estates is the most successful winery in the McLaren Vale, South Australia.

The winery has re-designed and re-positioned itself over the last year and is now gaining some serious international recognition for its efforts.

Commenting on the new distribution agreement, Drinks Inc MD Paul Camplisson said: “We are delighted to have been selected by Treasury Wines Estate, one of the world’s biggest wine companies to distribute as significant a brand as Rosemount Estate, after such a rigorous tender process. This is a clear endorsement of how far Drinks Inc has developed as a wine company.”

Other agency agreements include partnerships with Grupo Codorniu and Carmen.

In addition to Grupo Codorniu brands such as Gran Bach, Leiras, Legaris and Septima, Drinks Inc is the sole distributor of Raimat Codorniu and Bodegas Bilbanas.

With more than 450 years of wine making experience, Grupo Codorniu is the quality champion of Cava. Grupo Codorniu also offers an impressive portfolio of wines from its own estates in Spain’s top wine-making regions, including Bodegas Bilbanas – one of the oldest and largest estates in the top quality district of Rioja Alta – and Raimat – one of Europe’s largest familyowned single estates, with a strong focus on sustainably produced wines.

Founded over 160 years ago, Carmen is the wine producer with the most experience in Chile, and this year will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the re-discovery of Carmenere.

This extensive wine portfolio is complemented by the Drinks Inc sales team and strong distribution network. The company has maintained its founding service offering of no

minimum order quantity, no delivery charge, and no extra charge for split cases.

Operating across the whole of Northern Ireland, the Drinks Inc direct sales team of seven reps plus a wine specialist has strong customer relationships across all trade channels and has many years of collective experience gained with other world class drinks companies like Diageo, Inbev and Anheuser Busch. The team is equipped with the latest handheld mobile technology to further enhance customer service levels. Drinks Inc is delighted to have been dealing with many new customers in the past year and will continue to focus on their service, product range and value offering to ensure they retain and grow our customer base in 2014.

With all the sales team being qualified to a minimum of WSET intermediate level, wine is a key focus for all the reps. A strong support package is available for Drinks Inc wine customers. Drinks Inc will develop high quality bespoke wine lists to suit the needs of customers, help promote outlets and educate consumers. In-outlet staff training and wine tasting is also provided, to assist food and wine matching, build confidence of serving staff and increase customer enjoyment of the wine; therefore driving greater sales for customers.

With all this in place, wine will continue to be a huge focus for the business in 2014 – and is something the Drinks Inc team is excited and passionate about. Camplisson said: “We can offer customers the full supply.

Our offering is about product range, customer service, and quality. We are extremely proud to be representing a unique portfolio of world class brands, and aim to ensure we can meet our customers evolving needs going forward.”

Sauvion The Sauvion estate is a familyowned, quality Loire estate, now in its fourth generation. Pierre Jean Sauvion, the winemaker, calls himself the ‘pleasure craftsman’.

The wines are crafted to specifically adapt for the purposes of matching with food, and in particular seafood. The speciality of the estate is Muscodet sur lie including the world-renowned Château du Cléry but they also produce Sancerre and Pouilly Fume and classic rosés from the Loire.

David Orr, Ireland country manager for Les Grands Chais de France

Codorníu We offer the heritage of making wine since 1551, and familyowned speciality production. We work hard for quality, and supply different styles of cava to meet ever changing consumer demands while sticking to the tradition of speciality wine making. We are also offering, from our small wineries in North Spain, Rioja, Raimat and Ribera del Duero.

Scott Edge, key account manager Ireland for Codorníu

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coffee feature

Shaping the day-to-day activities of a generation Every cup of coffee should bear testament to many centuries of development in terms of cultivation, production, brewing methodology and preparation skill, says Philip Mills of Johnson Brothers.

Johnson Brothers Group Sales Director Philip Mills

M

ilan to Belfast is 1,256 miles; a distance that could be driven in two days at most, including ferries and breaks. Yet, a method of coffee brewing known as ‘espresso’, first conceived in 1903, took much longer to travel the relatively sort distance

from the Mediterranean to the British Isles because this was not just a matter of pan-European border crossing but a change in culture which would require almost 90 years to overcome.

While initial attempts were a poor facsimile (at best a filter coffee base topped with a dry aerated milk foam, often scalded to boiling point), the mid 90s brought the full transition within the industry to the authentic cup.

However, the influence was not only from the espresso motherland of Italy but also from the Western seaboard of the USA, where the menu of espressobased drinks had been accepted and exploited a decade before. And so, the best-of-Italian espresso tradition merged with the fine velvet milk texturing method from cities such as Seattle, and thus the building bricks for a plethora of coffees was in place. Now, after almost a century’s wait, the espresso,

machiatto, cappuccino, caffe latte and mocha are not merely the norm, they are the minimum expected by consumers when visiting food outlets of every type.

While the growth has accelerated exponentially in recent years, it has brought new challenges to those of us in the coffee roasting industry.

Sourcing origin coffees which produce a balance of sweetness, acidity, body and flavour when brewed under the intense pressure employed by espresso extraction is only part, if a fundamental part, of our task. It is now the inherited responsibility of the roaster to supply equipment, machine maintenance, staff training and marketing support, because we work within an industry which is not just about the beans; an ongoing and unending challenge but one that is rewarding beyond compare. An agricultural product, painstakingly selected and freshly

roasted and affected by mechanical and operational inputs, all culminating in a taste explosion that forms the basis of not only sensory enjoyment but the platform for a dynamic modern social lifestyle. Working in this industry could be regarded as shaping the day-to-day activities of a generation.

So, next time you order an espresso, expect the barista to grind the beans to order, dose and tamp perfectly and brew the 1fl oz shot in around 23 seconds, ensuring a balanced extraction of sugars, caramelised oils, lipids, and acids - served with a dark golden crema cap. Great coffee should never be just brown and hot; every cup should bear testament to many centuries of development in terms of cultivation, production, brewing methodology and preparation skill.

Consumption should be deliberate, never rushed and at all times respectful… but most of all, enjoyed.

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coffee feature

Beans, baristas and big ideas Ground Espresso Bars co-owner Karen Gardiner talks to Alyson Magee.

An innovative staff training programme has been developed with world class barista standards in mind.

The chain uses Electra Barlume coffee machines.

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ooking ahead for innovation rather than over its shoulder at competitors is proving successful for Ground Espresso Bars, which has enjoyed its best year to date after 12 years in the business.

“The sector is buoyant and we predict growth over the next 12 months,” says Karen Gardiner, who co-owns the chain with her husband Darren.

The first site was opened in Coleraine, and remains the headquarters for the expanding empire. “We had travelled extensively and felt that the North Coast was ready for a specialist coffee house,” she says.

Since then, the chain has expanded to 11 locations with shops in Portrush, Bushmills, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Cookstown and Belfast, as well as concessions in Waterstones on Fountain Street, Next in Donegall Place and the new flagship Next at Sprucefield.

Ground Espresso Bars employs 120 staff across NI, including a dedicated and professional head office team.

Key to running a good coffee shop is “first and foremost, understanding just how demanding and hard a sector it is to be successful in,” says Karen.

“We also place a lot of importance on having the right staff and training them properly. ‘Attention to detail’ is probably the one phrase that our managers here use most often.”

The business prides itself on its innovative programme of training for baristas “with a bean-grading system that sees them progress from novice to WBC (World Barista Championship)

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standard baristas,” says Karen. “To attain the coveted golden bean, you need to be a world-class barista.

“We have a dedicated team, training the staff and assessing their performance every month. We also conduct coffee audits on all stores that cover everything from grinder settings to machine maintenance.”

The coffee used across the chain is a bespoke blend created with Matthew Algie, selected as coffee partner because “the motivating factors for us were consistency, reliability, back up and support,” says Karen.

Matthew Algie also helped the business to source the Electra Barlume as its coffee machine of choice, with its pleasing retro look and high performance levels. “An important part of that is the back up, maintenance and support,” says Karen. “Theirs is second to none.”

Trends in coffee drinks Specific coffee drinks enjoying greatest popularity at Ground Espresso Bars range from more modern choices to the revival of an old stalwart.

“The flat white has become one of our most popular drinks,” says Karen.

“We are developing our slow brewed coffees on our brew bar. These coffees are the best available from the finest roasters around the world.

“We have coffee this week from the incredibly talented Hasbean; last month, it was Square Mile from London. We’ve also been the only company in the UK to feature coffees from Handsome in LA.” Another coffee drink enjoying revived interest may surprise, however:

“Really good, properly prepared filter coffee is emerging as the new coffee of choice,” says Karen.

And in terms of general trends, there has been “a move away from massive cups of milky drinks to smaller well-made drinks using the finest seasonal coffees from around the world,” she Ground Espresso Bars recently opened a new says. concession in the new flagship Next at Sprucefield.

The business is not too bothered about in Ireland in our Sprucefield store. This keeping track of prices charged in lets you sit at our bench and wirelessly competitive establishments. charge your phone or tablet. It’s pretty “We charge what we think is a fair cool.” price that enables us to achieve the And what plans does the business margins we need to make the business have for 2014? “Exciting ones,” says successful,” says Karen. “We generally Karen. “We are working on some don’t worry about what other people fantastic projects that we never thought charge.” we would have an opportunity to be Innovative services offered in bars Ground Espresso Bars offers, in addition to its coffees, a range of other drinks, sandwiches, deli produce, cakes and pastries.

And the business goes out of its way to offer its customers bonus services such as activity areas for children.

“All our stores are child friendly, and we welcome feeding mothers,” says Karen. “All stores have free wifi, most stores have somewhere you can plug your laptop in and we honestly don’t mind if a customer sits there all day working on his laptop.

“We have the first Chargifi station

involved in. We will also be making an announcement soon about some new sites that we are opening.”

Facebook chatter suggests one of the new sites may be in Carrickfergus.

“We just try and do what we do really well,” says Karen. “We strive to be the best we can be in the sector. We sometimes fail and we sometimes get it right but the pride and passion we have for our brand, our staff and our customers is probably what we think separates us from our competitors.

“Lots of local operators spend more time checking out and copying what everyone else is doing. We try to be creative and progressive in our approach to the business.”

Frog Stool

Sean Martin

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Some places in London are now offering a dessert themed cocktail menu. Key items such as Blueberry Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Pie and Tiramisu. Bunzl McLaughlin offer a large range of glasses that suit these type of drinks, such as the Hurricane or the Lagoon glasses

Hurricane Glass

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pub news

Timely trip to Brussels for Cookstown venue

T Pictured toasting their Belgian odyssey with Seamus Donaghy from Tennent’s NI are Time’s bar staff (back from left) Tanya Dunseath and Sarah Barry, and (front) Bridgeen Campbell and Natalie Hughes.

ime nightclub and bar in Cookstown has won an allexpenses-paid trip to Brussels after demonstrating superior knowledge of Heverlee Belgian Lager in a competition run by supplier Tennents NI. “The story of Heverlee is certainly worth celebrating,” said Sarah Shimmons, beer marketing manager for Tennent’s NI. “Heverlee has been recreated using ingredients and techniques from hundreds of years ago, redeveloped following research at Belgium’s largest abbey by Joris Brams, a Leuven-brewer born.”

Sarah Barry, bar manager at Time, said: “Winning was a great surprise and a fantastic reward, as well as recognition for Time’s policy of really getting to know its products so that we can give our customers the best possible experience. Beers are just as complex and interesting as wines and, as Heverlee demonstrates, it’s worthwhile getting to know what lies behind that amber nectar.”

The competition was open to bar staff across Northern Ireland.

Rising costs, social unrest blamed for landlord exit

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hite’s Tavern was due to close for a 10-day refurbishment this month after Bill Wolsey resumed management of the Belfast city centre pub.

Stephen and Kris Nixon, a uncle and nephew team, threw in their hats last month after a decade

as landlords of the historic pub, citing a negative impact on trade from the flag protests, a fire and bomb scares.

Competition from cheap alcohol in supermarkets, alongside the unsustainable costs of rates and rent were said to be further factors.

The pub is owned by the Beannchor group, which has taken over its management from the Nixons and announced plans to reopen the venue after minor renovations around mid-February.

The Nixons will continue to run The Point in east Belfast.

New ownership for Ryan’s Bar in Belfast

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well-known couple in the local hospitality scene, Gavin and Sarah Bates, have taken over Ryan’s Bar & Restaurant on the Lisburn Road, Belfast.

The husband and wife team boast 20 years of hospitality experience at venues such as the Dirty Duck, Kelly’s Portrush and Botanic Inns.

The new management is keeping Ryan’s Bar traditions such as its two courses for £10 meal offer, cult theme nights and quizzes. General Manager Gerrie Anderson and Head Chef Gerard Campbell have also stayed.

“We’d been looking for a bar and restaurant for nearly 10 years and Ryan’s appeared at a great time,” said Gavin Bates. “We know it well and it has been a consistently great business for many years so we jumped at the chance to take it on.

People keep asking is it a good time to take on

a bar and restaurant, and I’m very positive and feel it is the perfect time.

The Lisburn Road is thriving with investment in businesses and has a real buzz about it.

“We’ve been lucky to inherit a great business and team of staff. Gerrie has been running a superb business with some brilliant concepts of themes and nights, like turning the bar into Harry Potter’s Leaky Cauldron and the epic Game of Thrones banquet nights for Restaurant Week.

The historic establishment was once named the Four in Hand due to its proximity of the coach reigns hand over into Belfast, and was reinvented in the late 20th century by Botanic Inns.

Ryan’s Bar & Restaurant on the Lisburn Road, Belfast

Bar manageress at the Derg Arms, Olga Walls, is pictured with her father Sammy Walls, proprietor, at the launch of the Derg Arms Rugby Zone. The Castlederg establishment has been named an official Ulster Rugby Zone, enabling it to offer discounted tickets to all Ulster games for participants signing up for free membership. Drink promotions will also be run during all home and away games, with members offered 10% off all food ordered during live matches. “We have noticed an increase in the number of people following rugby over the past few months, since the start of the Pro 12 in September last year,” said Sammy Walls. “Being in the bar trade as long as I have been, you know that it is important to look after your customers and give something back to everyone who supports us. Becoming an official Ulster Ruby Zone is one way we can do that.”

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Bacardi Brown-Forman bar profile

The Hudson Bar, Belfast Gresham Street is reclaiming its old reputation for good times, thanks to the constantly evolving ‘imbibing emporium’ The Hudson, promising whiskeys, ales and disco says Director Michael Stewart.

What is on offer at The Hudson?

The Hudson is all things to all people.

It was formerly a gay bar called DuBarry’s, and there is absolutely no American connection to our name. Historically Gresham Street was known as Hudson’s Entry or Hudson’s Lane and it was a thriving place back then, where 400 people lived and there were 40 bars. We opened in September 2011, and have redeveloped the whole site, expanded, pushed out the three floors and extended out into the whole Haymarket Arcade and called it Hudson’s Yard.

We took over the old shoemakers in the Arcade – renamed it The Heel Bar – and now have a venue which can cater for 600 people.

Because it was Smithfield, we had to really make a point of difference in what we did and what our offer was.

We went in with a market strategy, a point-of-difference with our strap line, ‘imbibing emporium’. Our craft beer selection, especially on draft, is

considered by many to be the best in Belfast. Our own beer, The Hudson, is brewed in Scotland. We have 16 draft beers and ciders from Heineken to Dead Pony Club. On top of that, we have 40 craft-type bottled beers from all over the world.

We major in whiskies, especially Irish whiskies. Two of our directors, Michael Morris and Peter Lavery, are the mainstays in the distillery at Crumlin Road Prison. We have a Whiskey Club and a Beer Club that meet monthly, with tutored sessions.

On top of that, we have a good entertainment scene with traditional music on Wednesday nights, open mike nights, DJs at the weekend and lots of private parties. Hudson’s Yard was used for the launch of Culture Night, and film companies have also used the bar.

We have very good food trade with simple, good, home-cooked food in the bar and, in Hudson’s Yard, we have Cucina Povera open for breakfast, lunch and evenings; until 2am on the weekend.

forums on social media are very strong.

Best sellers: Our craft beer because it’s unique, and we are particularly proud of our own brand, The Hudson. If customers ask about a beer, we let them sample it.

Our customers asked about Brooklyn Beer, which you have to import directly from New York so we did, and people are very happy to pay over £5 a pint for it. We change three of the craft beers on draft every month.

We are very strong on our bourbons with Jack Daniels, which did a master class in The Heel Bar for our Whiskey Club members. It was very well received. We’re developing the whole cocktail range, especially through our new venture, the Whiskey Loft. We started off 100% biased towards Irish whiskey but we have now expanded that according to demand with whiskey from India, Sweden, Korea, France and Wales but our pouring Scotch is Johnny Walker Red Label, an iconic brand. We’ve expanded our gin, rum

and vodka offer by having premium versions on offer. Eristoff is our vodka of choice.

How important is training in the hospitality sector?

Training is critical and must be ongoing. The Hudson has new beer and wine lists, and our partners come in to tutor staff so they’re knowledgeable about that. It’s nice if they can talk from an informed viewpoint.

I am also The Bar Czar, offering hospitality solutions, and Heineken’s draft master for Northern Ireland training all staff on the star serve. The Hudson won Best Star Serve 2013.

At the Pubs of the Year Awards 2013, The Hudson won Best New/Improved, and was a finalist in Best Marketing Initiative, Best Charity Initiative (with HRNI) and Best Barperson.

Describe The Hudson in three words: Whiskeys, ales and disco; we love it so much, it’s on our window.

My role: There are four directors in the company, and we all have our part to play. Myself and Jonny Douglas, we would be operators as well as directors and it ranges from working a shift to strategising for the year ahead. I was responsible, with other people, for the décor in The Hudson and Heel Bar. We’re currently rethinking the top floor, which will become the Whiskey Loft for private parties, cocktails and food.

The Hudson is very organic; it’s always evolving and our focus is to maximise what we have in the space we’re in and stay ahead of the market trends.

We have a very active Facebook, with over 8,000 likes, and our customer

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Power NI

Raise a glass to Power NI’s winning Lashings of customer service, heaps of great combination value and a big dollop of local know-how.

W ant an energy company that wants the best for your business? Enter Power NI. With over 80 years’ experience, they know a thing or two about local business. Perhaps that’s why they’re Northern Ireland’s number one energy company with over 35,000 business customers and hundreds more switching back.

Where customers come first The company prides itself in its customer service. With a dedicated Business Support team, super friendly staff in Antrim, Belfast and Omagh contact centres are waiting to take your call. You won’t be left hanging on the line and you won’t be passed from pillar to post. You simply call, and usually within 20 seconds, they answer!

Meet Alan A big figure in the business team is Alan Egner, Power NI’s Commercial Sales & Marketing Manager, “2013 was a fantastic year for us with 12 months of continuous growth and over 1,000 new business customers on our books. With easing of regulation for larger users we can now offer personalised, tailored contracts.

This led to us winning several major tenders to supply local government, manufacturing and retail premises. We hope to see this success continue in 2014.”

Open and honest Power NI is the only energy company to openly publish its business tariffs online so you can clearly see how much you’re paying - fairly and squarely.

“Power NI are a lot more competitive than people think and we had an easy and hassle-free signing up process compared to other suppliers. We found them very friendly and a lot fairer to new businesses. We would definitely recommend them to others.”

(Euphoria Gym Ltd, Carrickfergus) Big business or homely hub Quaint and cosy or big and bustling, Power NI puts all its energy into serving you. They’re the company that cares. Whether you want energy advice, a more tailored tariff, or you just need things to run like clockwork, it’s good to know that a company like Power NI has your back.

Easy to manage, easy to pay Their handy online service, Energy Online, means it’s never been easier to track the amount of energy you use. It can help you control and even reduce

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“Power NI are a lot more competitive than people think and we had an easy and hassle-free signing up process compared to other suppliers. We found them very friendly and a lot fairer to new businesses. We would definitely recommend them to others.”

Euphoria Gym Ltd, Carrickfergus costs. The site also offers ideas and advice on how you could save even more energy and money.

“Energy Online lets us see exactly how much electricity we are using and it’s easy to compare bills. It makes managing our account much simpler.”

(Alan Dunlop, Managing Director at County Antrim boutique hotel, The Bushmills Inn) “We activated our Energy Online account because it’s a much more convenient way of managing our bills.

It was really easy to set up and we would definitely recommend it to other businesses.” (Creightons of Finaghy) Open all hours When you run your own business, there’s no such thing as nine to five so it makes sense to manage your account online - anytime.

The Green Card Renewable energy is all the rage with savings to be made and carbon footprints to be reduced. Power NI’s energy experts will be more than

happy to talk you through the options available to you.

Switch and save Whether you’re new to Power NI or you’re switching back from another supplier, they’ll have a great value tariff to suit your business. And if you’re a larger establishment, they’ll even tailor a deal just for you.

So restaurateurs and entrepreneurs, hoteliers, proprietors and landlords - whatever your business, Power NI promises to look after your company as if it was their own. Not bad, eh?

“We were tempted away by the promise of a better deal elsewhere.

Boy did we regret it. We missed Power NI’s professionalism and friendly customer care. And in no way did we see the savings we were expecting.

So we’re back. Power NI suits our business - and our budget.” (Peter Martin, Proprietor of Budget Blinds, Cookstown) Love them or leave They’re so confident you’ll love the customer service, the competitive rates and transparent way they do business, they don’t feel the need to lock businesses into a contract. You can take your business elsewhere at any time.

But with a 90% customer satisfaction rate (they’re working on the remainder) you probably won’t want to.

Whether you’re a small start-up business or an established larger user, Power NI can offer you a winning combination of great value and customer service. For more information, call the Power NI business hotline today on 08457 455 455 or visit powerni.co.uk/business.

“We activated our Energy Online account because it’s a much more convenient way of managing our bills.

It was really easy to set up and we would definitely recommend it to other businesses.”

Creightons of Finaghy

We don’t just offer simple, good value business tariffs.

We bring you the very best in customer service from local people who know you, your business and what’s important to you.

You’ll always find a friendly voice on the end of the phone. You’ll always be updated on new innovative products and ways to save energy and money. And you’ll always feel like you’re in safe hands with us: Northern Ireland’s number one energy company.

Join the 35,000 local companies already doing business with us.

Business Hotline

202279 PNI Catering FP-HospReview.indd 1

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q&a

A Day in the Life Joel Neill, support services manager at Pubs of Ulster

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE? Support Services Manager - looking after our province-wide membership in every way possible.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY TO DATE I joined the freshly re-branded Pubs of Ulster straight out of University to tidy up the new website on a temporary basis. I interviewed for a full-time role a few months later, and I’ve been here ever since.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE? Meeting with publicans, securing membership benefits, engaging with licensing forums and police, planning Pub of the Year and regional events, magazine content, website maintenance, PR, marketing, recruitment, PA to the boss... anything and everything.

WHEN DID YOU TAKE UP THIS POST? I joined the organisation in early 2010, and took up my current post in 2012.

BEST/WORST PARTS OF YOUR JOB The best part is the wide network of interesting people you end up working with and for, and the worst part is coming home after a long day to find Colin Neill’s face on TV. Again!

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF A TYPICAL DAY Without dragging out the ‘no two days are the same’ cliche, our organisation exists to read and react to the ever changing needs of the licensed trade. How incredibly varied and sometimes unexpected those needs are, always amazes.

PROUDEST MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE The Backin’ Belfast campaign in early 2013 certainly stands out. What a small team of people achieved for a crisis-hit industry in two (relentless) weeks was staggering.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Unsurprisingly, the people. Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry revolves around its many true characters. Their individual personalities make their premises diverse and special, and that’s unique to here.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO TO UNWIND AWAY FROM WORK? During the winter months, hockey. I’m a huge Belfast Giants fan and season ticket holder. I try to travel to as many away games as possible too. During the summer, live music - from small venues to festivals. Couldn’t live without music.

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE MAY KNOW? I’m about to play my fifth season of full contact American Football with the Carrickfergus Knights. The 19-team Irish American Football League is highly competitive and rapidly expanding here. And yes... it still hurts.

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A BRIEF OUTLINE OF A TYPICAL DAY

“Without dragging out the ‘no two days are the same’ cliche, our organisation exists to read and react to the ever changing needs of the licensed trade.

How incredibly varied and sometimes unexpected those needs are, always amazes.”

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hotel news

NI Lakeland Hotels Association appoints new chairman T erry McCartney of Belmore Court & Motel has been named as the new chairman of the Northern Ireland Lakeland Hotels Association (NILHA).

NILHA is a collection of hotels and accommodation in the South West Area of Northern Ireland, and includes Fermanagh and Tyrone.

The association partners with Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism to market and promote the area. It also helps the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation (NIHF) lobby local government regarding matters involving hotel and tourism; most recently the five Ts – Tourism, Taxation, Targets, Trading and Training.

McCartney has been involved with NILHA since 1995, and was previously treasurer and involved in marketing activities.

He has been on the Board of NIHF for almost 10 years, and is heavily involved with Destination Fermanagh and its sub committees.

“I’m honored to follow both Rodney Watson and my father, the late Raymond McCartney, to be the new chair of the NILHA,” said McCartney. “If we continue to work closely as a tourism community, we can increase the profile of Fermanagh on a national stage. “ Greg Williamson from the Valley Hotel is the new vice chair while Michael Cadden from the Enniskillen Hotel has been named secretary and Nicky Cassidy of the Westville Hotel, treasurer.

The previous chairman, Rodney Watson, held the post for almost 20 years.

New NILHA Chairman Terry McCartney is pictured, centre, with Secretary Michael Cadden, left, and Vice Chair Greg Williamson.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS KICK OFF AT THE FITZWILLIAM HOTEL The Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast recently hosted a motivational evening to encourage healthy lifestyles for 2014.

Brian Magee, boxing champion and founder of Magee Health & Fitness, demonstrated expert techniques for home exercise and Paula Heaney, director of Skinny Malinky’s Real Juices, shared nutritional tips and recipes for home juicing to accompany healthy canapés served from the hotel bar.

The evening ended with inspirational story-telling by local adventurer Hannah Shields, who enthusiastically recounted her experiences of climbing Everest and racing to the North Pole – giving guests a passion to take on new challenges for 2014.

From left, Peter Cardwell, Fiona Heaney, Siobhan O’Sullivan, Paula Heaney, Hannah Shields and Brian Magee are pictured at The Fitzwilliam Hotel.

Roe Park on par with top golf award

R

oe Park Resort, Limavady, has been awarded ‘Best Golf Resort in Ulster’ by the Golfers Guide to Ireland at an awards ceremony in Dublin.

Portside Media awarded the prize to the Roe Park Resort, with category finalists also including Lough Erne Resort and Hilton Templepatrick.

Awarded on the basis of an all-Ireland poll undertaken from within the golf and golf-related business community, the award follows a £100,000 investment in the resort’s golf facilities in 2013/2014.

This included the launch of a state-of-the-art Golf Teaching Academy, the expansion of The Roe Park Resort Golf Shop, and a new online tee booking system.

“We have invested considerably over the past year in improving our golf facilities to provide a premium golf experience here at Roe Park Resort, and receiving this award has really highlighted what we have achieved,” said Terry Kelly, manager of the Roe Park Resort Golf Club.

Pictured at the Golfers Guide to Ireland awards ceremony are, from left, Paddy McCarthy of Portside Media with Terry Kelly, Roe Park Resort golf manager and Irish Tourism Minister Michael Ring.

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NIHF

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NIHF

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NIHF

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tourism profile

NITB targets aging population Baby boomers and an increasingly ageing population will have a significant impact on the local tourism industry, says Northern Ireland Tourist Board Chief Executive Alan Clarke.

T

he World Health Organisation expects the number of people aged 60 years and over to increase from 605 million to 2 billion between 2000 and 2050.

As well as the fact that people are generally living longer due to huge advancements in medicine, technology, health and safety, another key factor in this massive increase is what’s known as the baby boom generation which includes those born from 1946 to 1964 during the post-World War II ‘baby boom’.

The old saying that none of us is getting any younger is a reminder that the world just keeps on turning. We’re all going to get old sometime; it’s just that in the future there will be more, many more, older people around.

Greater life expectancy is creating an increasingly ageing population, a global trend that will have massive long-term impact on all nations and industries. For tourism, it goes without saying that this seismic demographic shift will have a vast influence. Indeed, it is projected that worldwide trips made by tourists aged 60 and over will reach 2 billion in 2050 and when you consider that that figure was just 593 million in 1999, the implications are obvious.

The impact of the baby boom generation has been shaping the tourism economy for decades, and according to the latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), it is making a mark on Northern Ireland’s tourism landscape.

In 2012, the biggest spenders in the domestic market were people aged 45 to 54, who also took the largest number of overnight trips. This age group is primarily made up of younger baby boom generation members who in the next decade will be nearing retirement and will continue making a big impact on the tourism industry.

Baby boomers are also among the front runners in terms of direct visitors from Great Britain and overseas markets. Although the largest number of holidays and short breaks in Northern Ireland was taken by the 25 to 34 age group (25%), the 55 to 64 (18%) and the 45 to 54 year-olds (15%) together make up a third of the market. So the baby boom generation is set to become even more important over the next decade as they ease into retirement.

Looking further ahead, demographic forecasts suggest that the senior market will continue to grow in size and

stature and ageing boomers will be one of the largest market segments in the world of tourism for the next 25 years.

I believe it is very important for the local tourism industry to work together to maximise the impact of this growing sector.

Tourism businesses will need to collaborate more in terms of tying their offering into Northern Ireland’s array of key attractors, which are actually perfectly suited to getting the most out of the ‘ageing opportunity’.

Our golf courses, for example, are as good as anywhere in the world and for the more adventurous, our unique outdoor heritage can offer visitors great experiences, while for those looking for culture, history and heritage, it’s there in abundance.

The industry needs to focus on providing experiences. Tourism trends from around the globe point to the fact that baby boomers are hungry for authentic travel experiences. Those looking for a relaxing getaway are no longer satisfied with lying on the beach and people looking to explore a new place want to do more than just sightseeing.

NITB has prioritised this approach with the objective of helping to create more authentic travel experiences for everyone who comes to Northern Ireland, and tailoring them to an ageing population is an opportunity for all in the business of tourism to grasp.

Baby boomers are hungry for authentic travel experiences and NITB believes Northern Ireland can easily meet that demand.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) is hosting its ‘Great Days Out Fair’ on Saturday, February 15 in Titanic Belfast, showcasing day trip ideas for a variety of groups from church, sports and social clubs to community groups and retirement associations. Each group registering is offered two free tickets to attend the event, and exhibitors already set to attend include Belfast City Sightseeing, Share Discovery Village in Fermanagh, National Museums Northern Ireland, Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum. Last year, over 600 group trip organisers attended the event.

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business news

New Belfast design consultancy launched

Ian Bennington from Part Two.

L

ocal marketing and branding expert Ian Bennington has launched a new design consultancy, based at Meter House in the former Ormeau Gasworks site in Belfast.

Bennington was managing director of Belfast-based Triplicate, which has recently been demerged, for 31 years.

The new team includes fellow Triplicate founder partner, Catherine Hume, as well as five other former colleagues from the de-merged agency, and has worked across the UK and Ireland with many local brands including Mauds Ice Cream, Spanwall, ShredBank, Water Within, Drip & Drop, Larsen, Petal, Deli-Lites, Free’ist, Metal Technology, Fraser Houses, Pakflatt, Jackson Reece, Heavenly Tasty Organics, Hughes Mushrooms, Dig-In, Jolly Pies and See Sense.

Bennington has a particular love for working with food and drink clients.

During his professional career, he has lectured on branding, design and marketing for a host of organisations including IDB, Ledu, Ortus, Invest NI and Inter-Trade Ireland, and acted as a mentor to start-ups and fledgling businesses for Business in the Community and The Prince’s Trust.

“I have a passion for elevating design within businesses and get huge personal satisfaction from seeing profitable growth created in client companies by the power of excellent design and intelligent marketing,” said Bennington. “Part Two represents a fresh start for my trusted team which has a proven track record for brand creation, compelling design and the provision of strategic marketing advice which enables businesses to punch above their weight in existing and new markets”.

McDonald’s NI awarded for improved environmental impact

M

cDonald’s has been awarded 17 gold, five silver and four bronze awards by Environment Minister Mark Durkan as part of an initiative aimed at reducing its environmental impact.

All 26 McDonald’s restaurants across Northern Ireland participated in the initiative, which was independently assessed by TIDY NI, the organisation working towards the vision of a cleaner, greener Northern Ireland.

The McDonald’s TIDY NI Green and Growing Awards assessed individual restaurants across 10 key environmental categories including Waste Management, General Cleanliness, Exterior Maintenance and Litter and Graffiti Awareness.

“One of my key goals is to ensure we have a well-protected environment in Northern Ireland which contributes to the social and economic wellbeing of the whole community,” said Durkan.

“Businesses play a pivotal role in supporting the sustainability of our environment and the TIDY NI Green and Growing Awards provides a great platform for organisations like McDonald’s to showcase its positive impact on the environment.”

Joanne Jones, McDonald’s director of franchising, said: “At McDonald’s we believe it is important for everyone to help protect and preserve the environment for future generations and we’re committed to finding ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in our restaurants and across our business.

A pilot scheme aimed at improving the environmental impact of foodservice businesses, and helping them to make considerable financial savings, has been launched by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health NI (CIEH NI) in partnership with Food NI and Pubs of Ulster and supported by the Department of Environment’s Challenge Fund. Pictured at the launch of the scheme are Gordon Harvey, hospitality consultant, Michele Shirlow of Food NI and Gary McFarlane, director of CIEH NI.

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“We’re delighted with the results of the first assessment and look forward to working closely with TIDY NI to further improve our environmental credentials in the years ahead.”

The Green and Growing Awards is one of a number of joint initiatives between McDonald’s and TIDY NI, which includes restaurant support for the annual BIG Spring Clean event. At the 2013 BIG Spring Clean, McDonald’s staff across Northern Ireland took part in 26 events, collecting over 2 tonnes of discarded waste by cleaning rivers, forests, beaches and housing estates.

As well as the larger-scale Big Spring Clean events, staff at every McDonald’s restaurant also patrol the streets regularly to collect all litter that has been discarded, regardless of its origin.

British Airways and the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce have formed a partnership to support ‘Minister on the Move’ – a new initiative that will see Finance Minister Simon Hamilton meet with a wide range of businesses across Northern Ireland. Pictured at the launch of the initiative are, from left, Brenda Morgan (British Airways); Minister Simon Hamilton and Ann McGregor (NI Chamber of Commerce).

Classifieds An e a s y r e f e r e n ce t o t h e B E S T f o r y o u r b u s i n e s s

N. Ireland Contacts Richard McCluskey - Customer Development Manager 07971508682

DRINKS DISTRIBUTORS & WHOLESALERS

58 BOUCHER ROAD BELFAST BT12 6HR Country Director : Diageo Northern Ireland: Jorge Lopes TYPE OF BUSINESS: Drinks manufacturer and distributor

CUSTOMER SERVICES: 08456014649

Customer Development Executives Ashley Douglas Tel: 07971508669 Louise Johnston Tel: 07971508734 Ryan Brown Tel: 07971508739 RUM BACARDI Superior Rum • BACARDI Gold Rum BACARDI 8 Year Old Rum • Bacardi Razz • Bacardi Oakheart

DRAUGHT BEER AND CIDER: Guinness, Harp, Harp Ice Cold, Carlsberg, Budweiser, Smithwick’s, Warsteiner, Strongbow, Magners, Smithwicks Pale Ale, Guinness mid-strength

VODKA Grey Goose Original • Grey Goose La Poire Grey Goose L’Orange • Grey Goose Le Citron Finlandia Classic • Finlandia Lime Finlandia Cranberry • Finlandia Grapefruit Finlandia Mango Eristoff • Eristoff Black Vodka • Eristoff Gold GIN Bombay Sapphire Gin

PACKED BEERS AND CIDER: Carlsberg, Guinness, Guinness Extra Stout, Harp, Satzenbrau, Smithwick’s Pale Ale, Jeremiah Weed

WHISKEY Jack Daniel’s • Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Gentleman Jack • Tennessee Honey VERMOUTH Martini Extra Dry • Martini Rosso • Martini Bianco • Martini Rosato • Martini Rosato Noilly Prat Dry BOURBON Woodford Reserve Bourbon SPECIALITY • Southern Comfort • Southern Comfort Lime • Tuaca • Chambord • Southern Comfort Black Cherry • St Germain Elderflower SPARKLING Martini Asti • Martini Rose • Martini Prosecco • Martini Prosecco • Martini Rose RTD BACARDI Breezer Orange, Pineapple, Watermelon, Spritzer Peach, Spritzer Mixed Berry AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD WHOLESALERS

www.bacardi-martini.co.uk www.bacardi.com 01962 762100

e in t l x ad Ne Deor e: f su Is

MARCH 2014

Editorial: 22nd February 2014 Advertising: 22nd February 2014

VODKA: Smirnoff Red, Smirnoff Blue, Smirnoff Black, Green Apple Smirnoff, Lime Smirnoff, Ketel One, Ketel One Citroen, Ciroc WHISKIES: Bushmills, Black Bush, Bushmills Single Malt, Bell’s, Johnnie Walker, Classic Malts, Haig GIN: Gordon’s, Tanqueray CREAM LIQUER: Baileys Baileys Chocolate Luxe RUM: Captain Morgan, McKibbins OTHER SPIRITS: Sambuca Romana, Archers Peach Schnapps, Goldschlager, Pimm’s, Bushmills Honey

BE INVOLVED! Call Nicola Daly on 028 9078 3234

Ready To Serve: Smirnoff Ice, Pre-mix cans, Captain Morgan Long Island Iced Tea, Smirnoff Mojito, Parrot Bay WINES: Blossom Hill

Hawthorn Office Park 41A Stockmans Way, Belfast BT9 7ET Tel. (028) 9038 2233, Fax. (028) 9038 2266

ORDERLINE

028 9066 3344

Customer Care Email. customerservice@dillonbass.co.uk

IRISH WHISKEY

Jameson Powers Coleraine Paddy Midleton Redbreast

SCOTCH WHISKY

Cream of the Barley Chivas Regal Ballentine's Aberlour COGNAC

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e in t l x ad Ne e D or e: f su Is

MARCH 2014

INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS

Northern Ireland Hotels Federation The McCune Building, 1 Shore Road, Belfast BT15 3PG. Tel: 028 9077 6635 • Fax: 028 9077 1899 email: office@nihf.co.uk web: www.nihf.co.uk Chief Executive: Janice Gault President: Mandy Patrick

Editorial: 22nd February 2014 Advertising: 22nd February 2014

ENERGY SUPPLIERS

IT SOLUTIONS

INTERIOR DESIGN & ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANTS

Northern Ireland Tourist Board St Anne’s Court, 59 North Street, Belfast BT1 1NB Tel: +44 (0)28 9023 1221 Fax: +44 (0)28 9024 0960 Textphone: +44 (0)28 9044 1522 web: www.nitb.com web: www.discovernorthernireland.com

MARKETING

SEAFOOD Musgrave MarketPlace NI Head Office 1-15 Dargan Crescent Duncrue Road Belfast BT3 9HJ T: 028 9078 4800 W: www.musgravemarketplace.co.uk E: marketplace@musgrave.co.uk

Marketing Consultant with unrivalled Food & Drink Industry experience

Need help with your marketing, but can’t afford a full time marketing team? I provide a Full Marketing Service, and specialise in the following areas: • Building Brands • Marketing Support for Launching new Businesses or Brands • Developing Marketing Strategies - ‘Your Long Term Plan’ • Commercial and Promotional Strategies • Digital Marketing inc Social Media Contact me for an initial chat, and see what I can do for your business W: www.aislingbremner.com E: aisling@aislingbremner.com M: 07825 740042 Strategic Marketing Works. That’s the Bottom Line.

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PERSONNEL: NI Director : Michael McCormack Blackstaff Road, Kennedy Way, Belfast. BT11 9DT. E: info@keenanseafood.com

Tel: 028 9061 8088

W: www.keenanseafood.com

MARCH 2014 Editorial: 22nd February 2014 Advertising: 22nd February 2014

Retail Sales Manager NI: Andrea Keers Foodservice Sales Manager NI: Rory Gallagher Marketing Manager: Paula Mahoney Commercial Manager: Neil Donnelly

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Musgrave Wholesale Partners is Northern Ireland’s largest wholesaler, providing both collect & delivered wholesale solutions for independent retailers and foodservice professionals.

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LURGAN William Street, Lurgan.

BT66 6JD T: 028 3832 2771 Manager: Garry Williams

the last word

The Last word by… Gavin Bates

JOB TITLE: Owner/leasee Ryan’s Bar & Restaurant

ENTERTAINMENT FAVOURITE TV SHOW: Lie to Me FAVOURITE FILM: The Game with Michael ALBUM CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Ibiza Chillout Album FAVOURITE BAND: Foo Fighters – loved it when they came to Belfast.

LAST BOOK READ: Ronan O’Gara’s autobiography FAVOURITE CELEBRITY: Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS POSITION? Just over two months WHAT DOES YOUR TYPICAL DAY INVOLVE? Taking over Ryan’s is still very recent so there are lots of areas of the business to really get my teeth into. I really enjoy working in the restaurant and the craic of the bar, from hearing stories from the characters that come in, to meeting the daily challenges. There is a great team of staff in Ryan’s, which makes it a great place to work.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? Mini entrepreneur – I ‘invested’ money from my big brother’s money box when I was about eight and bought a load of small bottles of fizzy drinks and sweets before going to school summer camp. I then sold them all to the other kids at a tidy profit; I’m sure I still owe my brother his share.

INSPIRATION IN YOUR LIFE? Seeing successful people, who have started from the bottom and worked their way up. I started out washing dishes in my dad’s bar and restaurant at 14 years of age. A good work ethic was driven into me by my parents and I believe that has helped me progress in my career.

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DRINKS FAVOURITE HOT DRINK: Tea FAVOURITE SOFT DRINK: Dr Pepper BEER OR CIDER? Beer – as I’m getting more into craft and world beers, being able to try new ones as research for Ryan’s beer list.

WHITE OR RED WINE? White WHISKEY OR BRANDY? Whiskey GIN OR VODKA? Vodka with Red Bull COCKTAILS OR BUBBLY? Cocktails - a good Mojito

Gavin Bates

WHAT FOUR PEOPLE WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY? My wife Sarah and, to entertain us, Tommy Tiernan, Sarah Millican and Paddy McGuinness.

ONE ITEM YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT? iPhone WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE? Matt Damon (!)

IDEAL JOB? This is it! Though I saw a job for Professional Sleeper which I think I’d be pretty good at.

FAVOURITE QUOTE? How can I soar like an eagle while surrounded by turkeys…

THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON YOU’VE LEARNT? Life is what you make it.

“How can I soar like an eagle while surrounded by turkeys…”

Q&A

SOCIAL FAVOURITE FOOD: Love a good steak FAVOURITE RESTAURANT: Zen in Belfast LAST HOTEL YOU STAYED AT: Roe Park, Limavady LAST BAR/NIGHTCLUB YOU VISITED: The Dirty Duck, Holywood FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE WORLD: Las Vegas; such an incredible place.

INDOOR CONCERT OR FESTIVAL? Festival - had an amazing experience in Rockness a few years ago.

LAST HOLIDAY: Ibiza, thanks to the lovely guys at Corona.

Favourite quote:

Celebrating 75 years of Supplying Quality Bespoke Axminster Carpets to the Irish Hospitality Industry

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dublin, Burlington Road | Cunningham McLean Partnership | Parrott Photography

Druids Glen Resort, Co Wicklow | CLR Design | Parrott Photography Feb 2014.indd 1

04/02/2014 12:14