You owe it to generations of hard-working hands.
Widely regarded as the most important meal of the day, but surely every meal and the food that we consume during the day is important? We are fortunate in Northern Ireland to have true local and tasty produce that lets us enjoy every meal with pride.
Back to breakfast, many of us love it and some of us have been eating the same ‘aul porridge’ every day, some of us have embraced new trends and ways of eating it, but the heart of the ingredients is still local and traditional.
A theme of Hand-Reared, Hooked and Harvested brings us a full breakfast menu, sourced locally and with supreme taste. If it’s porridge, cooked breakfast, egg & soldiers or toast & jam, there is always time for local. If it’s not, your challenge is to buy local and you will be amazed at what you will find.
Oats, the pork, fresh free-range eggs, the yogurt, granola, bread, jam, honey and creamy butter from our local dairy farms. Do you take pride in the fact that much of your breakfast may have come from just up the road, a neighbouring county, but certainly a farmer has been involved and one who has worked hard to bring you your breakfast, just like the generations of hands before them.
A cooked breakfast used to be the start of the day, but now it may be an occasional treat for some. It was necessary to fuel, for example, both sets of my great-grandparents, farmers from Ardymagh and from Cookstown, outside working hard in all the daylight hours. It may have been their only food until their next break if they were lucky. The keepers of land and animal, refining the amazing products we have today making up our Ulster Fry or Irish Breakfast plate. Through generations we have held onto hard work, knowing and respecting the land to have products that now aim high, win awards local and across the world, we shout loudly about and talk about how proud we are of heritage.
A winner of over 40 Great Taste Awards, Ann’s Pantry of Larne, a proud stop on the Toast The Coast Food Tour, showcases the essence of family heritage, where they have their hand firmly on ensuring quality in every product produced. A showcase of the traditional, and with new ideas such as Black Pudding Potato Bread, turns the doubters into food addicts of this humble award-winning Potato Bread.
One reason Toast the Coast evolved was to showcase or local Northern Ireland food, the proud people behind the scenes and make it accessible all in one day.
The heritage of our breakfast is important, but let’s not forget about the new. With 2 breakfast sharing plates on the Toast The Coast Food Tour along the Antrim Coast Road, you will not be disappointed. Step into The Bank House in Whitehead for an unexpected and tasty breakfast. A plate with an international influence but ‘homegrown’, a selection of Co Down Pastrami & Ham, Bread, Crackers, Irish Cheeses & Chutneys, Irish Black Butter and a Dragons Egg….yes, If you love Game of Thrones® this will suit your taste buds. A cup of smooth Clandeboye Yogurt & Just Live a Little Granola washed down with shots of Armagh Apple Juice.
Hungry yet? www.toastthecoastni.com
