‘Of all UK regions we have the widest selection of breads’

Brian Irwin (64) is chairman of Irwin’s Bakery in Portadown and is married to Moira with three children. He says:

When I was a child, one of the best things of all was toast done in front of the fire. It was put on a fork and it toasted very quickly until it was almost singed. As kids we absolutely loved it.

Another one that used to be made in the home was potato apple. It turned out something like a cake or pie and it’s still a favourite in some parts.

Of all the regions in the UK, Northern Ireland has the widest selection of breads. We have a big range, from breads made from soda flour to products made on the hotplate and we continue the plain bread tradition with batch products. One product which is unique to Northern Ireland is veda bread which is a delicious treat for kids and also tastes good with a bit of cheese.

In its day it was a huge treat — there was not a lot of money about so there were no cakes, but here’s a bread that delivers the same treat as cake but for a lot less money.

When the shipyard was in its heyday, you had thousands of men going to work each with their piece box. It was hard work so there were lots of plain bread sandwiches and at the end a Veda sandwich with a slice of pressed dates in the middle.

If you’ve just done six hours riveting the Titanic, you need your energy boost and what better than a Veda sandwich with pressed dates?

Soda bread was a big favourite. We had normal soda bread but also fruit soda made with white flour and sultanas. It’s a bit of a speciality up here, although they make it in Cork as well and call it spotted dick.”