Northern Ireland food culture guide serves the best

A new food guide for Northern Ireland, aimed to serve up the best from the Province's rich food culture, has been launched in Belfast.

Although the launch coincided with the announcement that Belfast was not to be a capital of culture just yet, the gathering in the Cayenne Restaurant in Shaftsbury Square marked the upbeat publication of the first-ever Bridgestone Guide dedicated to food culture in the province.

Following more than a decade of award-winning Bridgestone Guides, John and Sally McKenna, in collaboration with local food writer Caroline Workman, produced the guide specifically for the Northern Ireland region after two years of painstaking research.

"I think that people will get a shock when they read this book and discover the riches dotted all around the Province," said John McKenna.

"In certain areas, the standards of the best restaurants, butchers and wine merchants, Northern Ireland has truly world-class achievements.

"The Bridgestone Food Lovers Guide collects all of the best people working in specialist food in Northern Ireland for the very first time, and there are great maverick talents producing and cooking great food."

The Bridgestone Food Lovers Guide to Northern Ireland is published by Estragon Press and costs £6.99 (€10).

(SP)