Townsend Enterprise Park ‘turns up the flavour’ with Carolyn Stewart

Townsend Enterprise Park ‘turns up the flavour’ with Carolyn Stewart

Leading business hub, Townsend Enterprise Park, has officially welcomed radio broadcaster and award-winning food producer, Carolyn Stewart’s burgeoning business ‘Turn Up the Flavour’ to the site.

Carolyn’s new business unit houses a bespoke 800 square foot industrial kitchen unit which allows her to produce her artisan Jamaican Patty range on a large scale.

Carolyn, a favourite on U105’s afternoon Bistro show, set up Turn up the Flavour in 2016 following a lifelong love of cooking and Caribbean flavours.

The brand, which started with a Caribbean Pickle product, has grown steadily year-on-year and four of her products were recognised at both the Irish Food Awards, winning Gold and Bronze, and the Great Taste Awards gaining stars, meaning they were graded as ‘outstanding’ against 14,000 products from 108 countries.

She has since diversified into hand-producing delicious Jamaican Patties which are now sold in delicatessens across Northern Ireland.

The move to Townsend Enterprise Park – a charitable organisation whose aim it is to stimulate social and economic regeneration – has allowed Carolyn to upscale the production of the Patty product, allowing her to make up to 300 products per day to meet growing demand.

Carolyn says that the new product was inspired following many trips to Jamaica where she fell in love with the street food.

She said: “I have been to Jamaica many times and always absolutely loved their Patty Shacks across the island, all selling the most delicious, flavoursome and unique patties. I have been on a mission to develop my own take on these for the past few years and am absolutely delighted with our finished product.

“We spent many months developing the recipes and have honed ours down to four combinations; Beef, Chicken, Veggie and Vegan, all home-made using the freshest local Northern Ireland ingredients.

Our new premises at Townsend, located just off the Westlink in Belfast, are the perfect location for both production and indeed delivery to our various outlets across Northern Ireland.”

Margaret Patterson McMahon, CEO of Townsend Enterprise Park continued: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Carolyn to our thriving and diverse business community at Townsend Enterprise Park.

“Carolyn epitomizes what Townsend Enterprise Park is all about. Innovation, combined with a determination to succeed, alongside hard-work and a fantastic community-based attitude.  Carolyn has a wonderful outgoing and giving nature and is already working in partnership with some of our other businesses on-site. I have no doubt that her business will grow from strength to strength, and we look forward to supporting Carolyn on that journey in any way that we can.”

Townsend Enterprise Park is home to 46 small-to-medium sized businesses, employing over 300 people from across the city and beyond, providing flexible workspaces, meeting, and training and conference rooms.

Other businesses housed there include a professional laundry servicing the hospitality and sports industry, a reflexologist training service, a florist, marble specialists, artists and makers, glazier and a series of other charitable organisations including a homeless and fresh food bank charity.

Caption: Margaret Patterson McMahon, CEO of Townsend Enterprise Park alongside Carolyn Stewart, owner of Turn up the Flavour.