A sandwich designer and a crustless white loaf of bread were the stars of the Total Sandwich Show, a celebration in London of the success of the sandwich in the British lifestyle.
Since the British eat more sandwiches per head than any other race - £3.5 billion (€5.7 billion) of them last year - the show was a valuable showcase for Bord Bia to bring eight food and beverage companies to show their products.
But when it comes to being a star, Ms Nellie Nicholls, creative designer with Hazelwood Foods, Europe's largest sandwich manufacturer, is centre stage. From London and Derbyshire, Hazelwood supplies 2.5 to three million sambos a year to customers as diverse as HMS Prison Service, caterers Gardner Merchant, British Airways and Virgin, Sainsbury's, Asda, Boot's and even Harrod's, including Harrod's own label.
"Since Margaret Thatcher signalled the end of the lunch hour, people have been having lots of sandwiches," she says. "But they want a more interesting eat: a BLT with turkey and no fat, salad club, Asian fusion chicken."
A loaf that must be every sandwich bar's and hotel's dream has just been developed in Italy and was on show at the Angel Foods stand. This Morato label bread is sliced, crustless and has a two-year shelf life.
Somebody had to invent the portable breakfast - and Mr Declan Ennis of Ennis Foods did it, with Rumblers, an eat-as-you-go cereal in a bowl, complete with folding plastic spoon. Since 74 per cent of adults in Britain, miss breakfast up to three times a week, it seemed an obvious development, but it wasn't until 1998 that the Rumblers individual cereal portions came onto the market. Rumblers are made at Killygordon creamery in Donegal, where 30 people are employed.
Busy working wives, staff canteen supervisors and microwave addicts are among those targeted by Goldstar Meats with its new range of Rustlers microwaveable snacks. There's a quarter-pounder with cheese, a chicken sandwich and barbecue spare ribs. "They're flame-cooked and microwaveable in 70 seconds and we use only premium-quality ingredients," says Ms Karen Doyle of Goldstar, a subsidiary of Kepak Meats in Dublin.
For 10 small Irish drinks companies to win five gold, six silver and six bronze medals at the London International Wine Trade Fair was an achievement, given that the fair at Olympia - coinciding with the Total Sandwich Show - attracted 800 wine and spirit exhibitors.
Bord Bia's Ms Cathryn Hargan, who brought the drinks companies together for the fair, said the number had increased from three the first year to the present level. The Boru Irish Vodka Company's new orange-flavoured Irish vodka won gold in the flavoured vodka category; there's also a citrus flavour. Mr Pat Rigney and Mr David Phelan, two former Bailey's executives, have developed the Boru range, selling in Britain, France, the US, Iceland, Finland and they've just sent their first container to Brazil. Complementing the vodka range, the company has introduced its first Clontarf whiskey range, aged in Bourbon casks to enhance the flavour. All three won silver medals.
Another new product which won a gold medal was Cappucino Cream Liqueur from Robert A Merry and Co, of Clonmel, Co Tipperary, one of four golds the company now has won for its cream liqueurs.
Two very new products launched at the fair were Or Irish schnapps, a cool citrus spirit, and the Hot Irishman, the first Irish coffee mix on the market. Or comes from BawnOr, and is developed from a secret family recipe which belongs to potter and artist Anthony O Brien, who claims direct descent from Brian Boru. Ms Lucienne Purcell, a director of BawnOr, said Or had been on sale in selected "style-conscious" hotels and bars in Dublin and Galway for eight weeks. Or won a silver medal in the schnapps category.
The Hot Irishman is the brainchild of former computer executive Mr Bernard Walsh and his wife Rosemary. The reaction to this Irish coffee mix has been "super", he reported. "We are trying to address the inconsistencies of this drink. Maybe people don't use the right coffee or the right whiskey. We are trying to bring back the quality. We're quadrupling sales of Irish coffee in some of the outlets where we're available because of the quality of our product." The Hot Irishman started production only last September. Like Or, it is blended and produced by the House of Donohue in Waterford.
The Cooley Distillery in Co Louth won two gold medals: for its Connemara Cask single malt whiskey and the own-brand Sainsbury's Irish single malt. Cooley also produces the Tyrconnell, Locke's, Klbeggan and Inishowen brands and is selling in 30 markets worldwide now.
