Profile by Clare Connery, Food & Wine Magazine - April 2000

"Things aren't what they used to be", "In the good old days bacon really tasted of something"...How many times have you heard that said? And today? Well everything is different ... Except in Fermanagh, where time is standing on its head and the fame of Pat O'Doherty's 'Black Bacon™' is spreading far beyond the country.

Like many of his generation, James O'Doherty had a tough early life. He left school out of economic necessity at thirteen and was sent to work for a local butcher. Now after half a century he is still demonstrating those 'old fashioned' virtues of service and courtesy, selling quality meat from his shop in Belmore Street in Enniskillen town. He inspired his son, Pat, to come into the business with his big ideas and the acumen to drive things forward.

Now these are hard times for the 'little man', particularly in the food industry. With massive multiples offering huge ranges, cheaper prices and convenient one stop shopping, how does one combat the big boys?

Well, Pat O'Doherty could run seminars on the subject. He's humble enough to acknowledge that the best way to learn is to have the courage to make decisions, make some mistakes, learn from those mistakes and move on. His formula for securing the future of the family business is straightforward - get yourself known for the excellence of your products beyond the locality (win some prestigious prizes), spot a quality niche in the market and chase it for all it's worth. Be ready to expand production and wait for the big boys to beat a path to your door. Well, those mistakes, those lessons learned and that search for the vital niche, have lead directly to Pat O'Doherty winning this year's Supreme Award for quite the best bacon I have ever tasted.

With the pig industry on its knees and a glut of cheap mass produced bacon on sale everywhere we all know what flows out of these thin slices of bacon as they shrivel up in our frying pans. But Pat O'Doherty's recipe for success is founded on carefully selected animals from farmers who rear the right pigs, curing the pork in the traditional way using natural ingredients (the secret recipe) and dry curing in temperature controlled conditions for three months.

Seeing and tasting is believing, and I'm a believer. There is no telltale oozing of unsightly phosphate and no water injection. The flavour and texture are superb and you can buy it just as you like it - rind on or off, fat, medium or lean and thin, medium or thick cut!

But why is it called Black Bacon™? Not because of the colour of the pigs, though some of them are indeed black, but simply because that's what Pat wanted to call it. Pat also has a secret weapon, a six month matured dry cured bacon, his answer to Parma Ham. A treat in store!

You can buy O'Doherty's Black Bacon™ by emailing order directly from the shop.