When the Covid lockdowns put the brakes on many local businesses, one couple decided to use their background in hospitality to launch their first business venture.
Both passionate about local food, renowned chef Gary Jenkins and his wife Sarah have just opened Belmont Larder in east Belfast.
Gary and Sarah have poured their energies and savings into establishing their new business on the Belmont Road, which offers a range of local produce, takeaway snacks, ready meals and freshly baked sweet and savoury options.
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Their new business blends perfectly into the bustling Belmont Road, which has long been a hub for food lovers from across the city due to the numerous local cafes and eateries on offer.
Whiterock man Gary, 37, first met Sarah, 38 and a native of Comber, when they both worked at The Poacher’s Pocket in Lisbane, near Killinchy.
Gary has been a chef for 20 years and spent the last 12 of those working for Ronan and Jennie Sweeney of Balloo Inns with six years in both The Parsons Nose in Hillsborough and The Poacher’s Pocket as head chef.
“During the Covid lockdowns, we had the opportunity to look at our lives and see what the next few years would bring. Hospitality is a fantastic industry but it's becoming too hard with the unforgiving hours and trying to recruit staff," Gary told Belfast Live.
"Sarah left hospitality seven years ago so we became like passing ships in the night. I've always loved baking and The Poacher’s Pocket has its own deli, The Poacher's Pantry, which was still in operation during lockdown, so at least we were able to keep that side of things going."
Gary added: "Both of us knew that we wanted to run a food business so the rethink led us towards the idea of opening an artisan food shop, celebrating all our island has to offer in terms of smaller producers.
"I had forged good working relationships with our local suppliers when I was at The Poacher’s and so opening a shop to showcase their products directly seemed like the obvious next step for both of us.
"Everything in our fridge is sourced from the island of Ireland and we really love that ethos and as I say, I've worked with a lot of these food producers previously anyway.
"There are so many wonderful and innovative foods now being produced here in Northern Ireland, particularly, by artisans and smaller ventures.
"So we wanted to use our expertise and knowledge to introduce their superb foods to many more people here and play our part in helping to raise awareness of what’s available locally."
Gary is producing his own range of inhouse gastropub ‘grab and go’ ready meals, which includes mains, desserts and sauces, again all made using local ingredients.
"These convenience meals are made using my experience as a chef and we have vegetarian options available too," he explains.
"The idea was to try and convert the food people are familiar with in a gastro pub setting into something you can just grab and take home. They're aimed at diners who enjoy fresh restaurant quality food but maybe don’t have the time or the means to eat out."
The new store also features a chilled range of locally caught seafood, landed in the Co Down harbours of Kilkeel, Portavogie and Strangford alongside local flax fed steaks, burgers, sausages, black pudding and a wide range of Irish cheeses and charcuterie.
Gary adds. "Every morning we have a selection of freshly baked breads, pastries and tray bakes on sale - wheaten, focaccia, sourdough and soda bread. Our pastry and patisserie range includes croissants, pain au chocolat, homemade tarts, pavlovas etc. In addition we also have fresh orange juice available on tap every day.
"We're hoping to bring in a local producer every weekend who can chat to customers about their range of artisan foods and that support would our remit to showcase local producers to shoppers. We've been warmly welcomed by our fellow traders here on the road and the local community so we're very excited for the future."
You can follow Belmont Larder on Facebook and Instagram.
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