The Fifth Quarter Podcast

This month we’re talking to Peter Hannan, the man supplying salt-aged meat to some of the world’s top restaurants from his base in Moira. After that we’ll be heading to County Armagh to hear from Ryan McCracken, the founder of McCracken’s Brewery. He talks us through his growing range of seven beers and porters which he’s exporting to the far corners of the world.

This month we’re talking to a woman who has gone from the bright lights of celebrity PR in London to running a food market focused on wholefoods and wellbeing on an historic country estate the heart of County Armagh. We’ll also be heading to Benburb to find out about a business producing preserves, confitures, syrups, cordials, pestos, savoury preserves and sauces, and prebiotic foods and drinks from natural ingredients grown on the home farm.

This month we’re talking to one of Northern Ireland’s best known dried fruit and nut producers which sources its ingredients from far and wide and hear from a County Down farm shop making a name for itself with local produce. We’ll hear from Kerry Angus of Angus Farm Shop in Greyabbey about the importance of provenance to her, whether it’s the beef and lamb raised on their home farm, the vegetables grown down the road or the sausage rolls and pies baked by her mother. And we’re checking in with Michael Hall, the managing director of Kestrel Foods, the company behind the Forest Feast brand. He talks us through starting the business in his early 20s, travelling the globe to source the very best produce and securing a place for his products on the shelves of the UK and Ireland’s biggest supermarkets.

In this episode we hear from John Graham, Managing Director of Belfast bakery supplier Andrew Ingredients, and Peter Simpson, Head of the Food Technology Branch at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, who helps agri-food companies across Northern Ireland hone their processes.

This month The Fifth Quarter gets back to the shop floor. We find out what the last year has been like for one of the biggest supermarket groups and catch up with a well-known chef who took his first steps into the retail world at the height of the pandemic.

This month we’re going to be getting behind Yellow Door: the deli, restaurant and catering company which has a habit of adding its magic to the best of Northern Ireland’s produce. Founder Simon Dougan talks us through how the business has grown and diversified with the help of a talented and committed team as he readies the team for reopening in the near future. Then we’re going to be taking to the skies to hear from the Air Ambulance to find out how the service which many of us in the rural agri-food sector rely on operates. 

The third episode of the Fifth Quarter Podcast focuses on the importance of constantly innovating to ensure your business evolves and meets the changing demands of consumers. Featuring Brian Irwin, Chair of Irwins Bakery and Catherine McKeever from Long Meadow Cider.

Good Relations - the family business episode. In this episode of The Fifth Quarter we focus on family businesses, talking to two companies with family at the core and an expert able to pinpoint the opportunities and challenges which this vital section of Northern Ireland economy face on a day-to-day basis. Featuring Tracy Hamilton from Mash Direct, Susan Smyth from KPMG and Joyce Brownless from Blackwell House.

The first episode focuses on life after Brexit and features interviews with Devenish Chief Executive Richard Kennedy, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association Executive Director Michael Bell and Caroline McArdle, the founder of Lurgan artisan chocolate business Cobden and Brown.