​Top chef John’s bakery crafts gets new Taste for the North West award

The wheaten, a favourite in homes, hotels and restaurants across the island of Ireland, is a signature food John (55), a much travelled and highly regarded chef, has developed for Carrick Foods, the small food enterprise he’s developed in Londonderry.

The prestigious award is his latest success with the loaf and is a result of his approach that’s based on keeping everything in the kitchen simple. The company also produces a popular Cured Salmon with Lemon and Dill product.

“We are thrilled to receive this important recognition from the business community in the North West,” John says. “It’s an exciting development for our small business and one of our original products.

“The loaf is a signature product that is easy to use for meals and snacks. It’s a moist and moreish loaf that’s baked with buttermilk and dates. It’s inspired by the traditional wheaten bread my mother and grandmother used to make back home on the family farm at Carrick in Tipperary.”

The loaf also received two gold stars from the UK Guild of Fine Food in the inspirational Great Taste Awards last year.

But it’s a wheaten with a different flavour of the North West that’s provided by a distinctive ingredient from the River Foyle.

“I’ve given the traditional loaf a LegenDerry twist by using our very own Foyster Stout that is made from shells of the renowned flat oysters farmed on the lough. It’s delicious served with a simple slather of butter and a cup of tea,” adds John.

The wheaten is based on a collaboration between the Walled City Brewery at Ebrington Square and Sippy Fest community festival that led to Foyster Ale. All oysters used are sustainably sourced through the Lough’s Agency and local fishermen, and every part of the oyster is used to create a unique stout. The stout has been brewed by Walled City Brewery and is available at selected bars and restaurants across the city.

Walled City Brewery, a major investment for James Huey that includes a widely acclaimed restaurant, distillery behind Amelia Earhart gin and a brewery academy, was also named Restaurant of the Year in the awards which were organised by the City Centre Initiative with Londonderry Chamber of Commerce.

“Our award-winning Stout City Loaf is created using the finest grade flours combined with the natural sweetness of rich caramel scented dried fruits. To contrast this, we sourced the locally crafted creamy Oyster Stout from Walled City,” John continues.

The wheaten and the cured salmon with lemon and dill product reflect John’s gastronomic experience of almost 40 years in Ireland and further afield.

A father of two teenagers, who began cooking at the age of 16, John now lectures in culinary arts at Londonderry’s North West Regional College (NWRC), a role he has performed for almost 20 years. His is also co-ordinator in the Professional Chef Diploma course.

NWRC has a strong focus on food that includes FoodOvation, an organisation that helps in the development of innovative food and drink products in the North West and further afield. NWRC has contributed to the development of Carrick Foods and Walled City Brewery, as well as other successful artisans.

John explains: “At Carrick Foods we have a wealth of experience and we put this to good use to craft and develop home-made products. If home-made and traditional are as important to shoppers as they are to us, then our Stout City Loaf and our Cured Salmon with Lemon and Dill products are the essences of this approach.

“We represent traditional, local, fresh and honest food prepared and produced to the highest standards to ensure that it reaches consumers the we way we intended.”

An accomplished competition chef with many awards and accolades to his credit, John has developed and mentored many students for a wide range of competitions including Toque D`Or, WorldSkills and The Graduate Awards.

“A professional chef at heart, I am continually inquisitive and have a passion to reflect best practice and to develop strong links within industry.

To this end, I have been proactive working with leading industry chefs to benchmark and update skills and also sourcing placements for students,” he adds.

He’s just launched a new website about the entrepreneurial business – www.carrickfoods.com