THIS week's recipes focus on recipes using the fantastic local produce which is readily available in the north. Recently we were at the inaugural Belfast Focus on Food conference in St George's Market, organised by Belfast City Council and The Tourist Board, attended by more than 300 local food businesses and producers and hosted by Daily Telegraph Food Writer Xanthe Clay and Fia Gulliksson Food Ambassador from Sweden.
The key messages were how important it is for us to recognise the benefits of buying local produce and cooking within the seasons.
All restaurants and chefs could be criticised for sometimes putting well-travelled ingredients on the plate but over the last 30 months with the increase in artisan producers and availability of produce locally there is really no excuse. It was also evident how important food and eating out is to us as a small country and the
impact our actions can have on local businesses and the economy. It was an incredibly positive and thought-provoking conference and I think we realised when leaving just how much more we could do to support local producers and businesses in the food sector.
This week's recipes are therefore based on root vegetables which are grown in abundance in Northern Ireland - we've also used local venison.