Crossgar Foodservice has announced an exclusive agreement to supply Morelli's Ice Cream across the Island of Ireland.

Morelli's Ice Cream is one of Northern Irelands best known ice cream makers. They have a product portfolio of over 50 flavours and recently won the Ice Cream Alliance, "Best in Britain" competition for their Vanilla ice cream. Daniela Morelli commented: "It's a wonderful end to a great year in which we have also celebrated our 100 years in business"

Micheal Morrissey, Crossgar Foodservice's Director, said "Morelli's Ice Cream has been a family favourite for years. Many of us can remember it being the highlight of a day trip to Portstewart in Summer. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to make such a well known brand available to the Foodservice market."

December 2011

It's hard to beat Lissara Duck for flavour... just ask celeb chef James Martin, who's among the Co Down birds' top fans.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck the chances are it is a duck... but not necessarily a Lissara Duck. For this Co Down premium poultry is finding favour among the UK's most discerning connoisseurs, including celebrity chefs and top restaurateurs.

"I've always been partial to duck, but I could never really find the kind of flavour I was after. Our family was already involved in the poultry business through Crossgar Foodservice, so I decided we'd look into producing our own range," says John Bell, the businessman and farmer behind the product.

Having researched what was involved in rearing duck for the table and naming the product after the townland where the farm is situated near Crossgar, he invested in 36 Aylesbury ducks. Today he has more than 2,500.

"Compared to the mass-produced market that's a tiny number, but the difference is that ours is virtually a hand-reared duck and therefore extremely labour-intensive," says John.

The birds are brought to Lissara Farm at just one day old, where they're kept in a carefully monitored and heated environment for three weeks when they're put out into the fresh air for free-ranging.

"They go straight from the heated houses to the fresh air before coming in to roost that first night. Once they've experienced the fresh air and the chance to just forage among the grass, their instinct kicks in and the following morning when we open the doors again they can't wait to get back out. It's how it should be," says John.

"Its great to watch them picking over the ground, sporting themselves and generally enjoying the open air - they're truely free range.

"At night we keep them in houses built of giant straw bales, purely to give them shelter. There's no artificial light after dark so they're not kept feeding and if you walk in quietly in the evening you'll find them sound asleep!"

The Lissara ducks are fed on a corn ration, a mix meticulously worked out between John and grain suppliers Fane Valley for optimum growth and flavour.

Even the preparation of the birds for the market is labour-intensive and hands on.

"The plucking, for instance, is all hand finished to ensure the skin isn't damaged," says John.

But the proof of the duck is in the eating - just ask celebrity chef James Martin, who featured a Lissara Duck dish on his TV show. Selfridge's too sell the product, while the farm has been approached by Marks and Spencer about the possibility of supplying their flagship stores in London.

Lissara Duck then is a great ambassador for Northern Ireland quality produce and has come a long way since its small beginnings just four years ago.

Today, with a string of awards under his belt, John's appetite for success is now thoroughly whetted as his poultry takes its place at the top tables of the UK's most discerning palettes.

(Article featured in the Food NI supplement of the Belfast Telegraph)

James Martin celebrity chef was in Northern Ireland last week to hold a demonstration at Barnaby's restaurant in Ballyrobert Co Antrim.  The 'Saturday Kitchen' Chef took time out whilst over in the country, to visit local company Crossgar Meats.  The chef had a whistle stop tour of Lissara Farm and the state of the art factory at Crossgar Meats.  James Martin was so impressed with the produce on show at Crossgar Meats that he will be cooking the Exclusive Lissara Farm Free Range Duck on the 'Saturday Kitchen' this week.  This is a special honour as the 'Saturday Kitchen' team are celebrating their 200th show.  James Martin will be hosting the show with top chefs' Vivek Singh, Daniel Galmiche and special guest Chris Evans.  Tune into BBC 1 on Saturday 27th November at 10am to see Lissara Farm Free Range Ducks, TV Debut.  For more information on the Award Winning Lissara Farm Poultry please contact our sales team on NI Tel: 028 4481 1500 ROI Tel: 01 80 30 555.  Picture: James Martin, Celebrity Chef.

Crossgar Foodservice was delighted to have Michelin Star Chef Tom Kitchin cooking their Award Winning Dexter Beef and Pork at this years Gala Dinner held at hte Culloden Hotel on Monday 18th October.  The Hospitality Exchange Show ran from 19th - 20th October and proved to be a huge success.  Picture from left to right: Matthew Fort Food & Drink Editor The Guardian Newspaper  & Great British Menu Judge, Ruby Downie, Jason Hamilton, Nigel McCauley, Jennifer Shaw, Niamh Bell, Johnny Bell and David Bell from Crossgar Foodservice.

Leading the charge for Northern Ireland at the recent Great Taste Awards in London were Crossgar Meats and Lissara Farm.  Three products from Crossgar Meats have been awarded the prestigious Great Taste Award, with their Dexter Sirloin Steak receiving a 2-star gold and respectively receiving a 1-star gold, Dexter Ribeye Steak and Crossgar Homemade Burgers.  Dexter Cattle are a traditional Irish breed; their existence was first recorded in ireland in 1776.  They are the smallest breed of cattle and produce naturally marbled beef with a unique flavour.  Dexter Beef has also won supporters through its feature on the Great British Menu, and celebrity chef James Martin commented that "it was the best bit of beef" he'd tasted.  Lissara Farm also won a, 1-star gold Great Taste Award for their Free Range Chicken Supreme.  John Bell, Lissara Farm Crossgar commented: "Winning this award is a fantastic seal of approval for our Free Range Chicken which is reared locally in Crossgar, Co Down.  The product has a unique taste and texture and is being used by some of the top restaurants in Northern Ireland.  To select the winners, 350 judges carried out blind tastings of over 6,000 different products that had been entered by 1,350 companies from all over the UK and Ireland.  the Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink.  Out of 6,021 entries this year, 1,162 products were awarded 1-gold star, just 481 were awarded 2-gold atars.  This is a tremendous achievement for Lissara Farm and Crossgar Meats. Picture from left to right: Niall Bell Lissara Farm and Jason Hamilton Crossgar Meats.