Latest news with #ComberEarlies
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Restaurant review: Unshakeable and reliable, this Belfast tapas bar has stayed true to form
A restaurant's menu today will rarely be the same as it was 20 years ago. That's because we are fickle people who like new things. Why have steak and chips when you can have 32-day aged ribeye with a bearnaise sauce made with organic eggs, grass fed cow's milk butter and fresh tarragon served with a selection of frites made from hand-reared Comber Earlies. We are now sophisticates and steak and chips don't do it no more, as we food writers say. Eating out these days is far more exciting than it was 20 years ago. It may not be any more affordable, but the choice we face in Belfast alone is almost overwhelming. From Filipino to French and everything in between, there will be a restaurant pushing the boat out, innovating, introducing us to things we may never have tasted before and generally making eating out a trip of wonder and delight.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Comber: Festival celebrates 'early' harvest of earlies potato
Returning to Comber in County Down this Saturday is the annual celebration of the town's famous potato. The Comber earlies are the first harvested new season potatoes in Northern Ireland and have protected geographical indication (PGI) status. One grower has described this year as "a really good growing season", with a dry early May and rain when needed, making these Comber earlies even Orr is a fourth-generation potato farmer and chairman of the Comber Earlies Growers Co-Operative Society. 'Micro-climate' in Comber Just days before the festival he has been harvesting one of his fields which sits nestled between Strangford Lough and the foot of Scrabo said the Comber crop is unique because it is the first new potatoes harvest each year due to the micro-climate around the lough. "We are below Scrabo Tower here so the soil is free-draining," Mr Orr explained."It allows the soil to drain quickly in the late winter and early spring which allows us to get them planted. "The proximity to the lough stops the frost, and then the micro-climate in this Comber area all contributes to the ideal growing conditions." Mr Orr said this field was planted on 12 February and the harvest was about two weeks early due to the sunny weather in late March and April, combined with the rain of recent weeks. "They are really good this year," he said. "They've matured and they've been in the ground that wee bit longer, and all that sun helps them to really grow out and mature, and leads to the flavour." "You need the correct conditions all along right from planting, through growing and then at the end to let them finish out to mature and bulk up, so there's a big range as to what your yield is."But this year looks a reasonably good yield so far, with the potential to go on to be very good if we get the right conditions." What are Comber earlies? Also called new season Comber potatoes, these vegetables have enjoyed Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) since protects the geographical names of food, drink and agricultural products as intellectual property by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).The granting of PGI status means the new season Comber potato is among an elite group of high quality European products, including Parma ham, Champagne wine and Stilton potatoes planted, grown and harvested within the protected geographical indicated area can be marketed as Comber earlies, and only those harvested in May, June and July are eligible for the status. What activities are at the Comber Earlies Food Festival? The annual festival is organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council and supported through the Comber Regeneration Community Partnership and the Comber Earlies Growers' this year's Comber Earlies Food Festival, there will be live cooking demonstrations throughout the day, including TV chef Anna Haugh, as well as local local restaurateurs, and chefs from the South Eastern Regional entertainment includes tractor rides, a soil pit and sensory activities, as well as potato stamping, paper potters, potato face painting and a golden spud will be live music from the String Ninjas and the Cool Hand String free-to-attend festival will be held at the Comber Leisure Centre car park on Saturday 28 June from 11:00 to 17:00 BST.
