Goodshowingfor county’spubs andrestaurants
WEXFORD eateries did well the recent Irish Restaurant Leinster awards which took place in Trim and at which the region’s leading chefs, restaurants and pubs were recognised for their commitment to top class cuisine.
Speaking at the awards, Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) said: ‘Now in their tenth year, the Irish Restaurant Awards continue to showcase the exquisite and admirable calibre of food available in our restaurants and pubs nationwide.
‘Online nominations have increased from 9,000 in 2013 to over 80,000 this year and with the increase in interest comes an increase in standards, making the judging process more difficult than ever,’ he said.
‘Our small island boasts everything from fine dining to high quality gastropubs, from the exotic taste explosions of world cuisine to the comfort of traditional dishes. We have an appreciation for what we eat, for the journey of our food from farm to fork, and for the dedication of those working in the food industry to serve up Ireland’s finest food.’
There was a double accolade in the Wexford honours for Paul Hynes who won the Best Chef award, with his restaurant La Cote Seafood Restaurant taking the top restaurant award.
The full list of Wexford winners: Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – The Kitchen at Gorey; Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – Aldridge Lodge Restaurant & Guesthouse; Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Whitford House Hotel; Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – Wild and Native Seafood Restaurant; Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – Mi Asian Street Food; Best Restaurant Manager – Joanne Harding of the Aldridge Lodge; Best Wine Experience sponsored by Classic Drinks – Beaches Restaurant at Kellys Resort Hotel; Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – The Sky and The Ground; Best Café sponsored by Illy – The Wilds; Best Customer Service – Whitford House Hotel; Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – Katie Daly’s Bar and Restaurant Gorey; Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – The Duck Restaurant at Marlfield House; Best Newcomer sponsored by Elavon – PK Thai Cuisine; Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Paul Hynes at La Côte Seafood Restaurant and Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – La Côte Seafood Restaurant. IRISH Continental Goup performed strongly during 2017, although fuel costs and a weaker Sterling, driven down by Brexit uncertainty, caused earnings to fall by three per cent.
In its newly-announced results for the year, the Irish Ferries’ owner reported three per cent revenue growth to €335.1 million on the back of volume growth across the group’s operations. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell to €81 million.
Chairman John B McGuckian said the year as a successful one before noting group fuel costs increased by 25.2 per cent to €40.3 million.
Early in the financial year Irish Continental sold its MV Kaitaki which yielded a profit after tax of €24.9 million and subsequently sold its Jonathan Swift vessel.
The company has since into an agreement for a new 55,000 tonne ferry, to be named the W.B Yeats, costing €165.2 million, that will be delivered to the group in 2020.
The company’s EBITDA performance was ahead of analyst expectations while profit before tax increased by 45 per cent to €87.8 million.
Additionally, the company has moved from a €37.9 million net debt position in 2016 to a net cash position of €39.6 million last year.
Irish continental operates in two divisions; the ferries division which offers passenger and roll-on roll-off freight services, and the container and terminal division.
the overall car market to and from Ireland grew by around 1.7 per cent in 2017 to 807,400 cars. Irish Ferries’ car carryings ‘ performed strongly, up 2.4 per cent to 424,000 cars.
The company carried 1.65 million passengers in the period, up 1.7 per cent, while Ro Ro freight volumes were up 0.5 per cent to 287,500 units .
The final dividend was 8.15 cents, up five per cent.