CUTT ING EDGE Butchery & Hospitality Excellence - News for Members

Montgomery Food International Magazine January 2019Issue

No.13

Magazine Editor: Rhonda Montgomery A NEW YEAR - NEW CHALLENGES - NEW IDEAS

Montgomery Food International Launching New Company in MarchMontgomery Food International are launching a new company in March called 'Gourmet Grub.' This is the latest edition to the Montgomery family to join Montgomery Food Consulting, Butchery Excellence, Hospitality Excellence and Meat 2 Trade. This new company will provide innovative ingredients for butchery and hospitality excellence members to use to add value to meat to make them stand out from competitors and supermarkets. Gourmet Grub will provide members with Crumb Me Up & Batter Me Up ranges in March. Our new crumbs will give butchers the best chicken nuggets, goujons and marylands available on the market. The crumbs will be sold in 3kg buckets and have a shelf-life of 12 months. They will be sold as standard crumbs and flavoured crumbs that compliment chicken. The range also has herb crust based crumbs to compliment lamb, pork and beef. Batter mixes are used for new flavours of battered chicken goujons and chicken strips that are completly different to any other product available in supermarkets or restaurants around the country.

Local butcher Michael Byrne from

Sandymount Dublin will always be

remembered for his contributions to

butchery

It’s with great sadness that I have to let you know that following a very long illness Michael Byrne passed

away in the care of Lady’s Hospice In Harold’s Cross. Michael spent 57

years doing the job that he loved. He taught his son Raymond everything he knows and he will be very sadly

missed.

A new Award and Cup will be commissioned in Michael's memory and it will be awarded by the Byrne

family at this years Annual Gala Awards. Details on new award will

follow later on in the year.

In June the company wil launch its own range of slicable sauces under 'Sauce Me Up' and flavoured butters under 'Butter Me Up.' These ingredients will be sold in flavours never seen on the market before and will give butchers a new edge that is much needed to add value to their meat to keep their product ranges interesting. This project is headed up by Managing Director Rhonda Montgomery. She wants to help her clients be the best at what they do, and knows that these ingredients will help her members to flourish and grow in the butchery and hospitality trade. Rhonda quotes "I am very excited about the journey we are taking in manufacturing our own ingredients for the butchery and hospitality trade and I am confident that our members will we well ahead of any competitors in the market. These ingredients are exclusive to members only to give them a new USP (Unique Selling Point) that no other butcher in the country will have." New brochure, demos and videos will be released mid March for offical launch. Members will be invited to BEI HQ over the coming weeks for demonstrations and tastings.

"Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us

everyday"

Conor Reynolds Representing Ireland in AustraliaConor Reynolds from M & W farm Meats Portadown will represent Ireland in the International Young Butcher Competition in April 2019. Conor will travel with BEI CEO Rhonda Montgomery to Perth on 5th and 6th April where he will compete against young butchers from other nations Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, USA and Great Britain. Conor is being sponsored by Lifeline Perth, and Butchery Excellence to take part in this competition.

Conor's Team Manager Rhonda Montgomery states "Conor is the favourite to win this competition and bring home a Gold for Ireland. His butchery skills are excellent and he has was it takes to be one of the best butchers in the trade and the world. His work is exceptional and his attitude and determination to win is admirable." Conor is also represnting Ireland in WBC 2020.

Michael Byrne

Carol's Stock Market is delighted to have entered into a supply partnership with Independent Irish Health Foods Ltd. IIHF aim to supply independent businesses with unique products at great prices in order to help them in turn to offer an excellent service to their retail customers. Your local independent health store is generally owner-run and its staff possess a great knowledge of the products they sell and health-related matters generally—great prices are just an added bonus! IIHF supply the majority of independent health stores in Ireland, as well as a large range of artisan, lifestyle and independent food stores, catering businesses, manufacturers and many more. Through this partnership, Carol's range of all natural stocks and beef bone broth will now be available to purchase from many of the health food stores across Ireland.

Carol's Stock Market in Partnership with Independent Irish Health Foods

CORPORATE PARTNER NEWS

The quiet months of January and February offer a great opportunity to start experimenting with some super-profitable kitchen-ready side-dishes. Lots of butchers are choosing to make kitchen-ready main meals using Lucas Kitchen ingredients, but not everyone is recognising the opportunity presented by side-dishes. It’s all about making life easy for your busy customers: And what could be easier than buying sausages, a couple of chops, or a pie and then picking up a tray of delicious, flavoured mashed potato at the same time? Or how about some creamy Potato Gratin, or Cauliflower Cheese? The Lucas team has coined the phrase “Lucas Mash makes you Cash!” to describe the superb Potato Topping Mix. This incredibly versatile mix looks and tastes like fresh mashed potato, but takes only minutes to prepare. It’s amazing what you can do with mash and of course, it’s an incredibly popular and well-liked dish on the British menu. Mash represents a brilliant opportunity to use up trimmings too – smoked bacon and leek mash is a tasty accompaniment for a whole host of dishes from stews to joints, cutlets to sausages. Lucas Kitchen Bechamel Sauce Mix works really well with cheese – especially a strong cheddar – to create a rich and creamy cheese sauce. Along with side dishes, why not prepare a pot of cheese sauce that your customer can simply take home and heat up? The sauce will make a great dip, a topping for jacket potatoes, cheesy chips, or can be mixed with other vegetables at home for even greater variety. The profit from each pot will soon add up and will provide a boost during a generally low period. All Lucas Kitchen mixes can be frozen, so you can make batches of side-dishes during the quiet, dark days of January and February. Introduce your customers to new tastes and introduce your own “signature” sides. You can boost your profits and your reputation by being creative and innovative and who knows, you might even have fun doing it at the same time! For recipes, videos and more product information, retail butchers can visit www.lucas-ingredients.co.uk, or call Lucas free on 0800 138 5837.

Lucas Kitchen – Occupy your quiet time profitably…

FOOD NEWS REPUBLIC OF IRELAND109 Enforcement Orders

Served on Food Businesses in 2018

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today stated that 109 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses for breaches in food safety legislation in 2018, increasing by 58% compared to 2017 (69). The FSAI outlined the importance of robust food safety management systems and stressed that the responsibility lies with food businesses to ensure that the food they sell is safe to eat and compliant with food safety legislation. Between 1st January and 31st December 2018, food inspectors served 95 Closure Orders, 5 Improvement Orders and 9 Prohibition Orders on food businesses throughout the country. The types of recurring food safety issues that lead to Enforcement Orders are: evidence of rodent infestation and rodent droppings; filthy conditions; failure to maintain correct temperatures of foodstuffs; a lack of knowledge of food safety by staff; unsuitable food storage facilities and improper or lack of water facilities for cleaning. Commenting on the annual figures, Dr. Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI said that the increase in Enforcement Orders in 2018 was unacceptable. “There are absolutely no excuses for negligent food practices. The types of reasons cited for Enforcement Orders are simple errors that should not be happening in any food business. Enforcement Orders are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been established or where there are a number of ongoing serious breaches of food legislation. Non-compliance by food businesses will not be tolerated and all breaches of food safety legislation will be dealt with the full extent of the law.” During the month of December 2018, 9 Closure Orders, 2 Improvement Orders and 1 Prohibition Order were served on food businesses for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Five Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: King Kebab (restaurant/café), 10 Sean Costello Street, Irishtown, Athlone, Westmeath Officers’ Mess (restaurant/café), Air Corps Headquarters, Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnell, Dublin 22 Hot Krispy Chicken Ltd (takeaway), Unit 2, Eagle Court, Main Street, Clonee, Meath Fu Jing Chinese Takeaway, Collon, Louth Our Lady’s Hospital (Closed area: Male Medical Ward Kitchen only), Athboy Road, Navan, Meath

Four Closure Orders were served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 on: Field’s Bakery (Closed area: Large storeroom to the left of the premises used for storage of food, food contact materials and food contact and equipment), Castletownshend Road, Carrigfadda, Skibbereen, Cork Natural Green (food processor), Unit C, Stadium Business Centre, Stadium Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 Mikes Pizza and Pasta (takeaway), Dublin Road, Ballinagh, Cavan Asian Wok, 35 O’Growney Street, Athboy, Meath Two Improvement Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: The Silly Goose (public house), 3 Hanover Place, Cork One Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: U Polaka (retailer), Unit 16–17, Friary Business Park, Naas, Kildare

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in December include: a dead rodent found trapped underneath a sink unit; large batches of cooked battered chicken observed cooling down outdoors in the rear yard in cardboard boxes previously used as packaging for raw chicken; raw sewage flowing through the back yard and at the rear door; the use of elastic bands and cable ties to secure the irrigation system pipework; a large hole in the ceiling allowing for a possible point of entry for pests and risk of contamination to food areas; failure to implement effective means of pest control including remedial actions; a rodent bait point located in close proximity to a container of foodstuffs; profuse black mould growth on internal surfaces of refrigerator; greasy to touch and visibly soiled working utensils and equipment; blood stained rubber gloves placed in a wash hand basin; raw meat being prepared in the designated vegetable preparation area which was contaminated with chicken juices; mice activity in the wash up area of the kitchen and; a dead mouse on the floor behind the chest freezer and evidence of gnawed bag of chips.

RECIPE Slow Cooked Beef Massaman Curry

INGREDIENTSMassaman Paste - makes about 6 tbsp: 1 chopped red onion 3 red chillies roughly chopped (or use fewer chillies, depending on how hot you like it) 2 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp white pepper 3 cloves garlic peeled 2 sticks of lemongrass outer leaves removed, softer inside chopped finely 5 cm piece ginger peeled and roughly chopped 1 tsp shrimp paste optional, also it's generally gluten free, but best to check 3 tsp fish sauce ,make sure it's a gluten free brand if needed 1 tsp brown sugar small bunch fresh coriander/cilantro stalks you'll be using the leaves later to serve, so just wrap them in a bit of damp tissue to keep them fresh 1/2 tsp salt

Other curry ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1.5 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) 1 kg braising beef chopped into chunks 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 400 ml beef stock - 2 stock cubes with water is fine use kallo beef bouillon cubes for gluten free 400 ml can coconut milk it's usually gluten free, but double check 2 large red or white potatoes peeled and chopped into chunks Juice of 1 lime

To Serve: Boiled rice Chopped fresh coriander/cilantro Chopped red chillies Lime wedgesMETHOD

Instructions Place all the paste ingredients in a food processor or mini chopper and blend until it forms a paste. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan. Toss the chopped beef in the cornflour, salt and pepper. Fry the meat in the oil for about 5 mins on medium to high heat. You can do this in batches, but I'm a bit too lazy for that. I find that if you put the meat in, and leave it alone for a few minutes before you stir it, you'll get a nice dark colour on the beef. The beef will probably stick a bit to the pan, so you might need to give it a little scrape with a spatula. Once the beef has cooked for 5 mins, turn down the heat a little and add in the spice paste you made earlier. Give it a stir to coat the beef and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Then add in the beef stock and coconut milk. Give everything a stir (make sure you give any bits stuck at the bottom of the pan a scrape), place the lid on and gently simmer on a low heat for 1 hour 45 mins (alternatively you can place in the oven at about 160C/320F). Give it a stir every so often. If it's starting to look dry you can add in some more beef stock or water. After the 1 hour 45 mins, add in the potatoes, give it a stir and cook for a further 25 - 30 mins until the potatoes are tender (this is a good time to start cooking your rice too). Take out of the oven and mix in the lime juice. Serve the curry on a bed of rice with a sprinkling of coriander/cilantro, fresh chillies and a wedge of lime.

'A TASTE OF ASIA'

RECIPE

RECIPE Roast Lamb Rack with Harissa and Herb Pistachio Crust

INGREDIENTS2 racks of lamb (8 ribs in each rack) Salt and pepper Olive oil

FOR THE HARISSA & PISTACHIO CRUST1 tbsp harrisa paste 1/2 tsp crushed garlic (garlic paste) 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened 1/2 tsp lemon juice 2/3 cup pistachios, shelled, chopped 2 tbsp Panko bread crumbs

METHODTake the lamb racks out of the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. When ready, trim the top fat off and spice lightly with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir the harissa, crushed garlic, softened butter and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped pistachios, Panko, sesame seeds, thyme, parsley and mint flakes. Set aside. Make 1/4 inch slits between the ribs, but leave the racks of lamb intact. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a nonstick pan or skillet on medium-high. Now brown each lamb rack on both sides. With a spoon, spread an equal amount of the harissa mixture on each lamb rack (top only). Now, carefully press a generous amount of the pistachio mixture to cover the top. Clean any crumbs off the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the 400 degrees F heated-oven. Let the lamb racks roast for 20 minuets. Remove from heat, and carefully transfer the lamb racks to a cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes before carving. When ready, carve each lamb rack into two portions, allowing 4 ribs per person. Serve with roasted root vegetables (from previous lamb recipe) or Roasted Greek potatoes. A simple chopped Mediterranean salad would make a great addition to this meal. Enjoy!

1 tbsp sesame seeds 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves 1 tbsp dried mint flakes

Merchandising Tricks to Increase Your Sales1. Consider Display Colors

Color plays a major role in luring a would-be customer into your store. It also has the power to evoke strong emotions

and influence the way your product is perceived. Our brains — being hyper visual — attribute certain emotions to

specific colors. While blue and green are calming, red and orange are considered arousing.

Research suggests people are more likely to recall a color over an object or product. The same study says shoppers

make a purchasing decision within 90 seconds of interacting with a product, and over 60% of the assessment

is based on color alone.

3. Let There be Light

Lighting shapes the overall atmosphere of your store and helps draw a shopper’s attention to a particular item in a

display. Like signage, it can elegantly guide the shopper to the areas of the store you want to highlight.

There are three techniques in lighting composition — primary lighting, accent lighting, and ambient lighting.

Primary lighting is the overall illumination of your store. Accent lighting draws the shopper’s focus to a specific

display. Ambient lighting tends to be more dramatic in that it plays light off of shadow to create an intriguing effect.

A recent field study looked at lighting’s impact on customer behavior. The research found that customers spent more

time in areas of the store that had warmer lighting and that the average sales per customer increased by 1.93% when a

dynamic lighting installation was introduced.

2. Play With Signage

Signage can be directional, informational, or promotional. Smart visual cues guide your customer through your store

strategically and provide them with the information they need, when they need it. Think of signage as an effective go-to source of information when your sales team is busy

with other customers.

The human attention span is around eight seconds. So, make sure your customer can find what they’re looking for

in that time, or you risk losing them.

4. Tell a Story With Product Grouping

The way you group products on display can attract customer attention and even jumpstart their imagination

with ideas on how they can be used. Start by telling a story. For example, appeal to the inner baker by placing intricate cake platters alongside cake servers and cake mix. Items

can be grouped based on color scheme or use, but the aim is to tie it all together.

5. Amp up Your Window Displays

Your window display is the first impression your customer will have of your physical store. It’s a great place to let

shoppers know what’s new, which products are best sellers, and what’s on sale. Think of it as a controlled stage where

you can communicate and play with your brand.

The Importance of Merchandising Marketing and advertising bring customers into the store and into the department. Merchandising is the art of getting customers, once in the department, to pick up items and buy them. At its most basic level, merchandising requires stocking shelves with products that are organized in a manner that makes it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for, and easy for them to pick up (e.g. not placed out of reach). Merchandising is also the science of managing one of the most expensive retail resources – shelf space. Stores have a finite amount of space for displaying products. Products pay the rent for the shelf space that they occupy. Some products have a higher margin (make more money per item sold) but don’t turn over as frequently as lower margined items. Other items are large and take up a lot of shelf space. Understanding the balance between the needs of presentation and return on shelf space is key to effective merchandising. The following work sheets will assist in benchmarking sales and profits per linear or cubic foot of shelf space. This will assist in measuring high margin/low volume products against low margin/high volume items, and large sized items against smaller sized items.

The more appealing a display looks, the more product will move off the shelf. Following these suggestions will help deliver aesthetically pleasing displays: Displays must be faced and fronted – Turn all packages so labels face the customer. Pull packages toward the front of the case so the product is clearly visible and the display looks full. Displays must be orderly and clean – Keep displays orderly and clean at all times by removing leaking packages and regularly cleaning refrigeration cases. Displays must be free of damaged packages – A single damaged package can destroy the effectiveness of an entire display. Displays must be clearly signed and priced – Customers hesitate to purchase products without knowing the price. Displays must be set up and removed at the appropriate time – The department must be ready at store opening, and any seasonal or promotional items fully stocked. Display products must be accessible to customers – A display is not effective if the customer can’t reach the product. Successful self-service merchandising depends on easy accessibility. Displays must be correctly positioned – Strategically position displays to create impulse and related item sales. Displays should have a planned product mix – Carefully plan and monitor displays so they have a sufficient supply of merchandise and are properly grouped. New, seasonal or promotional merchandise should be displayed with high-profit products to maximise profitability.

Customer Convenience Making the shopping experience as easy as possible for the customer increases customer satisfaction and return visits. Displaying products in groupings that make sense to the way

a customer thinks while shopping is an important merchandising principle. Customer research, which may be as simple as questioning your customers, can help determine

how the majority of customers think about their purchases in the meat department.

Do most of your customers walk into the department thinking of the protein they want to buy (beef, pork etc.)? – Displays should be organized by protein.

Do most of your customers shop with a particular cooking method in mind (grilling, simmering etc.)? – Displays should be organised by cooking method.

Do the majority of your customers come into the department specifically looking for advertised specials? – Specials should be clearly signed (but with higher margined items

displayed adjacently). Research has shown that customers tend to make buying decisions within the display area that they can easily see. Customers can see approximately 12 linear feet. Try to

keep your product grouping (protein, cooking method) vertically blocked within 12 feet of display.

Customers will also almost always look at eye level. Display your higher margined items

at eye level.

DIGITAL MARKETING

Top 10 Digital Marketing TipsDigital advertising has become a major component of modern day marketing strategies-and if it's not part of your business strategy, it should be. Whether your business is B2B or B2C, by implementing digital advertisements correctly, you'll be able to successfully grow your online presence, and ultimately foster more conversions and sales. Now more than ever, digital advertisements allow your company to have more visibility throughout a much wider audience. However, if your ads aren't well thought out, you most likely won't get the outcome you're hoping for. Whether it be the design, channel, or messaging elements, every aspect of the advertisement needs to be taken into consideration for it to work in your favor. To determine the very best ways to create and implement digital ads, we've turned to experts across the digital advertising industry, and have consulted with our own thought-leaders from Blue Fountain Media, to create a collection of tips that will help any company get the most out of their campaigns. Take a look at these 10 tactics, and see if integrating them into your own marketing strategy can help your company get the digital advertising results you're looking for:

1. Creative Elements Your business has visual elements that make it stand out from your competition. Use that to your advantage in your marketing efforts. Whether it is a logo, mascot, font, or color scheme, having it included can help make your brand recognisable. You want to catch the eye of the audience, but you also want to maintain their attention and have them remember your brand. Incorporating unique and creative visual elements into your ads is crucial to the success the ads will bring you.

2. Spend Wisely Each platform used to market online provides you with a different value. You need to analyse which outlets you should invest more time and money into, and which ones are not as imperative. Some platforms that work really well for one company, yield little to no results for another. It is all very specific to your brand, and you need to plan your budget accordingly. Determining what each platform is going to do for your specific advertising efforts should be the basis for the decisions you make with your campaigns

3. Do Your Research You may have ideas for what is going to work best for your audience based on past experience with your ads, but taking the time to conduct thorough research and have data to support your actions is important. You may anticipate that your customers will behave a certain way, when in fact they go in a completely different direction. It's essential to be prepared for this ahead of time and use the information you collect from research to plan your marketing strategy.

4. The Buyer Process Understand the buyer journey and what you need to present them with at each stage of the process to more effectively reach users. There are so many detailed options when it comes to viewing buyer analytics. You can see each step a visitor takes throughout your website, how much time they spent on each page, and even what pages caused them to possibly leave. Use this information to cater your digital marketing to those audience members so that you can make the process simple for them, and beneficial for you

5. Know Your Target Audience Fully grasping who your audience is, and how to best market to them is critical. You need to know who you want your buyers to be before you try to market to them. This is an important step in any marketing strategy whether it be on or offline, and it is a clearly defined aspect of your brand that you can keep referring back to

6. Connect Social Media Metrics With ROI To see which efforts are working best, you need to be able to tie your data back to the direct result it produces. When you are marketing online, you are reaching a diverse group of people, and that needs to be taken into consideration when measuring your results. You need to look at what is promoting engagement with your company, versus what is actually driving conversions.

7. Leverage Facebook According to a study from eMarkter, 80% of small and medium-sized businesses haven't used ads for Facebook. Jayme Pretzloff, Director of Marketing for Wixon Jewelers, says that Facebook is a great advertising space for small businesses, and stresses the importance of exploring this channel

8. Integrate All Marketing Channels To reach your audience effectively, you need to have consistent messaging. This means making sure that your ads are integrated across various platforms and giving users the same message, regardless of the platform. We know each social media outlet has a different vibe and feel to it, so you need to take the time to get your digital efforts to match each site, while still maintaining a unique yet consistent voice for your brand.

9. Geo-fencing The relatively new venture in digital advertising holds a lot of promise for marketers-especially those in the B2C space. It allows you to target customers in a whole new way based on their physical location, in the hopes of naturally guiding them to your business.

10. Optimize Product Listing Ads Product listing ads should have all the elements that users want to see when they do a search. You don't want potential customers to have to go and do more research at the risk of losing interest, so answer any questions they may have up front. Any information that could be beneficial to the purchase process, include it! Enhancing these ads will ensure that they stand out

MONTGOMERY FOOD INTERNATIONAL

January Record Month for New Members

Due to increased marketing within the company, Butchery Excellence is growing significantly with a record number of new members joining since the

New Year. We are delighted that butchers, restaruants, local independant stores and new

corporate partners are joining our growing family.

New Butchery Excellence Members

Brady Family Butchers Athenry, Galway The Gourmet Butcher, Clonmel, Tipperary Walsh Family Butchers, Kilcock, Kildare

Ciaran's Butchers Raphoe, Donegal Eurospar Draperstown, Londonderry

Eurospar, Skeoge, Londonderry

New Corporate Members

Prep House, Downpatrick, Down Globeweigh, Portadown, Armagh

Henry Winnings, UK Kennedy Bacon, Omagh, Tyrone

New Hospitality Excellence Members

Hell Cat Maggies, Donegal Square, Belfast

Spar Newbuildings, Londonderry Spar Claudy, Londonderry

Spar Dungiven, Londonderry No: 15 Bistro Limavady

Nettle Hill Service Station

Butchery Excellence Members are growing their businesses.

Butchery Excellence Members are striving in the current climate and being part of butchery excellence has helped them to develop their business and to stay on top in the independant retail sector. We are delighted to helping them on your journey. Peter Osborne from Osborne's butchers in Portstewart has developed his own recipe for Beef Rashers to try and create a new USP for his shop. He noticed that the muslim community is growing in the Portstewart area and creating beef rashers are giving them a new alternative to eating bacon as pork is not part of their everyday diet. Shane McConnell from McConnell's Butchers in Ballybofey has plans to open a factory in Ballybofey to expand his on line shopping network. Rhonda will be working closely with Shane over the coming weeks to upgrade his systems for EC Approval to enable him to sell product anywhere in Ireland and N.Ireland. Mark Kane from Kane's Family Butchers in Bushmills has created his own on line shop on his website. He now has a reach to over 13,000 shoppers using this website on a regular basis and makes deliveries to customers homes. Ian McKernaghan is growing from strength to strength since getting his EC approval post Christmas. He has plans to expand his factory in the coming months to facilitate new business he has gained in the hospitality sector. Gareth Hutton from Hutton's in Cookstown is expanding his ready meal business at his shop in Cookstown. He has plans for extending the ready meal facility to gain EC approval in order to sell his products in other counties of N.Ireland. James Cunningham is opening up a new store in Quays Shoping Centre in Newry which will create 13 new jobs and see a new food hall opening in store soon. The Walshes from EWS in Donegal are selling OMEGA 3 lamb. They have tripled Donegal's consumption in eating lamb as the meat is not as strong as normal lamb and the customers like the taste of the new lamb in store. Glenn McDowell from Glenn's Butchers in Limavady has opened up his new bistro No;15 Bistro. This new bistro is doing very well for Glenn and

Montgomery Food Consulting Clients FlouishingKSM Lurgan Cot have their new cold store complete. We gained EC approval and BRC certification under Storage & Distribution for them. These audits have opened the doors for suppliers all over Ireland to store chilled, frozen and ambient food products at the state of the art facility in Kilmore Co.Armagh. We also look after after Morgan McLernon Transport that have a fleet of over 300 lorries and we conduct BRC in Distribution for them on an interim basis now for three years. The transport company is now 70% owned by the Culina Group.

Oriel Sea Salt at Clogherhead in Co.Louth are in the process of gaining their ISO 22000 and ISO 9008 certification to enable them to export salt around the world. They are becoming a major ingredient supplier of salt to food manufacturing companies and recently Glens of Antrim launched their new 'Clogherhead Salted' Crisps this month.

Steady Increase in food factories moving away from BRC to SALSA Standards

Montgomery Food Consulting specialise in implmenting BRC, ISO and SALSA standards for food companies to supply multi-national supermarkets. Our clients perform well year on year and the following food manufacturers have successfully passed their SALSA recently and will be upgraded to Issue 4 this year: Pet's Bakery, Moy, Dungannon, Love Olive, Glenavy, Benburb Mushrooms, Island Salads, Hyndman's Bakery. Benburb Mushrooms are expanding their pack house this month to start manufacturing stuffed grourmet mushrooms for retailers. We enjoy seeing our customers grow.

Montgomery are close to securing a 25k contract with Musgraves

Musgrave N.Ireland are outsourcing all their food labelling work for all Musgrave owned stores and Independently owned stores. We are in the middle of a tendering process to secure this work for all Supervalu's and Centras in N.Ireland. On securement of this contract, we will be growing our team with the addition of a new auditor and label writer/compliance manager.

TOP 15 FOOD TRENDS FOR 20191. Sri Lankan cuisine Restaurants such as London’s Hoppers, mini chain The Coconut Tree and the success of the M&S Taste Asia range have put Sri Lankan food on the brink of a breakthrough. Think hoppers (bowl- shaped rice flour pancakes), kottu roti (fried veg, eggs, shredded roti and curry, as sold by street stall Kottu Lanka) and pol sambol coconut relish. ‘Before, Sri Lankan was lumped in with Indian cuisine but now, we’re not having an “Indian” anymore. It’s recognised in its own right,’ says Emma Weinbren, food trends editor at retail magazine The Grocer.

2. Burmese cuisine Restaurant analysts are tipping Burmese food – check out London’s Lahpet and the @RangoonSisters supper club – or try our recipe for tohu jaw, Burmese fritters. Coming this year from the same author, MiMi Aye, Mandalay, a Burmese recipe book.

3. Meat-free Britain’s attitude to meat is changing dramatically. When Marston’s pubs are serving a ‘bleeding’ burger, and restaurants as varied as Gauthier Soho and the Hackney chippy Sutton & Sons are in various stages of turning vegan, clearly something seismic is happening. According to data seen by M&S (poised to launch a new range of vegan ready meals and on-the-go options), 3.5 million people now identify as vegan, 20% of under-35s have tried veganism, and 25% of our evening meals are now meat-free. ‘It’s no longer niche,’ agrees Weinbren. ‘And this isn’t just committed vegans but people saying, ‘I want to cut down my meat intake.’ This growth in plant-based eating, says Good Food wine guru, Victoria Moore, is also causing major retailers to increase the number of vegan wines they stock. ‘It’s all down to the fining agent,’ explains Moore. ‘Some are derived from fish or dairy products.’

4. Kefir Sales of Lakeland’s kefir kit are ‘flying’ along with M&S’s kombucha. ‘As customers come to understand the positive in influence of bacteria on gut health, the global fermented drinks market is in huge growth,’ reports M&S food trends insight manager Helen Arpino.

6. Hidden vegetables Gato & Co puddings (that use vegetables to reduce refined sugar content) and Dr Oetker’s new Yes, It’s Pizza vegetable-dough bases are indicative of how many people are keen to cut down on carbs and increase their intake of vegetables – but without forgoing life’s indulgences. You can expect to see more hidden vegetable products in 2019.

7. Rum Rum is coming up fast. Millenials are particularly partial to barrel-aged, small-batch craft rums, fine rums from traditional Caribbean makers and now, British rums from, for instance, Essex’s English Spirit. ‘Whether you like it strong or sweet, prefer the harshness of white spirit, or dark rum sipped neat with ice, or a golden rum and coke, it’s one of the most accessible spirits,’ says Nicholas Robinson, food and drink editor at bar magazine, Morning Advertiser.

8. Food halls Fittingly, given that it kick-started the craze for communal dining halls serviced by multiple kitchens, Altrincham Market House (@MarketHouseAlty) – which also runs the Mackie Mayor in Manchester – will open a third food hall in Macclesfield this year. In London, Market Halls are set to open Britain’s biggest on Oxford Street, in the former BHS building, while others are being developed in Stockport, Sheffield, on the Wirral and beyond.

9. Eating where you shop We’re increasingly eating and shopping in the same place, from butcher-bistro hybrids, such as London’s Hill & Szrok and Tom Kerridge’s Butcher’s Tap in Marlow, to spaces that blend deli- shopping with bars and dining, like Bowland Food Hall in Clitheroe and Eataly, opening in London in 2020.

15. Age? No barrier Waiting-on is usually a young whippersnappers’ game. But London restaurateurs Corbin & King plan to, at least, double the number of over-50s it employs to wait tables this year. With good front-of- house staff in short supply and Brexit looming, this could well become a ‘thing’.

14. Recyclable or lower impact packaging Waitrose & Partners are stocking two new organic Chateau Maris wines in recyclable cans, while Carlsberg is gluing its cans together to create an easily snap-able bond, which, it says, will remove 1,200 tonnes of plastic waste annually. Walkers crisps have joined with Terracycle to start a recycling scheme for all crisp packets while they work on making new types of packaging. Crisp packets are not collected by any recycling scheme at present

12. Goat Last year’s Goatober campaign – aimed at stopping the waste slaughter of male billies in the goat dairy industry – went global. The solution? Get more goat meat on menus. Try it at London’s Gymkhana or Manchester’s Creameries, and expect to see more of this versatile meat.

11. Going cashless Bars, coffee shops, casual restaurants and even food stalls are increasingly (and controversially) going card-only. In Manchester, Takk and Öl are cash-free, as are Bristol’s The Athenian and Aberfeldy’s Habitat Café. This could become a huge surge in 2019.

10. Low or no alcohol From sub-0.5% ABV craft beers (check out Big Drop Brewing Co.) to serious mocktails (try the Dry Monsoon Martini from Dishoom), younger Brits are dialling-down their alcohol intake. No- or low-alcohol is set to grow in sophistication.

5. Ugly fruit & veg Ocado buyer India Moore says, ‘We’re seeing exciting products made using misshapen fruit and veg that would otherwise go to waste, such as crisps and hummus. Eco-friendly searches on ocado.com leapt 93% last year, and we can see this “rescued food” trend gaining momentum in 2019.’ Get inspired with our ideas for homemade vegetable crisps.

UK FOOD NEWSYorkshire abattoir fined for food hygiene failings

Yorkshire Abattoir Services Limited ordered to pay more than £34,400 after

being found guilty of food hygiene offences.

A red meat slaughterhouse based in Osset, Yorkshire has been handed fines and costs totalling more than £34,400

after being found guilty of food hygiene failings.

Yorkshire Abattoir Services Limited pleaded not guilty after a series of failings were identified by Food Standards Agency inspectors and veterinarians between November

2016 and January 2017.

However, following a trial at Leeds Magistrates Court, District Judge Bouch found the business guilty on all 12

charges.

The charges brought against the business included failures to:

prevent contact between the outside of the skin and the

carcase of sheep during the removal of fleece (‘in-rolling’) remove faecal contamination from sheep carcases without

delay comply with a Remedial Action Notice related to ‘in-rolling’ - these notices can prohibit the use of equipment, limit or prohibit certain processes being carried out or reduce or

stop operations The initial incidents in early November 2016 led to a

Remedial Action Notice being served which was breached in late December and again in early January 2017.

District Judge Bouch ordered the food business to pay a fine of £24,000 along with costs of £10,234.50 and a

victim surcharge of £170.

Dr Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of the FSA, said:

'We welcome this outcome which has brought this business to justice and has imposed significant

charges upon them as a result.

'Where food businesses fail to uphold acceptable food hygiene standards and ignore an order requiring them to halt certain activities, we will investigate and

we will look to prosecute.'

Advice on cooking raw meat following rise in Salmonella Typhimurium

Food Standards Agency along with Food Standards Scotland, Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland are reminding people to take care when handling raw meat and to cook it properly.

People should wash their hands after touching raw meat, avoid contaminating other food in the kitchen by storing it separately in the fridge and using different chopping boards and knives, and ensure that meat, particularly diced and minced lamb, is cooked properly.' Nick Phin, Deputy Director, National Infection Service, PHE said: 'The likely cause of the increased numbers of this specific strain of Salmonella Typhimurium is considered to be meat or cross-contamination with meat from affected sheep. People can be infected with Salmonella Typhimurium in a number of ways such as not cooking their meat properly, not washing hands thoroughly after handling raw meat, or through cross-contamination with other food, surfaces and utensils in the kitchen.'

Birmingham meat cutting plant fined over £43,000

for hygiene failingsSandwell Foods Ltd, which trade under the name Halal World, were found guilty

of four food hygiene offences.

The operators a red and white meat cutting plant in Birmingham have been fined and ordered to pay over

£43,000 after being found guilty of food hygiene breaches.

Inspections and audits at the FSA approved site were increased in frequency following a number of failings

being identified by agency officials.

Agency officials initially worked with the business in order to achieve improvements after identifying a number of failings. However, the resultant increase in audits and inspections found further breaches between June and

August 2017 which led to legal action being taken.

Charges were brought against the business for:

not adequately training the staff responsible for developing and maintaining the food safety hazard

analysis plan (HACCP plan) having gaps in the roller shutter door which could allow

pests into the site. not maintaining the floor to wall joins in good condition. Sandwell Foods Ltd pleaded guilty to the charges and

sentencing took place on Monday 19 November.

Birmingham Magistrates Court ordered the business to pay a fine of £36,000, costs of approximately £7,190 and

a victim surcharge of £170.

Dr Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of the FSA, said: ‘The substantial fine sends a strong message to businesses that choose to disregard the hygiene

standards which are put in place to protect consumers.’

‘The FSA takes these breaches of food safety

regulations very seriously and, as this case shows, we will prosecute those businesses that fail to uphold

acceptable standards of food hygiene.’

This comes as we investigate a rise in cases of a particular strain of Salmonella Typhimurium which have been linked to lamb and mutton. We first saw an increase in cases of this particular type of salmonella in July 2017. A number of control measures were put into place which led to a significant decline in cases at the end of that year. A total of 118 cases were reported up until May 2018.

Since June 2018, a further 165 cases have been reported (up to 19 October), which led us to put control measures in place. This hasn't led to the same decline in cases as in 2017 and so we are now reminding the public about how to cook and handle raw meat. Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at the Food Standards Agency said: 'We are advising care when preparing all meat, including lamb and mutton, to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with Salmonella Typhimurium. Our advice is to purchase food as normal but to take care when storing, handling and cooking raw meat. '

Latest Public Attitudes Tracker survey results publishedFood issues of concern The top food safety issues of concern for those surveyed were: Food hygiene when eating out (35%) Food poisoning (29%) Chemicals from the environment, such as lead, in food (28%) Food additives (28%) The top wider food issues of concern were: The amount of sugar in food (50%) Food waste (49%) Food prices (46%) Animal welfare (43%)

The Village Bakery Markethill recalls various own-branded bakery products because of incorrect allergen labelling

The Village Bakery Markethill is recalling numerous bakery products because they contain various undeclared or incorrectly labelled allergens. This means the products are a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to sesame or celery or an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents, wheat (gluten), oats (gluten) or barley (gluten) 40 product lines were recalled due to these allergens being undeclared.

Merchandising Tricks to Increase Your SalesPlanograms

A planogram is a diagram of fixtures and products that illustrates where retail products should be displayed, usually on a shelf, in order to increase customer purchases. Planograms help

map out where to display products even before the products reach the store. Planograms can be designed for and provided to any number of stores to ensure a consistent look, such as in a

retail chain.

The purpose of a planogram is to communicate to others, including stock clerks, how to display merchandise to increase customer purchases. Because the goal of a planogram is to

maximize profit per centimeter of shelf space, product financial performance needs to be taken into consideration.

Merchandising Principles Successful merchandising is built on a strategy for providing maximum value to the customer at a profit, and the effective implementation of the strategy in the store.

Merchandising is a team effort, from managers through to the employees who keep the shelves stocked. It is described as a standardized set of baseline criteria permeating

throughout all areas of the store in an effort to project a positive visual image.

Customer Demand It’s been estimated that between 8 and 12% of retailed items in UK are out of stock at any given time. An out of

stock item is a lost sale. Effective merchandising takes into account the sales volume of a product and ensures enough display space is assigned to it to ensure the product does

not run out between scheduled re-stocking.

A simple method to calculate the amount of display space that should be given to a product is to take historic sales

volumes of the product divided by stocking schedule. Horizontal dotted line

Merchandising for Profit Effective merchandising decisions can only be made in

conjunction with a clear understanding of product financial performance. Decisions on how much shelf space to devote

to display of a product and which products to put in prime display locations (e.g. eye level) depend on understanding

the margin contribution of each product.

As discussed in the Pricing section of Category Management, the bulk of a store’s stock keeping units

(skus) are not price sensitive and can be priced for profit. Products that are priced for profit should play a key role in

merchandising decisions.

Understanding each product’s characteristics and its contribution to the store and department’s competitive

positioning strategy will also help determine merchandising decisions.

Promotional Merchandising Promotional merchandising plays a key role in driving sales.

Aggressive support of advertised products ensures both business and customer expectations are met. Clearly identify the promotional merchandise, make attractive

displays, take advantage of tie-in opportunities and maintain a healthy level of gross margin on the overall product mix.

Plan Your Promotional Displays

Plan a structured approach to promotional set up. Understand the traffic flow of the meat department and

prime merchandising display locations. Spread promotional products throughout the department to lead shoppers past

all the products on display.

Be Familiar with Upcoming Promotions High profile products as well as sale priced items may be advertised. Displays for each type of product need to be carefully planned. Displaying high profile products (e.g.

prime rib roasts, steak and lobster packs) should be displayed near the front of the department where they are easily visible. Sale priced products are best displayed in a

manner that requires customers to walk past adjacent displays, where similar but higher margined items (e.g. source grinds next to sale priced ground beef) can be

displayed.

Promotional items in other departments should be considered for possible tie-in merchandising. For example,

if the dairy department has a sale price on processed cheese slices, consider a display including cheese slices

adjacent to ground beef patties, hamburger buns and condiments.

Visual Merchandising Visual merchandising supports the store and the department’s competitive

positioning strategy, carries through on the promises made through advertising, and assists customers in finding the products they’re looking for.

Visual merchandising includes signage, shelf strips, product labels, point of purchase

materials and anything else that the customer sees when shopping in the department.

Product displays are also a form of visual merchandising – a block of the same

product in a display that is full, evenly spaced and with labels facing the customer, creates a pleasing billboard effect.

General principles:

All signage and labels must be clean and undamaged.

Every shelf should be labeled, even if the same product is displayed on more than one shelf.

Shelf labels must match the product displayed. Advertised specials or promotional items should have signage that makes them easy

to find. Signage and shelf labels must match the advertised product description.

Coupons, recipes and other point of purchase materials must be kept tidy and neatly displayed.

SUPERMARKET NEWS

Lidl invests in expanding Red Tractor meat and

poultry rangeLidl UK is investing £66 million in its fresh meat and poultry range as part of its continuing commitment towards increasing the proportion of fresh products available across its 600 UK stores. The move will see the supermarket increase the number of fresh meat and poultry lines in its listed range by almost 50% by 2014. A spokesperson from Lidl said: "This latest expansion is designed to respond to increasing customer demand for fresh meat and poultry after we saw sales range increase by 30% from 2012 to 2013." 'Nearly all of our fresh meat and poultry is British. We are always looking to increase our home-sourced products in our supermarket, and we will be adding even more British- reared meat to the range as part of this move." Currently 100% of Lidl’s fresh British meat and poultry ranges are sourced from Red Tractor accredited farmers in the UK. The expansion project will see the availability of quality Red Tractor ingredients increase even further for their shoppers.

Tesco 'to axe 15,000 jobs and close meat, fish

and deli counters in £1.5bn purge'

Tesco is to axe 15,000 jobs and close meat, fish and deli counters across the country as part of a £1.5 billion cost- saving measure, according to reports. Bakeries with the supermarket chain will also be overhauled with frozen instead of fresh dough reportedly being used meaning jobs for skilled bakers will be cut. Reports claim staff canteens will also be replaced with vending machines in a slew of changes which will affect stores across the UK. Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, has 732 stores with a typical shop having five fish mongers, five butchers, as well as six deli and cheese counter workers who now all face their jobs being axed. Industry sources said the closures could result in the loss of up to 15,000 jobs. It's understood that counters in some Tesco Extra stores will open from Thursday to Sunday each week, but others will be closed or massively scaled back. To date, chief executive Dave Lewis has axed more than 10,000 roles since joining the supermarket in 2014. A source told the The Mail On Sunday: "Dave Lewis' attitude seems to be 'if in doubt, just close it' - but for elderly customers, or those on a budget, using the counters for a few slices of ham, those aren't the days they do their shopping." Tesco is aiming to make £1.5 billion in cost savings by 2020. The supermarket is the latest to make job cuts, joining rivals Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s in overhauling the structure of its stores.

Morrisons to train up 500 extra fresh

counter apprenticesMorrisons has reacted to Tesco’s plans to slash its fresh food counter offer with an announcement it will train 500 extra apprentices over the next 12 months, many of them specialising in traditional craft skills such as butchery, bakery and fishmongery. The retailer, which said it already employed 10,000 skilled food makers in its stores, is looking to capitalise on the decision by its rival to axe the fresh fish, meat and deli offers at 90 of its stores, with a further 700 larger Tesco stores facing an overhaul. A Morrisons source added it would consider employing staff among the 9,000 at Tesco whose jobs are at risk because of this week’s announcement. The Grocer understands Morrisons will also launch a new burst of advertising later this week in a bid to stress its credentials in preparing fresh food, and the specialist skills of its Market Street staff. Today Morrisons said its jobs announcement was further proof it had a “unique” proposition in the way food is made and prepared fresh for customers, and that it was “aiming to preserve traditional skills that otherwise might be lost from the high street.” Apprentices will be taught how to make bread in the traditional way, from flour and water, while butchers and fishmongers “will be developed to provide the portions of meat and fish that customers want, which can help them control their weekly budget.” “This investment in craft skills is so important because our customers want food that is made fresh each day,” said Morrisons people director Clare Grainger. Morrisons is the largest employer of craft apprentices in the UK.

Donnybrook Fair was in breach of bank covenants ahead of sale to SuperValu owner

Musgrave

High-end supermarket Donnybrook Fair was in breach of its banking covenants last year, ahead of its sale to SuperValu brand owner Musgrave. Sales fell 6.6pc in the year ending January 31 2018, with the grocer hit by competition in the retail trade, and development works which disrupted footfall at one of its stores, according to newly filed accounts. Rival supermarkets have been putting increasing emphasis on premium products, with an improving economy meaning Irish shoppers are increasingly willing to splash out on more expensive groceries. “Although in breach of bank covenants the directors believe they will have the support of the banks for a period of least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements,” the accounts, dated July 32018, state. The company’s sale to Musgrave was announced in September. The accounts also state that Joe and Mary Doyle, the business’s former owners, had given personal guarantees of €6.3m in favour of Bank of Ireland, relating to Donnybrook Fair borrowingsTesco's new discount chain Jack's takes on

Aldi and LidlTesco has unveiled its new discount chain called Jack's that aims to tackle the rising threat posed by German rivals Aldi and Lidl. The first store is in a mothballed former Tesco store in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. Another outlet in Immingham, Lincolnshire also opens on Thursday. Between 10 and 15 stores are planned for new locations, next to existing Tesco stores, and a small number of converted Tesco stores. Chief executive Dave Lewis claimed that Jack's - named after Tesco founder Sir Jack Cohen - would be cheaper than Aldi or Lidl. "We have been thinking about what customers want, and bringing it to them in

the most cost-effective, value-orientated way possible," he told the BBC. "The objective is to be the lowest cost for customers." Jack's stores will sell 2,600 products - far fewer than the 35,000 carried by a Tesco supermarket - with 1,800 branded "Jack's". By comparison, Aldi sells around 1,800 products. It is understood that Aldi will review Jack's prices where the stores open and adjust them if required.

RECIPE Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS16 ounces pork tenderloin, pounded flat and cut 14 slices bacon ½ small onion 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 ounces spinach 3 ounces cream cheese 3⁄4 teaspoon liquid smoke 3⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme 3⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable Saute4 ounces broccoli, chopped small ½ medium orange bell pepper ½ cup diced tomatoes ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste

METHODSaute onion in 1 tbsp. Olive Oil for a few minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook for 45-60 seconds, then add spinach. Put all the spices in there except for 1/4 tsp. of the liquid smoke, thyme, and rosemary. Let wilt and then add cream cheese. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F. Lay pork tenderloin on cutting board and cover with saran wrap, then pound with meat hammer until flat - cut the uneven sides so it goes square. Season with salt and pepper, then 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke. Make a bacon weave the same size as the pork tenderloin square. Spread spinach and cream cheese all over the pork tenderloin, then lay tenderloin on top of bacon. Slice the pieces of bacon that poke out. Roll it up. Season with salt and pepper and the remaining 1/4 tsp. of thyme and rosemary. Add toothpicks where the bacon ends are so that it doesn't fall apart. Bake for 75 minutes or until thermometer reads 140F. Saute broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes in the remaining fat in the bottom of the pan of the pork tenderloin while it rests.

RECIPE Baked Stuffed Flank Steak

INGREDIENTS1-2 lb flank steak butterflied 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs 1 egg yolk 1 and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese grated or shredded 1 cup spinach frozen pkg - thawed, rinsed, and well drained 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes roughly chopped 1/2 tsp garlic salt divided 1 pinch black pepper to taste 2 tbsp olive oil

METHODIf you have not already done so, butterfly your steak by lining your knife up parallel with a cutting board and slicing through the center of the steak, stopping just short of cutting all the way through. This will make it so that you can open up the steak like sandwich bread, doubling the original length of the steak. Need a visual guide? Check out this video. Using a meat tenderizer, even out the thickness of the steak, aiming for 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. In a large bowl, add egg yolk and lightly whisk with a fork. Add spinach and panko bread crumbs, mixing with the egg. Finish off by tossing in the mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Top butterflied steak with cheese stuffing, spreading it out evenly. Leave a 1 inch border along the edges of the steak clear of stuffing. Sprinkle top of stuffing with 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt and pepper to taste. Roll the steak along the "grain" (the ripples in the meat), starting with the smallest end first. Roll the steak tightly and tuck in any stray pieces. Using cooking twine (100% cotton string), snugly loop & tie the twine along the steak in 2 inch intervals. String should be snug enough to slightly compress meat but not so tight it begins to cut into the steak. Place stuffed & tied flank steak on a baking sheet of your choice (I used a 9x13 baking dish). Drizzle the steak with olive oil and use your fingers to thoroughly rub it into the meat. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic on top of the steak. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, then set oven to broil and cook for another 5-10 minutes, to taste. Caution: Depending on how much juice the steak released while cooking, there may be a little smoke while broiling. Remove stuffed flank from oven and let rest for 15 minutes, exposed to air and undisturbed, before serving.

FARMING NEWS

Irish retailers urged to pay by weight for

poultry

Irish farmers have called on retailers to pay by weight rather than classification.

The Irish Farmers Association has urged retail customers to re-evaluate how they pay

for poultry producer suppliers. Under current arrangements chickens are

classified as small, medium, large and poultry farmers are paid a set price, depending on

the weight scale the bird falls into. This works to the advantage of retailers and this means producers are losing out financially. IFA Poultry chairman Andy Bolan says "The current system essentially results in retailers getting up to 200g for free on certain birds."

This is unacceptable when producers are experiencing rising production costs.

Poultry should fall in line with other proteins. If we look at other meats such as beef,

retailers charge customers by weight for the product for example of you ask a butcher for 800g of mince, they weigh you out 800g of mince. This does not happen with poultry.

Retailers pay poultry producers a flat price of the weight of the bird. it is impossible to keep

the weight of a bird at an exact weight of 1,100g for instance, which means retailers

are getting product for free. Chicken feed rised dramtically in 2018 , as have energy costs, labour and the general

cost of doing business, this is no longer sustainable if we are continue selling poultry

in this way.

New £2.5m push to promote pork to show during prime-time TV

A £2.5 million Midweek Meal campaign will see health focused adverts promoting pork appear during prime-time TV shows like Coronation Street, starting this week. Running until February 24, the pork advertisements will tap into the New Year drive to be more healthy. Easy-to-cook recipes using lean cuts of pork will include Vietnamese pork with jasmine rice and Japanese caramelised pork with vegetable spaghetti. Millions of pounds of additional sales have already been generated through earlier phases of AHDB Pork’s advertising, with more shoppers buying fresh pork during previous campaign bursts. Research is running to track results of the latest phase of the campaign. Liam Byrne, AHDB’s head of meat marketing, said: “We know January is a key time of year when people focus on health. “To tap into that drive, we’ve collaborated with reality TV star Lucy Mecklenburgh, and personal trainer Cecilia Harris to help inspire people to cook pork as they try new healthy-meals.

Livestock & Meat Commission protecting red meat’s reputation

Eating red meat with pride is the message that Colin Smith, industry development manager at the Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC), is looking to spread. LMC, together with other UK levy bodies, contribute funding to Meat Matters, an initiative which gathers information from the Meat Advisory Panel, made up of a group of healthcare professionals, scientists and researchers who provide independent information about red meat and its role as part of a balanced diet. LMC has been funding this initiative for over 10 years. Smith said: “Red meat produced in Northern Ireland and across the UK is a fantastic product. It is extremely encouraging to see the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to accurately inform consumers and the media about the nutritional benefits of red meat. All too often it is the negative stories about red meat that reach the headlines. “The team at Meat Matters continually examine media content for red meat references and is well placed to counter any misinformed negative press or to proactively distribute good news stories about red meat. Meat Matters gathers information from a Meat Advisory Panel, a group of healthcare professionals, scientists and researchers who can provide independent information about red meat and its role as part of a healthy, balanced diet.” This information is also used by LMC to inform its own work in schools, advertising campaigns and to keep promotional material up-to-date.

LMC’s industry development manager, Colin Smith.

Smith added: “As an industry it is important that we continue working to ensure the public are properly informed about the benefits of eating red meat and we must strive to dismiss the various myths surrounding the consumption of it.” “We want to educate Northern Ireland consumers about the importance of buying local red meat. By purchasing Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured beef and lamb, consumers have the assurance that the meat they’re purchasing has been produced to the highest animal welfare standards, with care for the environment and is wholesome and free from unnatural substances. “Looking to the future, LMC will continue to stress the benefits of incorporating red meat into the diet through its breadth of business activities.”

Beef ad campaign boosts retail sales by over £1mAHDB’s 'Cheeky Beef' campaign boosted sales to the thin cut steaks category, according to Kantar Worldpanel’s Consumer Mix Model. The humorous campaign, aimed at couples aged 25 to 44 years old, promotes thin cut steaks as a quick and easy midweek meal. Thin cut steaks were specifically chosen as they provided an industry solution to a carcase balance issue, as they utilise cuts that are in surplus during the summer months. Recipes and images featuring saucy slogans such as “Fancy a midweek quickie?” were rolled out across national newspapers, billboards near to supermarkets and social media over an 11-week period from late May last year. Retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, the Co-op and Aldi supported the campaign.

US firms seek changes to UK standards on beef and

drugsUS lobby groups for agriculture and pharmaceutical firms want UK standards changed to be closer to those of the US in a post-Brexit trade deal. The meat lobby wants the sale of growth hormone-fed beef, currently banned in the UK and EU, to be allowed in the UK. The drugs company lobby wants changes to the NHS drugs approval process to allow it to buy more of US drugs. They are also asking US officials - who will hold a hearing later - to seek lower tariffs on agricultural goods. The farming groups say any deal should move away from EU standards, including rules governing genetically modified crops, antibiotics in meats, and pesticides and herbicides, such as glyphosate.

CORPORATE PARTNER NEWS

The traditional commercial kitchen: tilting fryer, boiling pan, stove, deep-fat fryer, hectic rushing and too little space. Rational, the hot food preparation specialist, is sketching a different kitchen layout - the multifunctional VarioCookingCenter is an appliance that creates flexibility and freedom. Whether you are preparing 30 portions or thousands of meals, every kitchen situation may have its own challenges, but they all have one and the same problem: lack of time and space. Rational has set itself this task and with its multifunctional cooking appliance it frees up work space and brings back all kinds of flexibility to the kitchen. Only one appliance is needed to boil, fry and deep-fry. Boiling past shows in a very simple but impressive manner how you can save time with the VarioCookingCenter; it fills itself with water, brings it to the boil in seconds and automatically drains the pasta when it is al dente. Pan, touch display and the Rational central dial - from the outside you can only guess which powerful functions the market leader has built into the VarioCookingCenter. The appliance demonstrates its operational readiness especially when things need to be done quickly in the kitchen: It heats up from 0 to 200 °C in less than 2.5 minutes. "With the patented VarioBoost heating system, chefs will realise their desired result up to 4 times faster and with up to 40% less power consumption,"Simon Lohse, Managing Director, Rational UK explains the benefits.

The VarioCookingCenter: boiling, frying, deep frying in a single appliance.

Together, the two appliances offer the best cooking solutions. For information and brochures, or to come to a free VarioCookingCenter or SelfCookingCenter Live demonstration, call +44 (0)1582 480388, freephone 0800 389 2944 or visit

www.rational-online.com

Visitors to Catex can experience the power of the VarioCookingCenter for themselves on the RATIONAL stand E11, Catex, RDS, Dublin 26-28 Februrary 2019. Both the versatility of the VarioCookingCenter unit and Rational SelfCookingCenter combi ovens will be showcased in live demonstrations by Rational’s chefs. Rational is the leading provider in hot food preparation equipment and, with the VarioCookingCenter and the SelfCookingCenter, the company delivers all a commercial kitchen’s thermal cooking requirements.

Mervyn Kennedy is the third generation of his family to farm in the scenic hills of Glenhordial in County Tyrone. He has steadily built a reputation as one of the best producers of artisan bacon in the area and his bacon has consistently gained awards in both the Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards. With many years’ experience of rearing and fattening pigs, Mervyn’s secret lies in the curing process. During curing no water is added, nor is it soaked in any brine, instead it is gently massaged with a curing salt that incorporates a few select ingredients. It is these secret ingredients that help to intensify and develop the flavour of the bacon, which is then naturally matured for up to ten days. During this time it is regularly turned and monitored to ensure quality.

Artisan bacon at its best

KENNEDY BACON - ARTISAN BACON AT IT'S BEST

Kennedy Bacon is an artisan product, home cured on our farm in Glenhordial in the Hills above

Omagh.Our Back Bacon achieved a Great Taste Award 1 Star in 2015.

In 2016 year’s Awards our Streaky and Smoked Bacon achieved a Great Taste Award 1 Star as well our Bacon Loin Roast which achieved a 2

Stars in 2018. Our Dry Cured Gammon achieved a whopping 2

Stars!

We add the minimum amount of preservatives and no water. Thus our products are subject to

minimum cooking shrinkage and are phosphate free.

Our products are natural so are subject to variations in shape of slices etc.

Contact us

Mervyn Kennedy – 07818605689 Marian Meehan – 07887958838

Office - 02882242658 Email – kennedybacon@hotmail.co.uk

Website – kennedybacon.co.uk Find us on Facebook /Twitter

They cure and hand tie their own gammons, loin roasts and collar bacon. The Gammons and loins are lightly salted and do not require any steeping or boiling. The Company also produce bacon chops, bacon bits and a selection of dry cured hocks and ribs. Mervyn has recently upgraded the Bacon Bits using leaner cuts of meat making them more versatile for use in stews, soups or as an enhancement to any recipe. Kennedy Bacon has no added water, guaranteeing that it is phosphate free, allowing the unique taste of the hand cured meat to stand out. “All our products are handmade in small batches on our own farm,” says Mervyn. All products can be ordered directly from the farm or through most of the farm shops and you’re sure to see Mervyn at one of the many farmers markets or food festivals on the Kennedy Bacon stand.

The finished product is a bacon that is natural, full of flavour and that retains its taste and texture on the pan. “We attend farmers markets, food festivals and shows across Ireland and customers consistently comment on how good the flavour is and how great it is to get their hands on a truly natural artisan product, tasting like the traditional bacon from bygone years”.

Mervyn and his team produce a wide variety of pork products including dry cured bacon, along with back, middle, skinny and streaky varieties.

Mervyn Kennedy Managing Director of Kennedy Bacon

Major new employment laws to shake up Irish retail sectorBEI members must prepare NOW for the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act A new Act containing major employment law reforms comes into force on 1st March 2019. It’s so significant that the Minister for Employment Affairs, Regina Doherty, labelled it a “once-in-a-generation reform of our labour market.” And for good reason: It has the potential to put every single employer in Ireland at greater risk of prosecution. But the penalties aren’t just a slap on the wrist. You could face criminal punishment.

What is the Act for? The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 aims to protect people who are in precarious work conditions. For example, that could be people on zero hour or short-term contracts—which no doubt includes a large portion of employees working for organisations within the current Butchery Excellence International member base. But while the Act’s primary goal is to protect those in precarious work, it applies to all employees and has a major impact on employers, too. That’s because failure to comply with the upcoming law could lead to a €5,000 fine and 12 months in prison. With such seemingly draconian penalties and the Act’s launch date looming, we break down what Butchery Excellence International members need to know. The four new provisions Within the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, there are four new provisions that are the most important. Understand each one and assess its impact on your company’s current work practices.

1. Early issuing of five core terms of employment: From the date new employees join your business, you have five days to give them five core terms of employment in writing. If you fail to provide your employees with their written statement of core terms within one month, you will be guilty of a criminal offence which is punishable by both a financial penalty and a custodial sentence. 2. Zero hour contracts abolished: As giving greater security to those in precarious work is the Act’s primary goal, it’s no surprise to see zero hour contracts banned. The only exception is if your business faces an emergency demand for casual or short-term relief workers. However, the ban raises the prospect of a logistical nightmare for Butchery Excellence International members who currently rely on zero hour contracts. 3. Banded hours: This provision is likely to impact you if you have staff on part-time or variable hours contracts. Say you have an employee whose contracted hours are much lower than the actual hours they work. Your employee will now be entitled to request that you put them on a ‘banded hours contract’ to reflect the actual hours they worked over the previous year. You may suffer payroll consequences as employees will be entitled to be paid for the minimum number of hours in the band of hours they fall into.

4. Minimum payments if there’s no work: If you can’t offer someone any work on a certain week or you can only offer them less than 25% of their weekly contracted hours, the minimum payment affected employees receive must be no less than 3 x the national minimum wage/employment regulation order hourly rate. How to take action Assess whether the four new provisions put you and your senior staff at risk of prosecution, and consider the steps you need to take to comply with the laws in the short period leading up to 1st March 2019. As you’re a Butchery Excellence International member, the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act specialists here at Peninsula Ireland will be happy to discuss your situation and offer insights into the best options available to you. Please call us today on 1890 252 923 or visit our website at www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/ie/.

EMPLOYMENT LAW

EU Settlement Scheme

EU Settlement Scheme (the Scheme) will enter a public test phase from 21 January 2019. This means that any EU citizen resident in the UK who holds a valid passport, and their non-EU citizen family members who hold a valid biometric residence permit, will be able to submit their application under the Scheme to remain in the UK after Brexit. In the event of a 'no deal', the Government has said that it will continue to run the Scheme, but applicants will need to be resident in the UK by 29 March 2019 (instead of 31 December 2020) and to apply for settled status by 31 December 2020 (instead of 30 June 2021).

Right to work checks

From 28 January 2019, employers will be able to rely solely on the Home Office online Right to Work Checking Service for non-EEA nationals who hold biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards and EEA nationals who have been granted immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Employers who use the online service will be excused from a civil penalty if: the online check confirms that the employee is allowed to work in the UK and perform the work in question the employer is satisfied that any photograph on the online right to work check is of the employee a copy of the online check is retained for at least two years after the employment ends in respect of students, details of the term and vacation dates of the individual's course of study are obtained and retained. EEA nationals who have not been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme will still need to demonstrate their right to work using the appropriate documents.New statutory rates

The government has published the proposed new statutory rates that will apply from April 2019: Statutory maternity pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay will increase to £148.68 (from £145.18) Statutory sick pay will increase to £94.25 (from £92.05).

Having been announced as part of the 2018 Budget, both the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase in April 2019. Under the new NLW, the minimum hourly rate that workers aged 25 and over are entitled to will increase from £7.83 to £8.21. At the same time, the NMW rate for workers aged between 21-24 will increase from £7.38 to £7.70 an hour; the rate for 18-20 year olds will increase from £5.90 to £6.15 an hour and those over compulsory school age but not yet 18 will experience an hourly increase from £4.20 to £4.35. The minimum rate for apprentices will also increase from £3.70 an hour to £3.90 an hour, providing the apprentice is under the age of 19, or 19 and over but in the first year of their current apprenticeship. Statutory sick pay will rise to £94.25 per week Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental payments will rise to £148.68 per week Accommodation offset will rise to £7.55 per day

National Living Wage

New Payslip RequirementChanges to the way employers issue payslips will also come into force on 6th April 2019 as from this date onwards the legal right to a payslip will be extended to include those who are recognised as ‘workers’. Employers will also be obliged to include the total number of hours worked on payslips for

employees whose wages vary depending on how much time they have worked. It is important that employers work with their payroll departments to ensure the correct procedure is in place ahead of April’s deadline.

CUTTING EDGE LAUNCHES TABLE-TOP BUTCHERY MACHINERY RANGE

Chorley, Lancashire. Cutting Edge have partnered with three market-leading suppliers to deliver a brand-new range of table-top and compact butchery machinery. Our new range includes machinery from Dadaux, Gaser and Mainca for an array of applications, from ham slicers and sausage stuffers to compact bandsaw systems. These products are designed to accommodate the ever-changing demands of the industry without compromising on hygiene, durability and quality. We offer flexible finance and leasing options across the entire range, giving smaller food processors and butchers affordable access to powerful machinery solutions. Sam Tinsley, Managing Director at Cutting Edge, said this about the launch: “At Cutting Edge we’re always looking for opportunities to better service our customers, no matter the size of their business. Our new range of compact butchery machines and financial services has been designed with butchers and smaller food businesses in mind, giving them access to exceptional quality machinery at an affordable price.”

French manufacturer Dadaux have been servicing food businesses around the globe for over 40 years with high quality ham slicers, bowl choppers and bandsaw machines. Their elegant machines are manufactured to an exacting standard from 18.10 stainless steel, making them remarkably hygienic and easy to clean. From Gaser we have sourced several innovative burger formers, meatball formers and batter and breading machines – all in compact, table-top designs that are simple and safe to operate. Armed with over 30 years of experience, Gaser thoroughly understand the food industry and their highly-engineered systems prioritise durability and convenience. Finally, our range is completed by world- class mincing machinery from Mainca. These compact, table-top designs are capable of efficiently and hygienically processing a range of minced products. They are made almost entirely from stainless steel but for the outer anodized aluminium mincing heads which prevent heat transmission to the final product.

At Cutting Edge, we make it our mission to anticipate the future of the food industry. We are particularly proud to be collaborating with such renowned manufacturers who will no doubt help our business to grow stronger and diversify. We believe that our new compact butchery machinery represents a whole host of opportunities and potential for smaller-scale food processors in the UK, especially when paired with our flexible finance options and engineering services. Contact: Bryan Clapham Cutting Edge Services 01772 956214 bryanclapham@cuttingedgeservices.co.uk www.cuttingedgeservices.co.uk

Mainca BC-1800 Bandsaw £1685 (excl. VAT) or from

28.68 per month

Dadaux SX 220 Bandsaw £1769 (excl. VAT) or from £30.11 per

month

Dadaux Major Slice Gravity Ham Slicer £2,599.00 (excl. VAT) or

from £44.24 per month

BUTCHERS DIARY FOR 2019

This time table is for events we are hosting this year. It is important you keep these dates marked in your diary and take part or attend where possible as we work hard to help you with

your marketing and CPD (Continuous Personal Development)

FEBRUARY 21ST: BEI MEMBER VOOM PHONE CONFERENCE AT 7.30PM- 8.30PM - TOPIC UNDER DISCUSSION IS 'BUYING MEAT AND INTRODUCTION OF BEI MONTHLY SUPERMARKET PRICE CHECKER

MARCH 7TH & 8TH ALL IRELAND SAUSAGE & BURGER COMPETITION

MARCH 19TH RATIONAL DEMO AT BEI HQ AUGHNACLOY @ 11.00am

MARCH 12TH & 13TH FIELD TRIP NI BEI MEMBER STORES Details of trip will go live on Whats App on 21st February

MARCH 20TH & 21ST FIELD TRIP ROI BEI MEMBER STORES Details of trip will go live on Whats App on 21st February

APRIL - DEMO MONTH FOR GOURMET GRUB Dates and times will be allocated on Whats App in March

MAY - DEMO MONTH FOR GOURMET GRUB Dates and times will be allocated on Whats App in March

MAY 21ST RATIONAL DEMO AT BEI HQ AUGHNACLOY @11.00am

MAY 18TH -21ST: ANNUAL BEI FIELD TRIP: DALZIEL BUTCHER SHOW HARROGATE AND BUTCHER SHOP TOURS - Times and pricing will be released early March

MAY 12TH BEI FIELD TRIP 1 DAY AT SCOTTISH CRAFT BUTCHER SHOW IN PERTH TO SEE 'BUTCHER WARS' - Times and pricing will be released early March

APRIL 1ST: BEI MEMBER VOOM PHONE CONFERENCE AT 7.30PM-8.30PM - TOPIC UNDER DISCUSSION WILL BE CONFIRMED.

MAY 9TH & 10TH ALL IRELAND BBQ COMPETITION

JUNE 18TH: RATIONAL DEMO AT BEI HQ AUGHNACLOY @ 11.00am

JULY - NO EVENTS

AUGUST 20TH: RATIONAL DEMO AT BEI HQ AUGHNACLOY @11.00am

SEPTEMBER 12TH & 13TH: ALL IRELAND SPECIALITY FINE FOODS COMPETITIONOCTOBER 2 & 3RD MEAT 2 TRADE EXHIBITION - BUTCHER SHOW & ALL IRELAND CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS COMPETITION AND CELTIC TRI-NATIONS EVENT

NOVEMBER 30TH ANNUAL GALA AWARDS DINNER - Location to be confirmed