Cafe Vic Ryn serves up some tasty scones for NI competition final

The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland has announced the success of its competition, Best Scones NI which received almost 15,000 public votes for 107 businesses across the hospitality sector in the province.

And it has been revealed that Lisburn’s popular Cafe Vic Ryn is one of the 15 finalists, much to the delight of both staff and customers.

“We were over the moon with the news because all the hard work has paid off,” said Glen from Cafe Vic Ryn.

The Lisburn cafe is renowned for its tasty treats and in particular its wide variety of scones, which are sure to tickle your tastebuds.

But coming up with new and inventive taste sensations isn’t always easy, revealed Glen. “We have the best bakers around. Sometimes it would be trial and error but a lot of the time they would just know what will work and what won’t.”

Every customer no doubt has their favourite scone but some of the popular favours at Vic Ryn include raspberry and white chocolate; strawberry, coconut and white chocolate; chocolate and fudge; blueberry and white chocolate; and cheese and bacon.

“We are always coming up with new scone flavours and we plan to never stop developing our scone range,” continued Glen.

Everyone at Care Vic Ryn is on tenterhooks waiting for the winners to be announced but they will have to wait until October 18, when the winner will be reveald at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast.

Glen says: “Honestly it would mean the world to us, our bakers and especially our owner Jacqueline Evans, who started this little gem of a place, to win this competition.

“We have been doing this for 16 years now and it is our passion. All the early mornings, late nights and long long days and building up a good reputation about our scones are worth it. So again it would mean the world to us.”

The business has many devoted customers who are avid fans of the scones on offer so everyone at Cafe Vic Ryn would like to thank them for their continued support. “We would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote and especially our bakers who made this happen all the years of hard work is finally paying off,” added Glen. “We would not be in the position we are in without both our loyal customers and the best staff in the world.”

The search to find the best scones in cafes, hotels and restaurants across Northern Ireland was launched by the Dairy Council in August as part of a campaign to support local hospitality businesses across Northern Ireland who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign is part of a wider European programme and is partly funded by the EU.

Now that the shortlist has been compiled, following the vote of the general public, it is down to the judges to make their final decision on who they think is worthy of the £1,000 hospitality voucher prize and the title, Northern Ireland’s Best Scone 2021.

The judging panel includes local celebrity chef, Paula McIntyre, food education consultant, Glynis Henderson and Dairy Council NI representative, Valerie Rossborough.

The three-strong panel will visit the fifteen café, hotel and restaurant finalists across Northern Ireland in the bid to find the Best Scone in NI.

Paula McIntyre, who recently debuted her new BBC one show Hamley Kitchen focusing on local produce, commented: “It is fantastic to see such huge engagement from the general public of Northern Ireland for this competition.

“Each and every one of our entries this year were of an incredibly high standard. I look forward to visiting and tasting great produce from our top fifteen hospitality businesses.”

The other finalists include Ciara’s Home Bakes, Espresso at Etc, Patricia’s Coffee House, The Cottage Coffee Shop, Adair Arms Hotel, Dobbins Inn Hotel, Leona’s Tea Room at Magherabuoy House, Oranmore House, The Conservatory – Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, Harrisons of Greyabbey, Logans Restaurant and Café, Restaurant Sorrento, The Dairy and the Millwheel Restaurant. For more, visit www.bestsconesni.com