IF YOU were offered a Hannan's ham hock lollipop, or pork mince meatballs with marrow gravy or honey-glazed saddleback pigs ear, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were about to dine at a gourmet restaurant.
You know the type: restaurants where food critics rave about the chefs who are elevating tripe and doing wonderful things with sweetbreads in support of the trend to use the entire carcass, from ear to tail.
Or what about some seared Scrabo Cottage Farm calves liver or corn-fed free range chicken paella with Armstrong's twisted fish garnish? Sounds truly delish and a seriously indulgent meal – perhaps something that Heston Blumenthal and his famous development kitchen at The Fat Duck would create?
But these meals from a seven-course tasting menu are not actually for human consumption.
The menu is aimed exclusively – sorry, liver and marrow lovers – for dog diners. Yes, you read that right. Dogs.
The seven-course menu priced at £15 has been a hit with discerning 'foodie' dogs and their families at the Salty Dog hotel and bistro at Bangor's Seacliff Road.
The meal also comes with Frozzys frozen yoghurt, while a dog-friendly chocolate brownie desert served at the end completes the dining experience, washed down with a drink of Snuffle dog beer.
What started out as an April Fool prank this year by the dog-welcoming venue, has touched a real nerve with customers who love their pooches.
Belfast social worker Clayre Thompson and her husband Johnny Graham and five-year-old black Labrador Ruby, who is known as Ruby the Wonderdog on Instagram, were the first patrons to try out the special meal.
Clayre says: "We have had Ruby since she was eight weeks old. Having a dog has always been part of my life and my family’s. Before we got her, we spent a long time talking about the change to our lifestyle it would bring, so she’s very much part of our family. Where we go, she goes.
“She even comes to my work sometimes and has holidayed with us everywhere here at home and England and Scotland.
“We regularly take her out to dinner if we can. We rarely go out without Ruby because I don’t see the point in having a dog if you aren’t going to look after her properly."
It's a family tradition that Clayre celebrates Ruby's birthday every year on April 1, with a home-made cake for the dog and a few picture posts on Ruby's Instagram page.
"When I saw the menu on Facebook, it was no-brainer for me as we regularly go to the Salty Dog with Ruby,” Clayre adds.
“Everybody thought it was a joke. But Dog Lovers NI are now actually using my photograph on its Facebook to promote it and you can still see people asking if it’s for real and looking to go.
“I really loved it that night and thought it was a great bit of craic, although I'm sure people think I'm mad. The waiter who brought out all of the courses presented them to Ruby quite theatrically and addressed her as Madam as he told her everything that was in the dish.
“She scoffed the lot very quickly, although my parents' dog Alfie drank all the beer, which she wouldn't touch and he also got a small share of her food.
"Ruby loved it all and it was really good value. While you wouldn’t be doing it every week or month, it was great for her birthday and I would do it again.”
Clayre and her husband are among a growing number of dog lovers who make a decision on where to dine, drink, have a coffee or holiday depending on how welcoming the establishment is to their dog. Dog Lovers NI, which has over 12,000 followers on its Facebook page, regularly updates a list of dog-friendly venue across the north, such as The Dirty Onion in Belfast, which supplies their patrons with their bone-shaped tweet and bowl of water on arrival.
So it seems that as well as the pink pound and the grey pound – terms applied to the spending power of the LGBT community and retirees – businesses would do well to take the pet pound into account.
Caroline Adams, Tourism NI’s quality and standards manager, reports: "We have seen increased demand for dog-friendly options and on DiscoverNorthernIreland.com we have a dedicated section for pet owners planning a trip.
“Pets are an important part of the family and the advantage of enjoying a short break in Northern Ireland is that they don’t need to be left behind."
Salty Dog owner Ken Sharp agrees, as his dog-welcoming attitude has resulted in his hotel being named in the 2017 Best Pet Friendly Hotel of the Year in the Georgina Campbell Awards.
“Every day we have dozens of dogs in, quietly sitting at their owners’ feet while they meet with friends, and have lunch or dinner," says Ken.
“So many people view their dogs as one of the family so when we decided to come up with a novel April Fool’s Day gimmick, we decided to try the tasting menu. It was an idea we had been floating already and this was the perfect opportunity to test the water.
“Our head chef Tim Brunton wanted to replicate some of the more popular dishes on the ‘human’ menu so we did a bit of research to find out what was palatable and healthy for dogs and came up with the seven courses. As a rule, we use local produce wherever possible so the same rule applies to the dogs’ dinner and it changes according to the availability of local produce.
“Each course is small, to avoid the dogs from over-eating and we’ve adapted it as we’ve gone along, according to pet owners’ feedback, and to deal with dogs’ dietary requirements.”
He adds: “We have a dog at home and it’s part of our family so it’s a great asset to be able to share our love of dogs with other people who come to dine and even stay overnight at The Salty Dog.”
:: For more information on dog-friendly establishments visit Dog Lovers NI on Facebook; call 028 91270695 to book the dog tasting menu at The Salty Dog, Bangor. Visit DiscoverNorthernIreland.com/petfriendly to plan a short break with your dog.
