Meat and mash beat smashed avocado in Irish foodie awards
IT’S rare to go on social media and not see someone tucking into the latest food trend, be it smashed avocado on toast or an acai bowl.
However, it appears that Irish consumers are rejecting the Instagram food trends and going back to basics when it comes to what they put on their plate.
Staple foods such as beef, butter and potatoes led the way for winners at the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards. Now in their 27th year, the awards celebrate local producers who bring joy to our dinner tables.
Chair of the Irish Food Writers Guild, Chair, Kristin Jensen, announced the winners yesterday and said that in a year in which there has been a newfound appreciation for the simple pleasures in life, it is perhaps no coincidence that the winners reflected basic food.
The winners of the three food awards were Abernethy Butter, Co. Down; Ballymakenny Farm Irish Heritage and Specialty Potatoes, Co. Louth; and Tom Durcan’s Spiced Beef.
The Guild awarded its Irish
‘An innate passion for food’
Drink Award to Kinsale Mead Wild Red Mead, which is flavoured with tart Irish blackberry and juicy cherry.
In a year that saw food companies pivot and move online to survive, and in many cases, thrive, NeighbourFood ‘virtual’ farmer’s market in Cork, which connects customers to a network of indigenous producers received the Outstanding Organisation Award.
Meanwhile, a Lifetime Achievement Award went to Marion Roeleveld, of Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, who has been described as being ‘the cheesemaker’s cheesemaker’.
In 2004, using milk from her partner Haske’s goats, she started making Killeen Farmhouse Cheese on their 50-acre farm near Portumna, Co. Galway. And now, thanks to Marion’s training and knowledge of farmhouse cheese production, the brand has become a multi-award winning company.
The main Killeen Farmhouse Cheese production is a semi-hard goats’ cheese Gouda, while cows’ cheese is also available.
The past year has seen a seismic shift in how people are thinking about their food, with a renewed focus on traceability, sustainability and most importantly this year, supporting local.
According to Ms Jensen, these have been the three key tenets of the awards and the work of the guild for almost 30 years.
‘If this pandemic has any silver lining, it is the light that has been shone on the incredible, resourceful and innovative food producers of Ireland that have responded to the challenge, giving back to communities and ensuring a continued supply of and access to the highest-quality home-grown produce,’ she said.
‘Today’s winners have an innate passion for food, and their commitment is nothing short of vocational. This is our way of recognising their achievements and our way of saying well done and thank you.’