Food artisans set to create a buzz in Hillsborough

Award-winning cider makers here are quick to acknowledge the role of honey bees in the wellbeing of their important local industry.
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Armagh Cider Company will be showcasing the vital role of bees at the big Honey Fair, the first-ever in Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, later in the month.

And most other artisan food enterprises here are also appreciative of the importance of bees as a crucial component in food production. In fact, it’s estimated that bees are responsible for a third of the food that we eat.

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Our bees, alarmingly, are under threat of extinction. Researchers have warned that without action 21 species of these pollinators could eventually become extinct. The decline, according to the research, is the result of habitat loss, pollution, disease, and climate change.

John and Eileen Hall, founders and owners of Cavanagh Free Range Eggs at Newtownbutler in Co FermanaghJohn and Eileen Hall, founders and owners of Cavanagh Free Range Eggs at Newtownbutler in Co Fermanagh
John and Eileen Hall, founders and owners of Cavanagh Free Range Eggs at Newtownbutler in Co Fermanagh

The loss of bees would have a devastating impact on the health of our countryside and food security.

The Honey Fair, therefore, is an important initiative for our local food and drink industry and the wider community. The imaginative event is the biggest presentation of local food and drink - organised by marketing body Food NI - since before the coronavirus pandemic began in 2019.

Armagh Cider, run by Helen and Philip Troughton with son Mark, will be among over 30 artisan food producers at the event on August 20 and 21. The Armagh Cider team certainly appreciate the role of bees in pollinating their orchards.

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Mark Troughton says: “Bees are probably the world’s most important pollinators of food crops and especially apples that we depend on for our cider. We’ve been growing apples since 1898 in what has become a real blossom to bottle business. Our apples are used in apple juice and a range of award-winning ciders.”

Helen Troughton of award-winning Armagh Cider Company in Portadown which will be among 30 artisan business at the forthcoming Honey Fair at Hillsborough Castle on August 20 and 21Helen Troughton of award-winning Armagh Cider Company in Portadown which will be among 30 artisan business at the forthcoming Honey Fair at Hillsborough Castle on August 20 and 21
Helen Troughton of award-winning Armagh Cider Company in Portadown which will be among 30 artisan business at the forthcoming Honey Fair at Hillsborough Castle on August 20 and 21

Based on extensive orchards at Ballinteggart, near Portadown in ‘Orchard Country’, the family-owned farming, processing and bottling business has won a string of accolades for its ciders including ‘Best of British Ciders’ for its Carson’s Crisp in an independent review which said: “From Norfolk to Northern Ireland, these isles produce some of the world’s best apple-based beverages.”

Other artisan enterprises at the unique show appreciating the role of bees as crucial pollinators include Irish Black Butter from Portrush, which features Armagh bramley apples in its ingredients, and Symphonia Gin in Moy, a distiller of successful gins using bramley and jonagold apples from Armagh orchards. The distillery recently won a major international award for its unique apple rum blending local jonagold apples with Caribbean rum.

And Cavanagh Eggs in Newtownbutler, which will be taking part in its first food show since before the pandemic, is also supporting the fair. Eileen Hall, a director of the poultry business which has a series of awards for producing Ireland’s best eggs, continues: “We are delighted to be part of this initiative which supports the wellbeing of the countryside and the food industry here.”

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The Fermanagh family enterprise supplies eggs to most of the main supermarkets.

The food and drink products on show at the fair represent most of the key sectors in what is Northern Ireland’s single biggest manufacturing sector. The food industry generates in excess of £5 billion to the local economy and provides employment to upwards of 100,000 people throughout an extensive supply chain that reaches virtually every part of the community. Food and drink from here, moreover, is currently exported to over 60 countries worldwide, the biggest marketplace being Great Britain.

The line-up of other artisan products at the fair ranges from staples such as handmade breads, cheese and meats to unique snacks, treats, sauces, minerals and kombucha, a fermented tea.

Both the Dromore and Killinchy Beekeepers associations will be answering all bee related questions, including how to get started in keeping bees and showcasing sample produce.

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In addition to the food and drink showcase and street food trucks for food-on-the-go, the Honey Fair promises a range of activities including briefings about honey by expert Gwen Earnshaw, along with guided walks, demonstrations, family activities and live music.

Dermot Hugues from Forage Ireland is scheduled to lead a group of up to 20 round the gardens, identifying edible plants, and what they can be used for. There’ll also be a range of family activities.

The organisers are ensuring socially distancing and hand sanitation in line with current guidance. Households and bubbles will be seated in clearly marked and socially distanced seating squares within the talks/performance area in a popular and spectacular setting of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in the historic town recently named Royal Hillsborough due to its links with the Royal Household.

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