Awards serve up menu of winners
A SMORGASBORD of culinary delights made up the winners of this year’s food awards – from oysters to vermouth, to organic chicken and a traditional pastry.
The 31st Irish Food Writers’ Guild awards aim to highlight ‘excellence and distinguishable’ quality in Irish produce.
Among the winners were Carlingford Oysters in Co. Louth, whose product was lauded for its ‘sweet nutty flavour followed by a slight tannic lingering aftertaste’.
Other winners in the foodie section included Regan Organic Chicken, lead by Mary Regan and based in Co. Wexford, which was hailed as ‘a case study of an alternative food system’.
Meath-based Roll It All Butter Pastry was also
‘Simple ingredients used for a pastry free of additives’
recognised for its ‘simple and honest Irish ingredients’ used to produce a pastry that is ‘easy to use and free from additives’. The Irish Drink Award went to Co. Kerry, with Valentia Island Vermouth – produced by wifeand-wife team Anna and Orla Snook O’Carroll. But the event was overshadowed by pressures on the restaurant sector, with hundreds of closures witnessed in recent months, which is having knock-on effects for food producers. Caroline Hennessy, of the Irish Food Writer’s Guild said: ‘If we don’t address the crisis facing Ireland’s restaurant sector, we will not only see the closure of many more local businesses this year, but the potential demise of our wider vibrant food industry.’ The Food Awards were held at Suesey Street restaurant in Dublin, with a lunch using the winning produce.