Whoosh its Asian noodle snack pots from Coleraine chef Thana

Thana, who began her business journey in 2008 as an event catering business, specialising in fine Thai and Vietnamese food for corporate and private clients across Northern Ireland, has as just launched a unique range of instant noodles for retail under Whoosh, the distinctive name of her successful restaurant in the town centre.

The new products, the first Asian snack pots produced here, also feature 100% biodegradable packaging and reflect Thana’s longstanding focus on supporting the environment.

The popularity of this venture, especially in the Coleraine area, encouraged the enterprising Thana to create Coleraine’s first Thai and Vietnamese street food café in February 2013.

The vastly experienced chef has since gained a well-deserved reputation for delicious, fresh and authentic street food that’s immensely popular with shoppers and diners from Coleraine and further afield.

She’s now decided to carry forward the popularity of several of her unique dishes by launching Whoosh’s first range of instant noodle pots, aimed at the food-on-the-go and retail markets. The dishes that Thana has chosen are Thai Red Curry Rice Noodles, Thai Tom Yum Rice Noodles and Vietnamese Curry Rice Noodles.

Thana explains: “The pots can be prepared as a quick snack or meal and are ready to eat in just three minutes, by just adding hot water.

“As a feature unique to Whoosh, I’ve developed each recipe to also allow customers to add their own protein, such as chicken, prawns, tofu, or fresh vegetables."

The quick meals are a response to the growth of ‘food on the go’ options fuelled by the pandemic lockdowns and the demand for tasty options that could be cooked quickly at home for a delicious meal or snack.

“We’ll also be publishing the three-minute meal recipe ideas on our social media pages on a regular basis. All three pots are gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians.

“We have worked tirelessly over the years to build a business that would allow us to share our culture and love of food with people here.

“It’s always been part of our plans to develop a product derived from our most popular Thai and Vietnamese street food dishes and family recipes,” adds Thana.

She’s spent “a lot of time sourcing the best natural ingredients for this new product range. All our pots are produced on our premises here to the highest hygiene and production standards, in Coleraine.

“We are delighted to introduce this new product range to our existing and potential customers. In addition, we plan to develop retail business for the tasty pots and are currently working on getting our new pots into independent retail shops across Northern Ireland.”

The Whoosh Instant Noodles are currently available to purchase from Whoosh’s own street food café in Coleraine or can be ordered via social media for UK and Ireland delivery. Customers will also soon be able to access Whoosh’s online shop.

A pioneer of Asian food in the Glens and Causeway area, the dedicated chef has been advised and assisted by the Foodovation team at the North West Regional College (NWRC) in Londonderry in her focus on expanding her business by developing new products.

Foodovation has a team of business experts and assists food and drink companies here in new product development and other innovations using support through a range of programmes.

NWRC technical consultant, Karen Marran, for instance, has provided a wide range of expertise to Thana including upskilling in recipe standardisation, ingredient declarations, allergen identification, nutritional calculations and labelling requirements, reheat instructions and at home storage instructions.

Thana, a graduate of Ulster University at Coleraine, has a real passion for food and catering, using only the freshest ingredients to produce healthy, tasty, nutritious and high quality foods. Her highly original meals contain a delicious balance of delicate flavours and textures which provide clients and customers with the enjoyment of fine healthy and well-cooked meals and snacks.

The food, she continues, is cooked freshly on-site every day.

“Our menu is all about fresh, healthy, spontaneous and delicious fast food served in a casual setting or also ideal for heating at home or as food on-the-go snacks.

"The unique menu is made up of a blend of Thai, Lao and Vietnamese foods that offer a great balance of delicate flavours and textures to give the enjoyment of great food as well as a healthy diet. The dishes featured on our menu are light, fresh, low in fat but above all – cooked from the heart,” adds Thana.