La Cote wins major national award
LA Cote Seafood Restaurant in Wexford town has won a Leinster chef and all-Ireland venue award.
The business itself won the all-Ireland Seafood Restaurant of the Year title at the prestigious Ireland Yes Chef Awards.
In addition, Chef Paul Hynes, won the Best Chef in Leinster award.
Now in its sixth year awards ceremony attracted 500 guests representing chefs and hospitality professionals from all over Ireland.
La Cote is widely regarded as one of the finest restaurants in Wexford and its reputation has been enhanced by these latest awards.
Commenting on the win, Edwina Hynes, from La Cote, described it as ‘brilliant news’ for the business.
‘We’re really delighted with it,’ she said.
Shane Smith, Managing Director of YesChef Magazine, said the awards are growing in prestige and popularity each year.
‘The programme has gone from strength-to-strength and will continue to grow,’ he said.
‘The concept is simple,’ he added, before commenting that the aim is to showcase the talent within the culinary world across the island. ‘It’s never been about the few Michelin starred restaurants,’ said Mr Smith.
‘It’s always been about the majority of chefs who work the pots and pans, sourcing the finest ingredients and making the best of them, to please their diners,’ he added.
Mr Smith also complimented the young chefs who devised and delivered the menu served up to guests at the ceremony.
The winner of Young Chef of the Year from last year also returned to deliver a course and Mr Smith said the young chefs’ talent is always amazing.
‘The talent, creativity and sheer hard work that these young people – the stars of the future – put into the development and delivery of our menu never fails to astound me,’ he said.
There were 80 awards presented this year and Ms Smith said a recurring theme was the collaboration between ‘front-of-house’ and the kitchen staff.
‘A recurring theme in this year’s awards has been the collaboration between front-of-house and the kitchen and how this delicately balanced partnership is vital to the success of every venue,’ said Mr Smith.
As part of the awards scheme researchers visited venues to get first-hand experience of what the restaurants are like.
‘Our researchers consistently fed back on how service was an equally important element of their dining experience and genuinely impacted on the quality of their visit,’ said Mr Smith.