Baker Susie is a real star when it comes to Great Taste

And it’s now official. She won the prestigious accolade when food experts in this year’s Great Taste Awards were wowed by the stunning flavour of her spread.

The experts included top chefs and picky food writers who gave Susie the coveted three gold stars for an “exquisite” food experience and an “extraordinarily tasty food”.

Only three percent of foods entered in the now global competition achieved three-star status. Susie’s tangy lemon curd goes through to the final ‘Supreme Champion’ stage.

A sole trader, Susie set up the Little Bakehouse NI in the market town in 2017 to create unique bakery products. The one-woman enterprise was probably the smallest company to reach the final stage of the annual awards.

“I was totally flabbergasted when I heard my spread had been chosen for the final stage of what is now one of the world’s most influential food competitions,” she says.

“I’ve been making the jam for my family for many years and decided to enter it at the very last moment. I love it but never thought that some of the most experienced food experts would also appreciate it,” she adds.

The modest star puts her success down to her use of the multi-award winning Abernethy Butter from Dromara among its ingredients.

She explained: “I decided to use Abernethy Butter because of its outstanding flavour and quality with the usual ingredients of lemon zest, juice and sugar. The butter is such an important part of the blend that I decided on using Abernethy, the very best available. It’s a butter that’s won high praise from the likes of Nigella Lawson and top chefs including Heston Blumenthal and James Martin.

“I then decided to approach Will and Allison Abernethy for approval to use their marvellous butter and was delighted when they readily agreed that I could do so. While I used their natural butter, they’ve also created some amazing flavoured butters including the latest chipotle chilli and paprika variety. Their butters, including the dulse flavour, are really amazing. It’s a tremendous example of the great collaboration and camaraderie which underpin the artisan food sector here.”

It’s hardly surprising that the judges, who included top buyers from Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Selfridges, raved about the lemon curd as delivering “plenty of lovely rich butteryness and a massive burst of fresh lemon”. There’s every likelihood that the zingy lemon curd will soon feature on the shelves of these high-end stores.

Susie’s lemon curd was among almost 13,000 food products entered in the competition from 106 countries across Europe. Only a handful including the lemon curd reached the final stage. Her spread was among 172 food products from local suppliers to win either three, two or one star. The lemon curd, in fact, was among just five local foods gaining three-star status. Along with Susie’s lemon delight were superb products from Baronscourt Estate Venison, Omagh; Buchanan’s bacon, Kilrea; Craic Foods in Craigavon; and Hannan Meats in Moira.

Susie (31) has been running the bakery from her home in Dromore since its launch in 2017 and is not a stranger to Great Taste accolades. In 2019, her luxury Courgette, Lime and Pistachio Cake also achieved three stars in the Great Taste Awards, making it probably the best cake in Europe. The top judges acclaimed the cake as “exquisite” and “extraordinarily tasty”. Susie’s creation was the only cake to reach the final stages in the rigorous judging process.

A native of Dromore, Susie loved Home Economics at school and then decided to study Food Technology at the Loughry campus in Cookstown of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, Northern Ireland’s main food education hub.

Susie lives with her partner Garry, a musician, and their three-year old son Dylan. She added: “I guess one of the benefits of running my own small business is that I can be flexible and spend time with Dylan. I had baked cakes and other products for extra cash during my time at Loughry and continued this on graduation. While I looked around at employment opportunities after leaving college I decided to take the risk and start my own small bakery at home.

The Great Taste success has presented Susie with a new and ‘very pleasant’ opportunity to grow her business and to maximise the potential benefits of the award.

“It’s a golden opportunity to attract business from retailers other than the cafes and delis I’ve been supplying with cakes, cheesecakes and other desserts following the last Great Taste award. I’ll be doing my utmost to build sales on the back of this new success.”

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