Top chefs Anna Haugh, Paul Rankin and Stevie McCarry join more than 120 of the city’s culinary leaders in Belfast Food & Drink Network event to shape the industry’s future
More than 120 of Belfast’s restaurateurs, chefs and food and drink specialists gathered in Belfast on Tuesday to explore ‘the future of food and drink’ as part of a major workshop designed to power new opportunities in the city’s thriving culinary industry.
Organised by the industry-led Belfast Food & Drink Collective, supported by Belfast City Council and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera), Irish chef, restaurateur and TV personality Anna Haugh was joined by food industry stalwart Paul Rankin in a top tier panel designed to inspire the city’s food and drink champions with new ideas and insights.
Hosted by Northern Ireland food ambassador Joris Minne, the panel of experts also included Sunday Times restaurant critic and journalist Patrick Hanlon, sustainable seafood champion Stevie McCarry from Coleraine’s award-winning restaurant and shop Lir, kitchen sustainability advocate and culinary director of FoodSpace Conor Spacey, Flout Pizza owner Peter Thompson and Belfast Stories’ programme director Wendy Langham and Eimear Henry.
Designed to give Belfast a fresh edge by promoting best practice, collaboration and sustainability, the Belfast Food & Drink Collective works to promote the city’s world class culinary reputation through training, networking events and partnerships to support the industry’s growing economic and cultural impact.
The event – the first in a special series to take place this spring – was hosted at leading Belfast cookery school and restaurant Waterman in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.
Belfast City Deputy Lord Mayor, Andrew McCormick, said:
“Delivered by Belfast’s Food and Drink Collective, this full-capacity event represented a major a platform for chefs, producers and industry leaders to connect, share insights and drive innovation. Belfast City council is proud to support the Collective and its ambitions for the future growth of the city. I’m also grateful for the support provided by DAERA and the NI Regional Food Programme for their continued support and to everyone’s dedication to making Belfast a top-tier food destination.”
Established in 2023, the Belfast Food & Drink Collective is the city’s champion for promoting the role and importance of healthy and sustainable food – fresh, local, seasonal – amongst the public, policymakers and institutions, supporting Belfast’s aim to be a sustainable tourist destination, reducing food miles and attracting tourists that will spend more and stay longer.
Belfast Food and Drink Tourism Co-Chair, Paul Kane, said:
“Belfast’s food and drink industry enjoys an outstanding reputation for quality, choice and value and we are consistently overwhelmed by the sector’s industry leaders for their passion and enthusiasm to look forward, to innovate and to embrace sustainability practices right across their businesses. A key economic driver for the city, this thriving industry helps to promote Belfast as a world class tourism destination, and I’m delighted by this success of this exciting future-focused event.”
Andrew Muir, Minister of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, said:
“I wish to thank Belfast Food & Drink Collective for organising the event and for the opportunity to again profile our quality food from Northern Ireland. The event closely aligns with the Northern Ireland Food Strategy Framework, which I recently launched after securing Executive agreement. The Framework recognises the interconnectedness between food, health, the economy and the environment.
The successes from this initiative and the Belfast Food & Drink Collective will have a long-term benefit to the wider agri-food industry, not only here in Belfast but across the whole of Northern Ireland. I am passionate about the quality of our food and committed to working in partnership with others as we strive to deliver vision, strategic priorities and decision-making principles of the Food Strategy Framework together”.
The event was also supported by Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland.
The next free event – Future-Proofing Your Business: Practical Sustainability for Food & Drink – with sustainability expert Tina O’Dwyer, takes place on Tuesday 25th March 2025 at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast.