Northern Ireland in line for BBC Future Food Award
Article written by Sam Butler
Islander Kelp, a small business from Northern Ireland, has been shortlisted for the Future Food Award in this year’s prestigious BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Islander’s kelp is grown in a Marine Conservation area off the Rathlin coastline, near Ballycastle in county Antrim. The small company was formed by Kate Burns, a business consultant with vast experience in sea vegetables, and son Benji McFall, a fisherman on the remote island.
From starting off the kelp plants in its nursery to packing our fresh kelp products; it all takes place in their facility on Rathlin Island.
Once they harvest it from their organic farm the kelp is kept fresh and never dried. They blanch it to bring out its vibrant colour and remove unnecessary salt and then freeze it to allow for a one-year shelf-life. Their kelp products include noodle cut, tagliatelle cut, salad cut, minced and whole leaf and they also make kelp pesto with over 60 per cent. kelp.
The BBC Food & Farming Awards were launched in 2000, to mark the 20th anniversary of Radio 4’s The Food Programme. The mission statement then (which remains true to this day) was “to honour those who have done most to promote the cause of good food”.
The Future Food award recognises cutting-edge innovation and pioneering work that could influence how the UK’s food will be grown, distributed and sold in future. The award is for an ambitious and ground-breaking idea found within the food supply chain; from initiatives by national retailers and major food and drink manufacturers to new models being put into practice by farmers and producers.
The first judging team included Derek Cooper, the founding presenter of the Food Programme. Subsequent judges have come from a cross-section of the food world – chefs, academics, retail analysts, writers and campaigners.
Originally comprising seven categories, the number has increased to nine to reflect changes in British food culture, new ideas, businesses and trends (for example Best Drinks Producer was added in 2010 to reflect the renaissance in British brewing, cider making and distilling.)
Once the judges receive the nominations (thousands come in from every region in the UK) they select a short list of three finalists in each category which has to be signed off by the entire judging panel.
Working in pairs the judges travel to meet their chosen finalists (over the years this has involved visits ranging from the Isles of Scilly to the Isle of Islay).
A few weeks later, after all the visits have been completed, the team gathers at the final judges’ meeting; stories are exchanged in detail, businesses explained and flavours described. The panel, working as a team, decide on the eventual winners.
