Students show food enterprise skills

Members of the winning team pictured with CAFRE and Linden Foods staff. From left: Dr Kate Semple (CAFRE), Anna Truesdale (Newcastle, Co. Down), Brendan, White (Castlewellan, Co. Down), Claire Windrum (Carryduff, Co. Down), and Keith Williamson (Linden Foods). Team member Thomas Wells (Moira, Co. Armagh) is absent from the photograph.

Products ranged from Wagyu beef burgers to a ‘clean eating’ style wrap (with bacon, egg, and mango), Duck Wellington, a Donegal seaweed based pudding and Bramley apple crumble ice-cream.

The BSc degree students are studying at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus and participate in an innovative supply chain programme with beef and lamb processor Linden Foods and food retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). As part of this programme, the students visit both Linden Foods in Dungannon and the M&S store at Sprucefield. The students toured the respective facilities and were given presentations on various aspects of the supply chain.

Following these visits, the students are challenged with a project to develop a supply chain for a new food product targeting the M&S customer. They also have to design suitable packaging and create the product for presentation to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judging panel comprising industry experts from Linden Foods and M&S and senior CAFRE Lecturers.

Members of the runner up team who created a clean eating styled egg, bacon and avocado wrap pictured with CAFRE and Linden Foods staff. From left: Dr Kate Semple (CAFRE), Christopher Sweeney (Derry/Londonderry), Josh Thompson (Broughshane), Heather Steele (Ballymena), Joseph Thompson (Randalstown), and Keith Williamson (Linden Foods).

The Supply Chain programme is sponsored by Linden Foods and M&S as part of its Farming for the Future education programme. The winning team are rewarded with a visit to M&S London headquarters where the students meet a range of staff involved in food purchasing and new product development. The top three student teams will also receive awards at Balmoral Show.

The winning student team produced a Wagyu burger and comprised Anna Truesdale (Newcastle, Co. Down), Brendan White (Castlewellan, Co. Down), Claire Windrum (Carryduff, Co. Down), and Thomas Wells (Moira, Co. Armagh).