News And Events
Paul Rankin Addresses Taste of Ulster Forum
Monday 31 March 2008
Paul Rankin shares his views on Northern Ireland's Hospitality Indusrty following the Taste of Ulster Forum in March.
CELEBRITY chef Paul Rankin is calling on the Northern Ireland food industry to have more confidence and be proud of our culinary heritage.
Speaking at the Taste of Ulster Forum on Monday, Paul said there is "a lack of pride" in what Northern Ireland has to offer.
"I think too often we look at France, Scotland and England and we think what they do is great. But when they come over here they look at what we have from a meat point of view, from an agricultural point of view and they are jealous of us. They send big trucks over and they steal it in the middle of the night".
Paul, who has applied for Taste of Ulster 2008/2009 membership for his award-winning restaurant Cayenne, told local producers and restaurant owners at the event that they must have more confidence in order to succeed.
He said: "We must have confidence, not just in our local produce but also in our heritage and what our parents used to cook. It's only over the past 10 years that I have taken a pride in things like the Ulster Fry. When properly cooked and made with a little bit of love and care I think it's one of the best meals you can put in front of anyone. I would be proud to serve it to the Queen, to the President of the USA, to anyone. My mum's Irish broth, a piece of smoked salmon on wheaten bread - these are the things that are world class and it is important to have pride and confidence in those things".
The County Down born chef also addressed the issue of staffing, calling it "the biggest threat" to the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland.
"It is important that we recognise that staffing is becoming a bigger problem and we need to perhaps campaign or chat about it at least so we can lay the foundations for perhaps having a better pull of staff for the future. I think one of the things that tends to happen is we lose a lot of our staff as they get very good in the industry and they get lured away to the bigger centres, that may be London or Dublin.
"I think there is room for a college or body that is a bit like the Culinary Institute of America. Maybe it could be a North/South thing and have a great big fantastic school headed by someone with a real connection to our industry. We can have a place where we can send our best people to train for both front of house and back of house".
The Taste of Ulster Forum 2008, sponsored by Deep RiverRock and Henderson Foodservice, took place on Monday March 31 at the Baby Grand in Belfast. The event hosted talks from Taste of Ulster Chairman Nick Price, Taste of Ulster Executive Director Michael Bell, celebrity chef Paul Rankin and Emmet McCorry of Coca-Cola. There was also a chance for attendees to take part in a workshop and sample local produce at the special exhibition.
