Vanilla Black are specialists in Event Catering. From the initial co-ordination and planning, they handle it all, all over Ireland, the UK and further afield. They can provide mobile units which include: Coffee, Ice Cream, Donuts and Crepes; Fast Food including Gourmet Sausages and Burgers, Pizza and Asian noodles. Choose from a quirky vintage van , a horsebox style or a Pop-Up Marquee.
All units are certified and tested, and they stock as many locally produced goods as possible. They are fully E.H.O registered and insured. They use locally produced Johnson’s coffee and also stock speciality teas, hot chocolates, minerals, cookie products and sandwiches. Other local suppliers include Gluten Free products from New Found Joy, Willowbrook Foods, Woodwin/Hungry House Food, Lynas Food Service and French Village Bakery.
Events they work on include Ulster Rugby, PGA Irish Open Golf, BBC Proms in the Park, Tullamore Show, Bloom in the Park, Balmoral Show, Down Royal Racing and Dubshed Car Show. They have also worked at major music concerts including Oxegen and Bruce Springsteen.
Vanilla Black can cater for all private functions including weddings and corporate events. They can provide marquees of all sizes and finishes to suit your personal requirements via one of their sub-contractors.
They also have a Fringe Fast Food Outlet at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Maze Lisburn. The menu includes Causeway Prime burgers, sausages, chicken, bacon and twice-cooked chips
What a claim to fame to be awarded the title of Ireland’s Best Burger 2019 at BurgerFest but that’s exactly what the folk from The Hatch did in February 2019. They did this after winning Best Burger in Ulster in 2018. They were also Finalists in the Caterer of the Year Wedding Awards. Their latest awards include Best Gourmet Burger Specialist in Ulster and the Top 100 in Ireland in John and Sally’s McKenna’s Guide.
The owners are Colin and Bronagh Johnstone from Castlewellan in County Down. They are massive foodies. They would have to be to come up with combinations like The Big Black Truffle Mac and Cheese Burger, The Scampi Fries Fish Burger and the 12hr Hickory smoked pork loaded fries. Colin was a chef for 18 years before setting up The Hatch with Bronagh.
They love local ingredients like Mourne shorthorn beef. Their fries are triple-cooked and the fish is super-fresh from Kilkeel. They smoke all their own meats in-house.
Find them in their truck along the Mourne Coastal Route in Dundrum, Kilkeel and Newcastle. Check Facebook for details. They also do corporate and private events as well as festivals.
We all love Mash Direct’s award – winning mashes and vegetable sides and now you can sample them wherever you see the Mash Direct Bus, which, also serves up delicious bangers and mash meals with a choice of yummy Mash Direct vegetables on the side. Mash Direct select older heritage varieties of vegetables for taste rather than appearance. The vegetables are steam cooked to retain nutrients and flavour, gently prepared and packaged on the farm in Comber, County Down.
Mash Direct products are 100% gluten free, do not contain any artificial colourings or preservatives and are suitable for microwave and oven heating. The mighty Mash Bus can be found across Northern Ireland at store openings, events and festivals. Don’t worry about not being able to find it, we reckon the colourful double decker can be seen from space! Make sure to check out Mash Direct’s website (www.mashdirect.com) and social media pages to find out more about what the mighty Mash Bus has been up to and where it plans to visit next. You won’t want to miss it!
Anything that can be baked on a griddle, the multi Great Taste Award-winning Mark Douglas does it. From soda farls to potato and apple cakes to fluffy pancakes, customers are wolfing them down as fast as he can make them. None of them need yeast, so all he has to do is mix the ingredients and he’s good to go. This Krazi Baker bakes at markets across Northern Ireland and beyond.
He turns up with his ready-made stall and cranks into action. He came up with the ideas after visiting scores of markets on city breaks over the years. He saw bread being brought into markets and wondered why it couldn’t be made on site, so now he does!
His range is expanding all the time. He does soda farls, wheaten farls, treacle farls, apple and cinnamon pancakes, plain pancakes, potato bread, and potato and apple bread. He’s thinking vegetable and cheese fillings next. Can’t wait.
Current markets include Newtownards Market, Conway Square every Saturday, Comber Market the first Thursday in the month and Carrickfergus market on the other Thursdays.
Glastry farm has been proudly supplying its growing customer base with its ever-increasing range of luxury dairy based ice cream as well as offering lower sugar vegan sorbets to match their customers’ requirements.
Fifth generation farmer Will and his family started producing ice cream in 2007 as they could see a niche market where there are customers seeking something different and special to enjoy at home straight out of the freezer. Will enlisted his son Gareth with his pedigree dairy herd of cattle to combine high quality natural ingredients with farm fresh milk, and this winning formula has not changed since its inception as the site is completely vegetarian as well as proudly egg and nut free to cater for as many people in Northern Ireland as possible.
More recently a new range of lesser sugar vegan sorbets have been masterfully created. These flavours cater for the many customers who have frequently enjoyed their ice cream, but have asked Will for something that’s just as enjoyable to eat and environmentally friendly. Their continuous focus on detail to match there ever changing customer requirements have been most recently rewarded with a double gold award for their raspberry ruffle sorbet by Blas na hEireann Irish food awards 2019, this award comes on top of their Double Great taste award for their Ling heather honey ice cream that was described by the judges as “just the right amount of sweetness and quality, WOW this is super-duper ice cream”! at the 2015 Great Taste Awards.
If you live in Northern Ireland, you’ve probably tasted a Yellow Door scone or loaf. Owner Simon Dougan is obsessed with properly-made bread and bakes. He and his team are true artisan bakers who produce their breads from top-quality, untreated, unbleached flour, natural fats and oils, free-range eggs, Irish milk and buttermilk. They don’t believe in using chemical yeast enhancers or preservatives.
They also do delicious patisserie, traditional cakes, tarts, gateaux and tray bakes as well as special occasion and birthday cakes. There’s a range of options for outside catering from finger food to full-on banquets. They cater in all sorts of different venues, from castles to marquees, national trust properties, public buildings, family homes and great big fields!
When you see the Yellow Door logo, you can trust that you will eat VERY well
