A BELFAST pair have been recognised for their innovative food product by BBC Two’s Top of the Shop programme.
Lecturer, Alanagh Chipperfield (30) and butcher, Ilse van Staden (35) have been crowned best up and coming artisan 2018 for their biltong, made from Northern Irish beef by the popular BBC show.
Facing tough competition from three meat artisan food producers in the initial heat round, Alanagh and Ilse, who is an Irish rugby international, made it to the final, where they came up against the winners from each of the heat categories. They were presented with their title by two-Michelin starred chef and presenter Tom Kerridge, and judges - food writer and restaurateur Nisha Katona and artisan expert Alison Swan Parente.
Alanagh and Ilse’s South African biltong is made following Ilse’s grandmother’s recipe, reflecting the heritage of the product, and the unique, sustainable source of meat, coming from retired dairy cows making this product incredibly viable.
Ms Chipperfield said she was "blown away" by the victory.
"We didn’t expect to win the meat round, and now come out complete winners, I can’t believe we’ve got it.”
“For our biltong its just the validation of the amount of time and effort that we’ve put in to it. The late nights, the early mornings, this is going to give us the confidence to take it to that next step," Ms van Staden said
“We want to create a biltong revolution, so we will continue making it, and expanding the business, hopefully eventually offering different flavours and different dried meats," she added.
