Matches made in...Co. Down

It's always good to get out of Belfast and we did just that when we took our lovely Chinese visitors on a food filled tour of County Down, who were guests of Tourism NI.

Our stops included two of the best food combinations I have had all year!

Our first stop was to taste the range at Kilmegan Cider where we met Andrew Boyd and sampled his award winning ciders and also his cooking - what a cook he is, apparently picked up from his days cooking on the fishing boats! He matched his ciders with delicious ribs, pesto and cheese. Stunning.  It's not hard to see how this palate has led to the success of his cider. Just this year he picked up the winner's trophy in the International Cider Challenge and is now the Reserve Supreme British Champion.  Believe me, next time, I am cooking my ribs in Kilmegan Cider!

Another stop was visit Will and Allison Abernethy, of Abernethy Butter fame, to see how they make their famous hand rolled butter, but also to taste it with Allison's (also now famous in my eyes) soda bread!   Not only did we taste, but we rolled too!  Our guests got stuck in with gusto as they were helped along by butter making expert Will.  

It was such a fun day and we got to taste two matches made in heaven... Andrew's ribs cooked in Kilmegan Cider and Allison and Will's Abernethy butter on freshly cooked soda bread.  Leave it to the producers themselves to make the best of their produce - delish! 

If you would like to visit County Down with us or any county for that matter, simply email [email protected]