Don’t invite me to your premises unless you have clean loos and basic manners!
WHEN you’ve been in the hospitality industry as long as I have, it’s safe to say you pick up plenty of experience — from the good and the bad — along the way.
Last Monday, my experience was called upon as I was judging the third annual South East Radio Hospitality Awards. Regular readers of my column will know that I’m passionate about lending my support and knowledge to iniatives like these.
And this year, the competition had grown to include no less than 54 categories —that’s a lot of judging, but then again, the sunny south east has a lot of hospitality!
Being a judge is not an easy job, for lots of reasons. You are giving up a lot of your time, it’s tiring and you have to be brutally honest about your findings.
Most of the hotels and restaurants I visited were wonderful, but the others were simply not. When I arrived at one particular venue, the nominated manager was off that day, and at another place the receptionist was on maternity leave.
I wouldn’t mind but the letters outlining the dates and times of judges visits had been sent out four weeks beforehand, so there was plenty of time to make sure the proper staff were there to meet and greet us.
It did nothing for my mood, especially since I was in a cast and on crutches at the time, and had gone out of my way to make the uncomfortable journey to judge these venues. I really felt as if they didn’t take these awards seriously. A phone call would have gone a long way.
Now, I won’t go into details by naming names, but everyone knows how OCD I am with regard to toilets — and some nominees’ facilities that I visited left a lot to be desired. I always say that when you go out to eat, no matter if it’s a bar, restaurant or hotel, just as if you were visiting someone’s home, if their kitchen is not clean and their bathrooms are dirty then would you really want to eat there?
IN this day and age, cleanliness in food preparation areas and bathrooms should be a given. Anything less, and you shouldn’t be trading, it’s a simple as that.
But on to the good stuff. The black tie awards dinner took place in The Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey — a lovely resort hotel with something for everyone and a whole wing just for families.
I want to go back for the Christmas Experience which sounds amazing — even though it is aimed at kids. Sure who doesn’t love Santa Claus!
The awards night is gaining momentum as the years pass and it’s now the big night out for those who work in hospitality establishments in the area.
We had great fun — and as I well know, people in the hospitality sector sure know how to let their hair down and party!
Winners on the night included Billy Kelly of Kelly’s Resort Hotel & Restaurants in Rosslare, who was presented with a welldeserved Lifetime Achievement award.
Nicky Cullen of Mary Barry’s in Kilmore was a worthy winner of Best Chef and The Best Overall Restaurant winner was La Cote Seafood Restaurant in Wexford town.
Awards like this are invaluable for the hospitality industry, which is so vibrant and important on our island of Ireland. They (should!) keep establishments at the top of their game, and in turn, make their customers happy and make them come back for more.
For the full list of winners go to