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Produced by chefs, for chefs, HydroPhoria is now supplying live micro herbs to restaurants across the UK
Produced by chefs, for chefs, HydroPhoria is now supplying live micro herbs to restaurants across the UK, which are also available to consumers exclusively from The Tickled Pig’s brand new deli in the centre of the town, where diners at the café and kitchen can even use the herbs placed on their tables to garnish at will.
HydroPhoria is joint venture from Jez and Niki Barfoot of The Tickled Pig and Clare and Baz Williamson of hydroponic fodder firm Premium Fodder.
A spokesperson said: “HydroPhoria employs the latest hydroponic methods to grow clean, pesticide-free micro herbs, using recycled water and a space-efficient vertical farming system. Ancient and modern agricultural values sit side by side, producing micro greens that are kind to the environment, good for the body and tantalising for the taste buds.
“With a diverse selection of micro herbs freshly grown on a daily basis, HydroPhoria is set to burst onto the restaurant scene, supplying flavour bombshells like the beautiful Radish Rioja, with its deep red or green leaves and spicy radish flavour.
“Other herbs include the pink veined Mustard Red Zest, offering a peppery wasabi flavouring as a garnish, in sushi or as a new take on mashed potato, and the Vitamin K-rich Lemon Basil, possessing a citrus tang that works equally well in a panna cotta or a creamy pasta sauce and can even add a new fresh note to homemade lemonade.”
HydroPhoria’s full range of micro herbs is now available to the UK catering industry and members of the public looking to get creative with their greens can also purchase them exclusively from The Tickled Pig’s deli in the Dorset town of Wimborne.
Blakemore Fresh Foods has said its turnover reached a new high of £39 million for the 2014/15 financial year, an increase of £3 million on the year before, after it secured 40 new clients and opened a new office in Bristol at the start of this year.
The growth comes after a period of substantial investment for the fresh meat wholesaler and importer, which has opened three other new offices and a £3.5 million cutting and storage facility over the past five years.
Trading director, Richard Brownjohn, said the company had big ambitions for further growth: “It is our ambition to be recognised as one of the top five meat importers and wholesalers in the UK, and the contribution of those within our new offices, in addition to the existing expertise that we have across our operation, will be vital towards us achieving this goal.”
Pat O’Doherty, of O’Doherty’s Fine Meats, from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, has developed a pork pie with truffles and mushrooms, and a pork pie with a herb pastry base, to coincide with the Oscar Wilde Festival, which will take place in the same town.
Wilde attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen before studying at Trinity College in Dublin and Oxford University.
O’Doherty said: “The pig has long been the most important animal in rural communities like Fermanagh and it made sense to create new pork pie flavours to give visitors to Enniskillen an opportunity to enjoy pies with a difference as part of the tourism experience. Pigs were the mainstay of family farms for generations throughout Fermanagh.
“Oscar Wilde would certainly have enjoyed pork in pies and other dishes during his seven years at Portora Royal School. The pies can be eaten hot or cold and provide a tasty treat for visitors to Enniskillen.
”O’Doherty’s Fine Meats is a family-run business, which has provided meat to Enniskillen since the 1940s, and is the pioneer of the award-winning Fermanagh Black Bacon.
Invest Northern Ireland said the launch of the new pies was a further sign of the convergence under way in Northern Ireland between tourism and local food, with O’Doherty also behind the country’s only Black Pudding festival.