This year’s Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival will go ahead this weekend with a full programme of world class local food and drink.

The Festival, now in its 14th year is still attracting new producers who will be taking a stand for the first time, including Wham Bam Lamb, Monapoli, Outlier Distilling Company, Ventosus Micro Winery, Solo Eco-conscious Food, Y Gharey Nursery, and Veg & Vitality.

Ben Wood is managing director of Bally’s Isle of Man, who are the main sponsors of this year’s Festival.

He said: ‘As an international company with branches around the world, we appreciate that the food of a nation is part of its spirit. We fully support the importance of celebrating our island home’s unique culture, and food is a magic ingredient which truly brings people together.

At the centre of the event local ingredients will be showcased in the Manx Cookery Theatre. Cookery demonstrations will take place across both days, led by chefs and producers from some of the island’s finest food companies and dining establishments.

Award-winning chef, Pippa Lovell, founder of sustainable wild-food restaurant, Versa, will kick things off with an introduction to sustainable cooking – if you like the idea of finding delicious food in hedgerows, on beaches, and even in your garden, this is your opportunity to learn from the best.

There is a full programme in the Manx Cookery Theatre for both days including James Quayle from Y Gharey Nursery, using his Manx Gourmet Mushrooms and Rick Dacey and Ian Warborn-Jones showing us how to mix quick and easy cocktails using local produce.

‘It’s a great feeling to be supporters of such a vital community event and we can’t wait to be involved.’

Head of Food & Drink for the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Adi Moore, said: ‘We’re thrilled to see so many local producers coming out to showcase the finest Manx fare and cannot wait to welcome people in to enjoy such a fantastic array.’

• Entry to the Festival is £5 per day for an adult’s pass (under 16s go free!) and £8 for a weekend pass.

Producer profiles

Here are just a few of the local food and drink producers who will be exhibiting at the Festival.

Red Mie

Red Mie Farm, run by Stuart and Ruth Meade, will be showcasing some of the products grown and produced on their smallholding in Ballaugh.

Ruth said: ‘The polytunnel this year has more chilli plants than ever and we have utilised every bit of space for chillies, salads, cucumber and tomatoes. We have 260 chilli plants this year and 19 different varieties.

‘Stuart, being a keen cook, developed a hot sauce and hot honey, which we launched at last year’s Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival. They were both really well-received by the public and we sold out really quickly – this year we will make sure we have plenty of stock. We have also introduced a new chilli ketchup and a seafood hot sauce is coming very soon.’

Red Mies Farm, which is on the Bollyn Road, also produces Loaghtan lamb, eggs and point-of-lay poultry. Stuart and Ruth also host educational visits and farm experience sessions.

Ruth said: ‘The poultry side of the business has been going for 10 years, and in 2019 we first opened to the public for farm tours and experiences. In 2021 we started growing our own chillies. We are the first and only Manx chilli farm.’

Sugar and Spice Bakery

Sugar and Spice Bakery was established in 2018 by Helen Furner who says: ‘We operate from our home kitchen in Peel, and are proud to supply locally. Starting out with celebration cakes and basic bakes, we have grown to attend markets, provide workshops and are suppliers of the fabulous gluttonous cookies and brownies at Peel Beach Kiosk

‘We are fortunate to have been well supported over the years by our local community and have given back by offering free-of-charge bakes, particularly over the Covid pandemic, as a way of saying thank you.’

Helen is an enthusiastic supporter of the Food & Drink Festival. She says: ‘Where else can you be exposed to an overwhelming array of fantastic food and drink in one sitting? We really do have the most delicious produce available to us, all year round.

‘And it’s always a pleasure to sample the baked goodies from our local artisan bakers, particularly from Ross Bakery and our friends at Noa - baking the bits that we don’t.

‘I’ve heard that Outlier Distilling Co will be in attendance - their Hoolie Piston Punch is just delicious. And, also in that neck of the woods, our pals at Ballakelly Farm make the best sausages with local pork- no disappointments at their stand.’

If you visit the Sugar and Spice stand at the Festival, Helen’s advice is to try her Gluttonous Cookies: ‘They are amazing and very popular. They were the first thing to sell out at last year’s festival.’

Outlier Distilling

Company

Rick Dacey and Ian Warborn Jones (pictured right) set up the Outlier Distilling Company in 2019, clearing out an old barn at Ballakelly Farm in Andreas to operate from.

Rick says: ‘We’ve realised a number of small batch spirits leading up to the launch of Hoolie Manx rum, our flagship spirit. It’s properly Manx - made here on island.

‘Hoolie is currently 5 star rated on Master of Malt and we’re making inroads into the cocktail trade of the North West of England.

‘This year’s Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival will be the first for Outlier to exhibit at. It will be great to meet, greet, and treat the Manx public. Hoolie rum is a great cocktail ingredient, and we’re looking forward to introducing that to people at the festival.

‘For the future, we’ve got our eyes on high-end, creative cocktail outlets in the UK. Mixologists have really liked our rum, so we’re trying to get a foothold in that world; get on some key menus.’

Isle of Man Salt Co.

Helen Crosbie, founder of the Isle of Man Salt Co. says: ‘I make hand-harvested sea salt from the pristine waters of the marine nature reserves surrounding our beautiful island.

‘My family moved to the Isle of Man six years ago and I started making sea salt as a hobby after seeing the salt crystals drying in rock pools opposite our house in Port St Mary.

‘In 2021 I did a soft launch at the Food and Drink Festival, after a few years of research and development, trialling various methods of production. Following the overwhelming demand there last year it was clear that there was a very high demand for my products, both on and off the island. However, I was really keen to move away from the traditional heating methods I was using for production, due to soaring energy costs and the desire to find a more “eco” solution.

‘I decided to completely switch my method to a 100% sustainable process using solar energy. It’s been a huge learning curve but I’m pleased to say that a trial production is now under way.

‘Having been a visitor to the show for a few years, I was so proud to finally become an exhibitor last year and it was such a bench mark for me: I couldn’t believe it when we won the award for the best stand. I’m really looking forward to returning with a fully sustainable product this year.

‘I’m also looking forward to collaborating with Red Mie Farm in the future on some chilli salt blends.

‘I made a small run of Rosemary sea salt last year which proved to be a huge hit and sold out immediately - will be sure to make more this year.’