On June 3rd Finnebrogue Artisan marked the start of a new era, with the official opening of a new £25 million processing facility. The theme of the event was very much focussed on fun with food with some amazing chefs in attendance and foodie masterclasses for guests. Below Sarah, Sean and Chris recap their experiences of the day.
Sausology by Sarah Savage
The Pilot Plant was buzzing on 3rd June when some our lovely guests came to learn all about Sausology. They learned about all the great quality and variety of ingredients that we use, demonstrated through our deconstruction table, from Outdoor Bred Whole Pork Shoulder, to Welsh Mature Cheddar to Hot Red Jalapeno chillies to all the different blends of seasonings we use. They learnt about all the important steps we need to consider to make super tasty succulent sausages before getting the chance to make their own flavoured sausage. With great help from Bernd Mense, Mantas Budrys and Sean Kearney, our ‘sausologists’ turned out some amazing bangers and even our old school hand filling machine did an amazing job. Everyone had great fun and passed the Sausology exam!!
Omelette Olympics by Sean Looby
Fourteen participants enrolled for the eagerly awaited Omelette Olympics challenge at the grand
opening of Finnebrogue Artisan. Paul Rankin demonstrated best practice and then in teams of 2, the fledgling chefs stepped up the hot plate to get cracking.
The times were varied and majority of omelett
es inedible but ultimately David Manning’s wife, Henny, prevailed and lifted the trophy. David leaked that Henny had a competitive advantage as she used to be an air stewardess in first class but after a ‘stewards enquiry’, the result stood and Henny remained the supreme omelette athlete.
Culinary Magic by Chris Burt
Having only been on board for a short time with the Finnebrogue team as Product Development Chef, I didn’t realise what I was getting myself in to, what an amazing Roller Coaster ride it’s been.
To work with a dedicated team that share my passions for outstanding artisan produce is a real pleasure.
The launch party only compounding this, it was a real honour to run culinary masterclasses in the development kitchen for some equally passionate foodies, using local produce has always been important to me so seeing what Northern Ireland has to offer blew me away.
We gave local pigeon an Asian twist, we cooked up the now famous ‘Pastrami Dog’ with great gluten free buns & quick pickles, finishing off with ‘The Ultimate Mess’ – a twist on the classic Eton Mess if you were to make it in a sweet shop.
What a great event, bringing together talented people that love food, I mean really love food, I felt very privileged to be a part of such a forward thinking, ethical company that definitely does not rest on its laurels.
