Irish Food Writing Award Winners 2021

 The inaugural Irish Food Writing Awards were held this evening (Wednesday 10th November) in Fallon and Byrne in Dublin city centre, with a later reception hosted by the Merrion Hotel in their Cellar Bar. 

Over 200 entries across 16 categories were received from Irish food and drink journalists, writers, bloggers and photographers from throughout the island of Ireland. Nine of twenty seven international judges (which included Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen, food broadcaster Jay Rayner and Tom Parker Bowles) attended the awards event, travelling to Ireland with the support of Tourism Ireland.

Irish Food Writing Awards founder, journalist Suzanne Campbell, said “this is the inaugural awards for journalists and food writers in Ireland to award and push for high standards in food writing and food media. We were overwhelmed with the amount of entries, the quality of the international writers who wanted to be involved as judges and our sponsor companies without which the awards wouldn’t have happened. Myself and a colleague Paul O’Connor set this up just this year; it’s a non-profit enterprise, and seeing the joy on peoples’ faces tonight at the awards was worth all the planning and changes we had to make because of the pandemic. It has been a tough eighteen months for the food sector and for journalists so this is a lovely way to acknowledge the hard work of writers and food media”

 

Irish Food Writing Award Winners

 

Food Podcast Award winner – Spice Bags Podcast from Dee Laffan, Mei Chin and Blanca Valencia

This award is sponsored by Safco Fine Foods and judged by BBC radio broadcaster on food and drinks Nigel Barden.

 

Writing on Sustainability in Irish Food Award – winner: Michelle Darmody for work in The Examiner

This award is sponsored by the National Dairy Council. The work submitted for this really important award was judged by Rene Redzepi, chef and founder of Noma restaurant in Copenhagen and Sustainability food and travel writer Catherine Mack

 

Restaurant Writing Award – winner: Joe McNamee for work in The Examiner

This award is sponsored by Fallon and Byrne. Judged by Tom Parker Bowles and Xanthe Clay.

 

Food Photography Award

This award was sponsored by Hussey Veg and this award has two categories both of which were judged by Conde Nast photographer Joann Pai.

Professional category winner – Al Higgins

Amateur category winner – Rosie Morgan

 

Online Writing Award winner – Caroline Hennessy for www.Bibliocook.com

This award is kindly sponsored by Pestle + Mortar. UK food broadcaster Andy Clarke judged these entries and was looking at not just blogs but also twitter, instagram and how the writers used social media platforms

 

Writing on Irish Food Producers Award winner: Katy McGuinness for work in the Irish Independent

This award is sponsored by Aldi Ireland who work with small Irish food producers through their Grow with Aldi programme. The judges on this category were Mark Hix and German based food writer Christie Dietz

 

Investigative Writing on Food Award winner: Niall Sargeant for work published in Noteworthy.ie

This award is sponsored by Drummond House Garlic. These entries were judged by UK food journalist Joanna Blythman

 

Emerging Voice in Irish Food Writing Award winner: Maeve L’Estrange for work published in the Dublin Inquirer

This is a really important category as it is to reward newer voices in Irish writing on food and drink. We teamed up with the members of the Irish Food Writers Guild on this award who judged it

 

Cookery Writing Award winner: Lilly Higgins for work in the Irish Times

Sponsored by Ardkeen Grocer - The judges of this award were Trish Deseine and French Elle Magazine writer Esterelle Payany 

 

Wine Writing Award winner: Aoife Carrigy – The Irish Independent

Sponsored by Whelehans Wines and judged by Fiona Beckett and Marie-Dominique Bradford of Trois Fois Vins in Paris

 

Spirits Writing Award winner: Oisin Davis for work published in Food and Wine Magazine

This award was sponsored by Powerscourt Distillery and judged by food and drink writers Colman Andrews from New York and Rachel McCormack from Scotland

 

Beer Writing Award winner: Breandan Kearney for work published on Good Beer Hunting

The aim of this award is to encourage and popularise more writing on beer in Ireland. It is sponsored by Bru Brewery and was judged by drinks writers Robb Walsh and Richard Croasdale from UK beer magazine “Ferment”.

 

Food Writing Award winner – Corinna Hardgrave

This award is sponsored by Bord Bia and was judged by American food author Adrian Miller and British author and food writer Sophie Grigson

 

Writing on International Cuisines in Ireland winner Mei Chin for work in The Irish Times and The Times (UK) newspapers

Sponsored by the Irish Curry Awards and judged by British food writer Anjula Devi

 

Magazine or Food Supplement Award winner: Food and Wine Magazine

This award is sponsored by Invest NI was judged by UK food writers Charlotte Pike and Claire Finney

 

Outstanding Achievement in food and drink writing award.

This award was presented posthumously to wine writer and broadcaster Tomás Clancy. It was accepted by his wife Claire Kearney and sons Tomas and Liam Clancy

Sponsored by James Whelan Butchers

 

Cookbook of The Year Award winner: “FX Buckley the Dublin Steakhouse” by Katy McGuinness and Stephen Buckley

Sponsored by Gather &Gather and judged by Jay Rayner and Dr Annie Gray of BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet

 

The awards, established by Suzanne Campbell with Paul O’Connor, are kindly sponsored by The National Dairy Council, James Whelan Butchers, Aldi Ireland, Whelehans Wines, Pestle + Mortar Sauces, Bord Bia, Brú Brewery, Drummond House Farm, Safco Fine Foods, Invest Northern Ireland, Powerscourt Distillery, Gather & Gather, Hussey’s Fruit and Vegetables, The Irish Curry Awards, Ardkeen Quality Food Store and Fallon & Byrne. Also kindly supported by Tourism Ireland and hotel partner The Merrion Hotel. 

The Irish Food Writing Awards were established to recognise and celebrate the high quality of food and drink writing from throughout the island of Ireland, across print, broadcast and online.

I was a Finalist, no win tonight! But it was great to meet up with good food people again! 

1st ever Irish Food Writing Awards takes place tonight

International chefs and food writers fly in to Dublin this week for the inaugural Irish Food Writing Awards. Chef and broadcaster Mark Hix, the Guardian's wine critic Fiona Beckett, US food author Adrian Miller and several more international writers are visiting Dublin to take their seats at the Irish Food Writing Awards which are taking place in Fallon and Byrne, followed by the Merrion Hotel tonight, Wednesday 10th November. 

Suzanne Campbell and Paul O'Connor who founded the Irish Food Writing Awards 

The international guests are part of a twenty seven strong judging panel which include some of the world's top names in food and drink such as Rene Redzepi from Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, broadcaster Jay Rayner and The Telegraph's restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles. The judges reviewed over 200 entries to the Irish Awards which were established this year to reward excellence in Irish food and drinks writing, podcasts, online content and photography. Journalists from the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Business Post, The Examiner, The Farmers Journal, Image Magazine and Food and Wine magazine have all entered the awards in categories ranging from "Restaurant Writing", "Writing on Irish Food Producers" and awards for writing on wine, spirits and beer.  

The winners will be announced tomorrow evening, Wednesday 10^th November with regular updates on twitter with the hashtag #IFWA21. An award will also be given for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food & Drink Writing, and the Irish Cookbook of the Year has been chosen by Jay Rayner and Annie Gray from the BBC's Kitchen Cabinet programme.

The awards, established by Suzanne Campbell with Paul O’Connor, are kindly sponsored by The National Dairy Council, James Whelan Butchers, Aldi Ireland, Whelehans Wines, Pestle + Mortar Sauces, Bord Bia, Brú Brewery, Drummond House Farm, Safco Fine Foods, Invest Northern Ireland, Powerscourt Distillery, Gather & Gather, Hussey’s Fruit and Vegetables, The Irish Curry Awards, Ardkeen Quality Food Store and Fallon & Byrne. Also kindly supported by Tourism Ireland and hotel partner The Merrion Hotel.

The Irish Food Writing Awards were established to recognise and celebrate the high quality of food and drink writing from throughout the island of Ireland, across print, broadcast and online.  In all categories, entries were accepted from the nominees themselves, or by a third party and were open to writers, journalists, bloggers and photographers.

I'm a finalist in the Online Writing Category and I'm looking forward to seeing many colleagues I haven't seen in almost two years! Wish me luck! 

Keep an eye on the awards on Twitter at @Irish_Writing #IFWA21

Insta @IrishFoodWritingAwards

New Irish Food Writing Awards Launched

 The high quality of food writing in Ireland across print, broadcast and online will now be recognised and celebrated with the launch this week of The Irish Food Writing Awards. This inaugural year will see the awards being held exclusively online with a virtual Awards Event in September. Once restrictions allow, the annual Irish Food Awards will adopt a traditional format of judging meetings and a Gala Awards Ceremony each autumn.

Food writing in Ireland is diverse and this is reflected in the award categories which will include restaurant writing, cookery writing, features and drinks writing. There will also be  awards for online content, photography, podcasts and audio, writing on sustainability in Irish food, and investigative writing.

The judging panel features well-known international names from the world of journalism and food. Already confirmed are René Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen, writer and broadcaster Jay Rayner, investigative journalist Joanna Blythman, author and food columnist Trish Deseine, chef and author Richard Corrigan, critic Tom Parker Bowles, founder of Saveur magazine Colman Andrews and The Guardian wine writer Fiona Beckett.

Journalist and food author Suzanne Campbell

The Irish Food Writing Awards are the initiative of journalist and food author Suzanne Campbell. “I had always wanted to see an awards for food writers in Ireland as there are great journalism awards for other sectors. So I decided to take it on myself this year as something really positive both for writers and the food sector.”

“The aim is to reward excellence in food writing. It’s quite a diverse field - paid journalism is under threat but content is more popular than ever. So we wanted to highlight the best content out there; whether it be investigative journalism on Irish food systems, or cookery writing, or food photography”.

“The food community has really come behind us in an extraordinary way. Everyone we’ve asked to support the awards or to judge has just said yes immediately. It’s been incredible!” she added.

Food publicist and former restaurateur, Paul O'Connor

On board with Suzanne is Paul O’Connor, a food publicist and former restaurateur. “It’s been a really tough year for restaurants and many have had to close or adapt very quickly to survive," said Paul.  "Journalists have been so important getting that word out there and supporting chefs so much during this pandemic. Also as a former restaurateur and head judge of The Irish Curry Awards, we’ve found that awards really build community. They celebrate both food and the people behind it, so this time it is the writers that are being celebrated, I’m delighted to join up with Suzanne on this venture”

The Irish Food Writing Awards will recognise writing from throughout the island of Ireland. 

Categories for entry are: 

• Restaurant Writing
• Recipe Writing
• Drinks Writing; wine, spirits and beer
• Food Writing/Feature Article
• Writing on Sustainability in Irish Food
• Writing on Irish Food Producers
• Investigative Writing
• Writing on Specialist and Ethnic cuisines in Ireland
• Food Magazine or Supplement
• Cookbook of the year
• Food photographer of the year
• Food Broadcast or Podcast
• Online Food Writing; this includes blogs and social media
• Emerging food writer of the year
• Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food Writing

 The awards are open for entries, from the beginning of April until the 31st of May at their brand new website at www.irishfoodwritingawards.ie

Follow them on Twitter @Irish_Writing 

and on Instagram @IrishFoodWritingAwards

Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster to be the star of Northern Ireland's only Slow Food Festival

Derry City has been making great strides over the last few years at establishing itself as a ‘food destination’ and a huge effort has gone into creating this year’s extended Slow Food Festival which takes place from  9 – 13 October 2019!

This year, the Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster is the star of Northern Ireland's only Slow Food Festival, which is also planning to be their biggest festival to date.

The "Walled City" of Derry has won numerous awards for this event in previous year, including ‘NI Food and Drink Experience of the Year 2018’ from Tourism NI and ‘Best Tourism Event’ at the North West Business Awards.

You can expect the best of local produce over the course of the festival which has been extended to five days from two to allow visiting foodies a greater opportunity to sample the best the North West has to offer, including the exclusive Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster.

One of the highlights is the show-stopping Taste of LegenDerry Slow Food Dining Experience. Over the course of the evening, guests will come together at long tables to experience flavours from the shores of Lough Foyle to the foot of the Sperrins, all paired with locally crafted beers. Local producers and suppliers will be on hand to discuss the menu.


The tastes of the North West will be given an Italian twist during ‘Cena di Venti Miglia’ at Nonna’s when antipasti, pizzas and matching beers will be sourced from within 20 miles of the restaurant.

The festival will be the perfect launching pad for Foyster LegenDerry Oyster Stout while a beer masterclass, beer & cheese tour, food tour of Derry and walking tour of Dart Mountain to see the art of craft cheese production all offer unique food experiences.


There will also be demos and masterclasses with television chefs Catherine Fulvio and Jenny Bristow as well as local chefs hosted by Northern Ireland’s Slow Food Director and celebrity chef in her own right, Paula McIntyre, along with street food and the central Harvest Market marquee.

 Chefs Catherine Fulvio, Jenny Bristow and Paula McIntyre will be cooking at Slow Food Derry 2019 

Family events offer children the chance to get on board the slow food movement with a ‘Heart of the Park’ wild cookery experience when ingredients from the garden in St Columb’s Park will be used by kids who then design and cook their own campfire food. Elsewhere, an urban beekeeper will be on hand, as well as loads of other great food and fun!


Visit: www.derrystrabane.com/food for the full programme and booking information.

Ireland to Host the International World Steak Challenge 2019

The International World Steak Challenge is back bigger than ever for 2019 and it's being held in Ireland!

Global Meat News has launched its annual global challenge to find the world’s best steak and this year the competition moves out of London to take place in Dublin, while the robust expert and consumer judging process and Awards announcement is extended across two days.

The change of location to Ireland follows the confirmation of Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, as official host partner for the 2019 challenge.

Now in its fifth year, the World Steak Challenge is designed to benchmark the quality of beef production against international competitors. The World Steak Challenge enables steak producers and suppliers to test the quality of their steak production against all international competitors. It will also provide an opportunity for entrants to engage with consumers to celebrate the joy and benefits of eating steak as part of a healthy balanced diet and highlight the quality and standards of steak production around the globe.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to rib eye, fillet steak and sirloins. But from the winners in each of those categories, only one steak will achieve the prestigious status of World’s Best Steak 2019. 

This year, the competition judging takes place on July 9 and July 10 and will be hosted by the multi award-winning FIRE Restaurant and Lounge. The awards ceremony itself is on July 10 in the Round Room of the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor.

Global Meat News deputy editor Aidan Fortune said: “This is the fifth year of the World Steak Challenge and it’s an opportunity to take the event on the road. This year’s event will be hosted at Fire, a prestigious restaurant venue in the heart of Dublin, and offer a study tour of food in the field with official host partner Bord Bia. The 2019 event is shaping up to be the biggest World Steak Challenge ever.”

Entries in last year’s World Steak Challenge were received from a record 22 countries spanning four continents and featured 35 different breeds of cattle.

Farmer, Atria Finland from Finland, who won Best Grass-Fed and Best Sirloin in 2018.

The 2018 champion was a grass-fed Ayrshire produced by JN Meat International of Denmark. The steak, which was reared by Atria Finland in Finland, won Best Grass Fed and Best Sirloin in the annual challenge.

In total, an expert panel of 33 judges awarded 45 gold medals, 37 silver and 54 bronze medals.

In previous years, the supreme championship title has gone to ABP Poland, the Polish division of ABP Food Group (2017) and the Australian cattle ranch Jack’s Creek, entered by Albers GMBH which has won twice (2016 and 2015).

The 2019 categories are:

• World’s Best Steak
• World’s Best Steak Producer

• World’s Best Rib Eye Steak
• World’s Best Fillet Steak
• World’s Best Sirloin Steak

• World’s Best Grass-fed Steak
• World’s Best Grain-fed Steak

The closing date for entries in this year’s competition is Monday, May 13 and you can register your entry here at www.worldsteakchallenge.com/enter

Will a superb Irish Ribeye Steak take the title in this year's World Steak Challenge 2019?

The World Steak Challenge is presented by William Reed Business Media, the company behind the acclaimed World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards and The International Wine Challenge.

You can Follow the competition on Social Media on hashtag #WSteakChallenge 

and on Twitter at @WSteakChallenge

Zack

Applications for the Foodie Destinations Award 2018 are Now Open

The Restaurants Association of Ireland have just launched their search for the Foodie Destinations 2018, with applications now being accepted. The aim of the award is to celebrate Ireland’s unique and wonderful food offerings and to encourage local food tourism initiatives across the country.

The Foodie Destinations 2018 winner will be a destination that: 

• Actively promotes itself through joint promotional activities such as food festivals, gourmet trails or farmers’ markets as well as great dining experiences for locals and visitors alike. 
• Will have established a local producer/supplier network which is utilised and promoted by local businesses. 
• Plans for future growth and investment into the food and hospitality industry at a local level will also be taken into consideration by Foodie Destinations judges. 
• Education, training, development and employment will be key components of the ultimate food Foodie Destination. 
• Collaboration is of utmost importance - we want to see communities working towards a common goal.

The 2017 Foodie Destinations Winner was West Cork

"This year there will also be the addition of a new award category of ‘Foodie Town’ and this category name refers to both towns and villages," said Adrian Cummins, CEO Restaurant Association of Ireland, which pioneered the Foodie Destinations Award initiative in 2014, initially as part of the Irish Restaurant Awards. "Tourism or vacationing should be a primary component of the local culture and economy. These towns offer a stand-alone, unique food and tourism visitor experience which does not expand out to the surrounding areas," he added.

The competition welcomes back FBD Insurance as the official sponsor, for the second year.

John Reade, Head of Business Insurance at FBD Insurance said, "FBD Insurance is a proud sponsor of The Foodie Destinations Award and it is our pleasure to be associated with an event supporting the agri food industry and wider business community. For 50 years FBD Insurance has been proud to support local community initiatives and as Irelands only indigenous Insurer we are delighted to see so many communities developing their own food culture offerings and contributing to the wonderfully diverse food culture in Ireland."

If your town, village, suburb or region thinks you have a unique food tourism offering and would like to apply, go to www.foodiedestinations.ie where you will find the Entry Criteria, a template of the application form and a link to the Official Entry Form.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Thursday 12th of July and the Winner will be announced on the 28th of August 2018.

Follow the Foodie Destinations Award as it progresses, on Social Media at hashtag #FoodieDestinations and on Facebook Here and Twitter Here

If you have any queries regarding entry, contact Shauna on 00 353 (1) 677 9901 or shauna@rai.ie

Zack

Tasty 2017 - Donegal Town pilots a new Transition Year Students Irish Food Project

TASTY 2017 is an innovative pilot Irish Food & Tourism Project, which has been recently launched in Donegal Town. It could be described as a mix of Master Chef meets The Apprentice!

Local chefs from seven of Donegal Town's leading Hotels and Restaurants have teamed-up with Transition Year (TY) Students from the local Abbey Vocational School (AVS) and together they are competing and creating new TASTY 2017 food products that feature locally sourced ingredients.

Following an interview process at the AVS, forty-two young student entrepreneurs were selected and split into seven TASTY 2017 teams. Each Tasty 2017 team has been assigned to a local hotel or restaurant who will mentor the Student Teams over an eight week period.

During the course of the project, each of the participating students will get the opportunity to work alongside tourism industry professionals and learn all about Food Origin, Sourcing, New Product Development, Culinary Arts, Food Packaging, Marketing, Social Media & Presentation Skills.

Sponsored by Donegal Town Credit Union, the Tasty 2017 project is being overseen by a voluntary steering committee which includes:

Enda O’Rourke - TooManyCooks.ie Catering Consultancy (Chairperson of Tasty 2017),
Geraldine Diver - Principal of Abbey Vocational School,
Dr Seán Duffy - Head of School of Tourism, LYIT Killybegs,
Conor Daly - H!VE Restaurant,
Donal Cox - Operations Manager, Solis Lough Eske Hotel and
Emily Browne - Smuggler’s Creek Inn, Rossnowlagh.

The project is been co-ordinated by Dympna Kennedy (0879334434) who is also the information point of contact for Tasty 2017 and co-ordinates the  Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/Tasty17

Liam Kelly, of Donegal Town Credit Union explained why they decided to sponsor the TASTY 2017 project. “The ethos of our Credit Union is people working together for the people, with the people, and for the benefit of the people in our Donegal community” he said. “This innovative pilot programme gives our TY students real-life insights into varied career paths and opportunities within the local tourism industry and fits perfectly with the community ethos of Donegal Town Credit Union”.
Liam also paid tribute to the voluntary steering committee, the teaching staff, Chef Gabrial McSharry, all the local Donegal food producers and suppliers involved and the management and chefs at the supporting restaurants and hotels.

The 7 Teams taking part in Tasty 2017 are:

(and Do Like their Facebook Page if you like their food products)

Foireann Caonach
with Smugglers Creek Inn

Food Product: Irish Whiskey & Carragheen Cheesecake with Sea Salted Butter-Scotch 

Team Members: Shuan Campbell, Aine McGovern, Lisa Gallagher, Laura Taylor, Ellie Chambers, Euan Cullinan 

A.V.S Mentor: Mary Crawford

Lord of the Wings
with The Village Tavern

Food Product: Donegal Silkie Whiskey soaked Chicken Wings with a Smoked Sea Salt & Blissberry Farm Honey Glaze and a Donegal Blue Cheese Dip 

Team Members: Jasmine Timony, Aoife Breslin, Aisling Meehan, Marie Harris, Patrick Harley, Dillon Thomas - A.V.S Mentor: Patrice Rooney

Uisce Fishce
with Quay West Restaurant

Food Product: Whiskey & Honey Cured Salmon on a Stout Saltine with a Cream Cheese & Seaweed Aoili 

Team Members: Cian Hegarty, Siofra Mauehofe, Niamh Boyle, Ellen McGrory, Orla Breslin 

A.V.S Mentor: Sorcha Begley

A Donegal Fusion
with Chandpur Indian Restaurant

Food Product: Donegal Chicken in a peanut sauce, red pepper & onion concasse, mixed spices with Donegal Honey with cream 

Team Members: Victor Mitchell, Elizabeth Mackle, Kerrie McHugh, Aine McGroarty, Katie Shovlin,William Browne - A.V.S Mentor: Kyle Clarke

StewStack
with Harvey’s Point Hotel, Lough Eske

Food Product: Slow cooked Beef Cheek & Donegal Stout Stew 

Team Members: Eoin Gallagher, Charlotte Timony, Killian Faulkner, Abbie Boyle, Niamh Histon, Nicole Browne - A.V.S Mentor: Karen Stewart

The Seaside Bakery - Tonn Arán
with Solis Lough Eske Castle Hotel

Food Product: Tonn Arán - A Healthy new Seaweed Bread with Foraged Ingredients 

Team Members: Karla Kelly, Ciaran McGrory, Aine McGroary, ClodaghBoylan, Mya Magee, Elaine Wright - A.V.S Mentor: Lucy Gordon

Tirchonaill Toffee
with The Mill Park Hotel & Leisure Centre

Food Product: A Dessert Plate of Silke Whiskey Toffee Pudding, Silke Whiskey & Sea Salt Caramel Sauce with a Local Rhubarb and Custard Parfait. 

Team Members: Ella Duffy, Daniel Gallagher, Shaneen Graham, Keri O'Loughlin, Marguerita McHugh and Evan Towey - A.V.S Mentor: Mary Keeney

The LYIT School of Tourism in Killybegs is also supporting the TASTY 2017 project. Students taking part in the TASTY 2017 project first had to undergo an interview process, with successful participants assigned to teams of students with a mixed set of skills to complete a group task. This was followed by a day visit to the LYIT School of Tourism in Killybegs and opportunities to experience a real-life hospitality environment prior to visiting their participating restaurant or hotel.

“We view the TASTY 2017 pilot project as an extended work experience journey for the AVS TY Students. Each of the hotels & restaurants have been assigned their TY student teams," said Dr Seán Duffy (LYIT School of Tourism). "They are currently working on the creation of new Donegal food-dishes involving locally sourced ingredients".

Ms. Geraldine Diver, Principal of the Abbey Vocational School in Donegal Town, is delighted with the project. “TASTY 2017 is an invaluable hands on learning experience that could never be achieved from a business textbook. This project will facilitate learning in so many areas and the students will gain invaluable life-skills throughout the process” she said.

The seven TASTY 2017 Teams will have to present their finished food products to a panel of judges and over 300 members of the public at a Gala Awards and Presentation Evening hosted by Solis Lough Eske Castle, Donegal Town on 16th May 2017, where all their hard work will be acknowledged and the winners announced. “It promises to be a very special evening which the team at Solis Lough Eske are delighted to host” said Sinead McGowan, of Solis Lough Eske Hotel.

On the night, each of the seven TASTY 2017 teams will present their culinary work to an invited public audience and a judging panel. Each team will make a presentation on the journey of their product and tell their food story. The public will also get to taste each of the products.

The judging panel is headed by celebrity chef Neven Maguire, McNean House, Blacklion, with Thomas Clancy, Food & Wine writer, Sunday Business Post, Joan Crawford, Failte Ireland, Paul Hannigan, President LYIT Letterkenny & Killybegs, Anne McHugh, Chef Executive, Donegal ETB and Zack Gallagher, Irish Food Tours Ltd.

Each product is being judged on a combination of criteria including local sourcing of ingredients, taste & presentation, marketing strategy and social media reach over the eight weeks.

There is also a tourism promotion element to the project with the opportunity as each of the food establishments that have been mentoring the teams will feature their unique TASTY 2017 dish on their own menu for the whole of the 2017 summer tourism season!

“The aim is to provide visitors to our county with a taste of the superb food and tourism experience available here in the Donegal Bay area, thereby encouraging holiday-makers to extend their time in the region,” explained Enda O’Rourke from TooManyCooks.ie

Michael Tunney, CEO of Local Enterprise Office Donegal, said that the project was a great example of the type of creativity and innovation that Donegal’s Good Food Initiative hopes to inspire around the county. “The Donegal TASTY 2017 project fits well with the goals of our Food Coast Brand and demonstrates how by working together in Donegal, we can encourage people to look at the potential of the food and hospitality sector both in terms of employment and enterprise.”

Emily Browne of Smugglers Creek Inn echoed this sentiment, saying “It's great to see hospitality businesses taking the initiative and driving forward new pilot projects like this one for the greater good of the entire locality”.

This is surely an idea that could be rolled out throughout the whole country to give students an insight to the opportunities that the food and hospitality sector can present. Irish Food and tourism are currently being blended together into a new tourism product here in Ireland, with excellent potential for growth.

Projects like Tasty 2017 are key to encouraging young food entrepreneurs coming into the Irish food trade and ensuring that the food and tourism industries here in Ireland will have a solid future.

So, well done and good luck to all the students involved!

Zack

Michelin Star Chef Rory Carville opens BLÁS Restaurant in Donegal Town

The Blás Restaurant, at The Gateway Lodge in Donegal Town, offers a modern new Taste of Donegal.  In 2015, Seamus Quinn from Donegal Town, the successful owner of Quinn Construction in London, purchased an historic building, in a great location, in Donegal Town. He wanted to make significant changes to the property and working with local company, Paul Doherty Architects, they not only extended the building, but completely renovated the interior, giving the house and hostel a new sleek and modern feel. 

Seamus Quinn brought almost twenty Donegal men (who work for him in London) back home for three months, to refurbish the hostel, chalets and restaurant, adding a new modern lobby, re-roofing the existing building, re-facing the main entrance and extended the car parking to include modern camper facilities.

Seamus then went looking for the best chef he could find, to open a new restaurant in Donegal Town.

Michelin starred chef, Rory Carville, was looking to open a new restaurant at the same time!

Rory Carville, Head Chef at the new Blás Restaurant at The Gateway Lodge, in Donegal Town

Rory Carville, from Castleblayney in County Monaghan, graduated from Killybegs Catering College in 2000, where he also happened to meet his wife, Erin. His final placement from college was at the Limetree Restaurant in the Park Hotel in Kenmare and after that he moved to Dublin, spending three years with Terry White at the Four Seasons Hotel.

He then joined Derry Clarke's team in l'Ecrivain, in Dublin, for two and a half years. Rory then worked for a year in Chapter One under Ross Lewis and while he was there Derry rang him up to see if he'd like to work for the summer on a yacht (belonging to a business partner) in the south of France. Around this time Rory had been working on a new venture with Dylan McGrath, but that fell through, so he jumped at this opportunity.

Michelin Chef Rory Carville with Marian and Seamus Quinn at Blás Restaurant, Donegal Town

Rory came back from France in September 2010, when he was offered the job of opening up Locks Brasserie, on the canal in Dublin. He spent three years at Locks, winning his first Michelin Star along with numerous other awards.

"Winning a Michelin Star takes a lot of hard work and dedication from a chef and his whole team, putting in long hours and intense concentration." says Rory. "It's great for business but it's a different kind of pressure as your cooking to satisfy a different kind of clientele. And there are so many great restaurants now in Dublin that the competition is very tight."

Daniel Cavan, sous chef at Blás Restaurant in Donegal Town

Rory Carville is joined in the new Blás kitchen by his sous-chef, Daniel Cavan. Daniel, originally from Dumbarton in Scotland, is one of those young chefs who lives for food. He is passionate and capable and he really loves his career as a chef. 

Rory's plans for Blás Restaurant are to keep it simple, tasty, rustic and he describes his food as modern Irish, with a bit of a twist. 

Velvet Cloud Sheep's Yogurt with Dandelion Honey & Chive at Blás Restaurant

"I love cooking great fish and I really like cooking slow cuts of meat and working new flavoursome ways of cooking vegetables" he says. He also has a great passion for sourcing local, as he explains, "I'm working with local butcher Marty Walsh for all of my beef. I'm using all the local suppliers and everything on the menu here comes from within a twenty-mile radius of Donegal Town. All our fish is coming in from Killybegs. I also do a lot of foraging for mushrooms, wild garlic and home grown herbs."

Finishing off a dish of John Dory and Organic Broccoli 

Rory says he is delighted to be part of the northwest's modern food scene and gives credit to how food in the best restaurants around County Donegal is easily comparable to any of the top restaurants around Ireland.

The bedrooms have been totally refurbished at the Gateway Lodge in Donegal Town

"Things are changing in the Irish restaurant scene these days. Chefs are getting back to basics and working with their local food producers now, more than they ever did, but producing a modern original Irish Cuisine style." says Rory. "It's brilliant for the food producers, the restaurants but ultimately it's great for our customers."

The Chalets at the Gateway Lodge have also been completely refurbished

Blás at the Gateway Lodge is becoming a another success story in accommodation and dining in Donegal Town. It's success is down to the passion of it's owner, in creating a place that reflects it's heritage while looking to the future and a passionate chef, who understands that locally sourced food is the best way for people to truly understand the location they are in.

Official Opening Night at Rory Carville's new Blás Restaurant in Donegal Town was brilliant!

Blás at The Gateway Lodge offers you "a place on a plate" in one sitting and Rory also says he hopes that Blás will be the first Michelin approved restaurant in the northwest of Ireland.

For bookings at Blás Restaurant & Guest Accommodation Tel: 00 353 74 9740405

Check it out on the Web: www.thegatewaydonegal.com

You can follow Head Chef Rory Carville on Twitter
You can follow sous chef Daniel Cavan on Twitter

Zack