News
Archive : November 2009
Apartment unveils the new Guinness 'Pour Your Own Pint' experience
25 November 2009
Tired of trying to get the barman’s attention? Or have you ever fancied pulling your own pint? As the Christmas season approaches Apartment, Belfast is providing the opportunity for their customers to avoid the bar queues and pull their own pints of Guinness or Carlsberg whilst sitting at their tables.
The award winning City Centre bar has unveiled five new Guinness and Carlsberg ‘Pour Your Own Pint’ tables which are now available for customers to hire.
Speaking about the new initiative, Apartment General Manager, Morgan Watson said, “This is a fantastic new way for friends to catch up or indeed for companies to entertain over the Christmas period and into the New Year without having to get up from their tables. Each table sits 6 people and a member of staff will show our customers how to pull the perfect pint and then it’s over to them.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience and our ‘Pour Your Own Pint’ tables will provide an extra special experience for friends, shoppers and business people alike who come into Apartment to enjoy a drink or a bite to eat. There has been a huge interest from customers with many already ringing up to book the tables for the coming weeks.”
*To book a place at one of the interactive Guinness tables, phone 02890 509777 or call into Apartment and speak to a member of staff.
Chefs swap Spoons for Spades!
01 November 2009
It’s not every day you find a chef out of the kitchen and wandering through a field..... but recently, 13 chefs were spotted doing just that!
‘Back to our Roots’ is a new initiative launched by the Ulster Farmers’ Union, Botanic Inns and North Down Group to encourage the hospitality industry to take advantage of Northern Ireland’s fresh seasonal local produce.
The campaign is being supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Northern Ireland – Good Food is in our Nature and was launched to educate the industry on the seasonality and benefits of using locally produced fruit and vegetables.
Botanic Inns was the first company to announce that it is implementing the initiative across all its outlets. The new campaign is calling on chefs from restaurants across Northern Ireland to be creative in increasing consumption of seasonal fruit and vegetables within their menus. To see the quality firsthand, chefs from across Botanic Inns’ 13 outlets visited a series of local farms.
Commenting on the experience, Gordon Harvey, Quality Standards Manager, Botanic Inns, said; “Having visited a number of farms, our chefs have been able to meet our producers, learn about production systems, the high quality standards and the importance and benefits of using seasonal vegetables. This experience has undoubtedly impacted our chefs who are fully committed to using local produce to vary and deliver quality dishes with seasonal vegetables throughout the year. At Botanic Inns we are always looking at ways that we can improve customer choice and quality and we believe this campaign is a great opportunity for us to provide a wonderful eating experience and at the same time support local commerce. I would urge all those within the industry to follow our lead and avail of the fantastic resources that we have on our doorstep.”
Ulster Farmers’ Union Deputy President Harry Sinclair added; “The UFU is delighted to support this campaign as it helps chefs understand and appreciate the origin of the produce they’re using, and by using local produce in their dishes, this will greatly benefit producers and consumers alike. I am confident that consumers want to buy and eat locally produced food and in Northern Ireland we have an industry to be proud of. This initiative is an excellent starting point and will help promote what our local producers can offer.”
Commenting on the campaign, Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew added: “The food service sector is a vital part of the food supply chain and the more knowledge our chefs and restaurateurs have of the local production enterprises the more likely we are to have fresh, local produce on our plates when we dine out. My Department has in recent years, taken producers to visit processors and retailers as part of our Supply Chain Awareness programmes and I am delighted we are continuing to support food-based initiatives like ‘Back to Our Roots’ which promotes seasonal, local product and the farmers that produce it.”
North Down Group Chairman, Perry Donaldson stated; “North Down Group are delighted to be involved in this “Back to our Roots” event. It makes a lot of sense in the present economic climate to offer locally produced fruit and vegetables to customers dining in the Botanic Inn establishments. The Produce grown in Northern Ireland can be harvested, delivered, prepared, cooked and served to customers within 24 hours. By serving local produce, restaurants and bars in Northern Ireland can help the local grower, the economy and provide the consumer with the best produce available. There is nothing better than tasty, full of flavour, locally produced fresh produce.”
A Real-ly nice prize!
01 November 2009
Congratulations to Patrick Beirne from Belfast who entered our win a trip to Madrid competition at McHughs.
10 semi finalists were chosen from each outlet and invited to our Spanish themed party in Madison’s on Wednesday 28th October. 10 finalists, chosen at random throughout the course of the evening then went through to the final draw.
Patrick won the following prize:
A Holiday for 2 to Madrid with tickets to see Real Madrid
Return flights from Belfast to Madrid (via London)
Airport transfers in Madrid
3 nights’ 4* hotel accommodation
Breakfast daily
Category 1 tickets for a Real Madrid domestic league home game
£200 spending money.
“Pepsi is delighted to spread a little happiness to its consumers and is obviously delighted to have teamed up with Botanic Inns on this promotion that will give consumers this exciting opportunity,” commented, Denise Catney, Pepsi Marketing Manager, Britvic Northern Ireland. “With Spain being home to Real Madrid, it’s sure to appeal to football fans out there. I look forward to seeing the winner’s face as we present them with their prize.”