A new restaurant named The Tickethall has opened up at Douglas Railway Station.  The new restaurant will replace Greens, and will still cater for vegetarians with the addition of fish added to the menu as well, brought from the south of the Island to Douglas via the railway.

The Tickethall will be run by Steve Quirke who said: “For many years now I have seen Douglas Railway Station as a great opportunity and a landmark place for the Isle of Man. My team and I will do all I can to add to this and we are looking forward to the exciting times ahead.”

The Tickethall restaurant is open for breakfast from 8am, till late and as well as serving vegetarian and fish dishes it will also serve homemade cakes and desserts, hot drinks, breakfasts and takeout food. During the summer they are also looking to open on Friday and Saturday evening from 6.30pm

The new Isle of Man restaurant is committed to sourcing and utilising Manx produce and will continue to cater for a vegetarian clientele.

It was great news for the Isle of Man’s  Scallop and seafood industry this week as the Islands Manx Queenies took the top prize at the 2011 Sustainable Seafood Awards at the Billingsgate Seafood School.

The Manx Queen Scallop entry was amongst six finalists that included the Welsh Assembly for their Spider Crab entry and the Wild Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for their Alaskan Cod, to name but a few. The standard was extremely high with each finalist presenting the case in half hours presentations. The Isle of Man Director of fisheries Andy Reid led the Manx presentation before an audience of industry experts, food journalists and supermarket seafood buyers.

The panel of judges awarded the victory to the Manx Queenies for the particular work the industry had done in conservation of the seabed through management of the scallop beds and methods used to fish the Queenie, which all help to sustain the Manx Queenie and the environment in which it lives and breeds.

On the Isle of Man the Queenie is something of a local delicacy and can be served many ways. Traditionally it is served with wild garlic and bacon. You can buy them in local fishmongers and supermarkets and they are served in many pubs and restaurants.

Restaurants eateries and takeaways in the Isle of Man have all been invited to participate in the annual Taste Isle of Man scheme.

The scheme, now in it’s third year, acknowledges eateries which provide a consistently high quality eating experience. The scheme was introduced to help visitors and residents choose from a diverse range of eating out options and to boost consumer confidence. There are currently 32 members of the scheme which is open to any type of eating out establishment. The scheme works by independent assessors visiting each establishment and awarding them “Quality Assured” or “Highest Quality Assured” accreditation to display outside the premises.

Geoff Corkish MHK said: “Our aim is to enrol as many businesses as possible into the scheme to encourage the provision of outstanding quality and service whilst at the same time enhancing the overall visitor experience and improving the quality of life for Manx residents. “The scheme reassures potential customers that they can be guaranteed a good quality experience whenever they see the ‘Quality Assured’ sign displayed outside the premises. “Good quality food and drink and customer service are key ingredients for both visitors and locals alike and I would encourage anyone wishing to improve their profile to contact Isle of Man Tourism to become a member of this worthwhile scheme.”

Eateries that use local Manx produce can also be awarded the additional Harvest accolade which is supported by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. Economic Development Minister Allan Bell MHK said: “Taste Isle of Man is a quality award scheme for eating establishments which recognises the importance of the food and drink industry to the Isle of Man. “It is the perfect way to acknowledge businesses providing a consistently high quality eating experience and the Harvest award encourages them to buy local to support local producers and assist in economic success for the tourism industry.”

Following the independent assessments a directory will be available from the Welcome Centre in the Sea Terminal detailing the eating establishments accredited.

For further information on Taste Isle of Man contact Nikki Salmon, Isle of Man Tourism Quality and Services Executive, on 01624 685965 or email nikki.salmon@gov.im.

A BIGGER guide to the best of Manx food and drink is set to be published.

It will be the third version of the guide, which aims to make it easier for people to find out what is available and where to buy it.

The publication forms part of I Love Manx’s continued campaign to raise awareness of the quality, freshness and great taste of local produce and to encourage everyone to use it as far as possible.

Entries are now being sought from anyone who produces or sells Isle of Man food or drink on-island or who uses local produce in their goods.

For the first time, information from cookery schools and hamper providers who use local produce will be welcomed.

Anyone wishing to be included in the publication can obtain a form from Audrey Fowler at DEFA, on 685856 or email audrey.fowler@gov.im

Queries can be directed to 687343 or 685856.

The guide will be distributed to all island households and made widely available to visitors to the island, for whom the opportunity to sample local produce is often an important aspect of their visitor experience.

It was a packed St Jame’s Hall in Dalby that witnessed the crowning of Fiona Cain as the winner of the Margaret Killey award and winner of the Isle of Man Creameries trophy for the best Bonnag. Other winners included Alex Beavis who won the Men’s category and Ben Awkal who won the junior section.

The event was a great success, well supported and raised £406 towards Peel life boat, Send a Cow and St Jame’s Church fund.

Unfortunatley I couldn’t attend the event, but Gourmet Shark is looking forward to putting in an entry next year and who knows, could be a world champion this time next year?

Apparently last weekend saw the World Bonnag Making Championships take place in the heart of Dalby on the east side of the Isle of Man. For those of you not familiar with Bonnag, it’s a traditional Manx recipe similar to a scone. There were different classes for children, men and women with the overall winner getting the Isle of Man Creameries Trophy.

I am trying to track down some more information on the winners and how the evening went so will hopefully come back with some more news soon!

In the meantime check out my Manx Bonnag recipe

That’s the message from Chris Lennon of Radcliffe Butchers of Malew Street in Castletown. Chris or ‘Lenny’ as he is also known is stressing this message following on from National Butchers week that was held between 15 and 20 March.

Radcliffe Butchers has been supplying the highest quality local Manx meat for over 27 years in Castletown and they pride themselves in offering the highest standards of produce, choice and personal service.

Chris commented ” It’s about building up a personal relationship with our customers. We can offer advice on the choice of meat, the right cut and also how you can prepare, carve and serve the meat to ensure that you get most satisfaction from the dish.By supporting your local butcher you are also supporting the Manx farming industry and also the local countryside and whats more, local Manx meats are packed full of flavour.”

So take the time to visit your local butcher or head to Castletown, but if you can’t, then all is not lost as soon you will be able to shop online at www.radcliffebutchers.com

The Isle of Man Creamery has recently achieved two ‘Finalist’ awards in the Dairy Category at The Grocer Food & Drink Awards 2010, that took place in London on Wednesday, 17 February 2010. The Grocer is the UK’s leading grocery trade publication.

Both the Black Peppercorn Mature Cheddar and Garlic & Chive Mature Cheddar were successful in reaching the final of these prestigious awards. Garlic & Chive Mature Cheddar combines the depth of flavour of our Isle of Man Mature Cheddar with the delicate taste of chives and the more lingering savoury taste of garlic. Isle of Man Mature Cheddar is hand-blended with split black peppercorns to create a special Black Peppercorn Mature Cheddar which is delicious.

Gordon Smith, Sales & Marketing Director at Isle of Man Creamery said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the Creamery and to reach the final with two of our cheeses is a tribute to the craft and dedication of our cheesemakers. We were up against major household dairy brands such as Flora,Pilgrims Choice and Kerrygold. For a small creamery like ours to be in this kind of company is testament to the potential of our brand. It would have been great to have been the overall winner and we will set our sights on this for next year ”

The Grocer Food & Drink Awards recognise products for their taste, content, packaging, shelf standout, brand impact, labelling and value for money. All products entered in The Grocer Food & Drink Awards go through a vigorous and robust judging process that is conducted by an independent company, who ensure that respondents reflect a cross section of the UK population.

A fantastic achievement to the Isle of Man Creamery and well deserved.

Despite the wintry weather over the weekend I headed down to Radcliffe Butchers in Castletown to meet up with Zoe Thompson of Radcliffe’s and George Steriopulos of the Manx Loagthan Produce Company and Co-operative.

The tasting had been organised by Zoe who along with brother Chris have now taken on the mantle of running the family butchers from their now retired father. Both them and their staff are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about local meat and they have really built the business in Castletown to be one of the best butchers on the island.

There was a good number of people around the village on Saturday morning and a decent number taking advantage of the tasting, with Loaghtan shoulder, sausage, casserole and burger on on offer for those passing through Malew street.

George Steriopulos is a great character and a fantastic champion of the Manx Loagthan sheep after himself his wife and a small number of local farmers saved the the breed from near extinction. Now he has formed a local co-operative of farmers who are all passionate about the breed and the distinctive character that it has over conventional lamb. Manx Loagthan is much darker in colour with only 5% fat compared to 28% in conventional lamb with 15% less cholesterol. Despite it being the healthier option the lack of fat doesn’t mean lack of flavour as the natural herbage of the hillside heather and grasses all add to creating a very special and unique flavoursome meat, making it possibly the most exclusive lamb in the world which can now proudly boast the coveted PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) accreditation from the European Union.

Check out my short video here of George talking about the Manx Loaghtan Lamb special qualtities!

The Loagthtan Lamb is certainly something the Isle of Man should be very proud of and its great to see local people really trying hard to not only raise the profile of this great product both locally and further afield. All in all I think it went down really well with everyone. The butchers was certainly doing a roaring trade (but it probably would do anyway!) It was great to see people young and old sampling such a great product and giving such positive feedback. I reckon Zoe will be putting on other similar events in the future, so keep a look out. As for me, well, after tasting Loagthan many times I honestly think its one of the reasons I could never be vegetarian!

Radcliffe Butchers in Castletown will be holding a Manx Loaghtan Lamb tasting on Saturday 20th February. So make sure you get down to the butchers shop on Malew Street in Castletown for some tasty treats!

All the tasting will be taking place from 10.30am to 12 noon and you will be able to sample some delicious meats plus also have the opportunity to chat with the Island’s main producer of this uniquely Manx product. Farmer George Steriopolus will be on hand to answer any questions you have about the Isle of Man’s most famous breed of sheep and what it is that makes this healthy locally produced lamb so special

If you want to know more just call Zoe Thompson at Radcliffe Butchers on: 01624 822271.

I have a few things happening that Saturday but I am going to do my best and get down there – ohhhh I love it a bit of Manx Loaghtan sausage!