Tourism NI hosts Food & Drink Network Forum

Photo Caption: (L-R) Donald Sloan, Chair & Founder of the Oxford Cultural Collective, Writer, broadcaster and chef Paula McIntyre MBE, Gary Quate, Food and Drink Tourism Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland, Tina O'Dwyer, CEO of The Tourism Space, and Lindsay Curran, Industry Manager at Food NI, pictured at The Food and Drink Network Forum in Belfast

The Food and Drink Network Forum, which was held at Waterman House, brought together representatives from local councils and food and drink tourism networks from across Northern Ireland.

With support from Food NI and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the event allowed partners to connect, share insights and explore opportunities to strengthen the role of food and drink in our tourism offering.

Facilitated by Tina O'Dwyer, CEO of The Tourism Space, attendees heard about what is happening across all food and drink networks in the region.

Writer, broadcaster and chef Paula McIntyre MBE and Donald Sloan, Chair & Founder of the Oxford Cultural Collective, also discussed the region’s Food Strategy Framework and Action Plan.

The strategy is built around a set of shared missions and pillars that recognise the role food plays across our lives, from health and wellbeing to local economies and the environment.

Those gathered also heard from Joy Alexander, Head of Future Food Policy at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

As the first session of its kind, Tourism Northern Ireland was delighted to see strong representation from across the regional food and drink networks, tourism and hospitality businesses, and local council colleagues, ensuring the discussion reflected a broad range of voices from across the sector.

Gary Quate, Food and Drink Tourism Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland said: “With the support of DAERA and Food NI, this forum brought Northern Ireland’s regional food and drink networks together to hear about current activity to support the growth of food and drink tourism, aligned to the Tourism Vision and Action Plan and DAERA’s Food Strategy Framework. 

“Events like this play an important role in encouraging collaboration and knowledge‑sharing across the regional networks, helping to strengthen connections and support the continued development of the sector."