Enter Your Pub in the 2016 Irish Pubs Global Awards

The 2016 Irish Pubs Global Awards are now Open for entry. There are two new categories to the lineup, Bartender of the Year and Bar Manager of the Year. Following record entry levels last year and a sold out awards night with over 250 attending, this year's Awards should be hotly contested.

The Categories for Entry this year are:

International Irish Pub Food Award – Food Experience of the Year
Awarded to the Irish Pub, who in the opinion of the judges, offers the best overall food for which Ireland is known and recognised, that reflects a sense of place and context, espouses Irish values and is presented in a confident and contemporary way.

Authenticity Award
Awarded to the Irish Pub who in the opinion of the judges, is the most authentic Irish Pub experience outside of Ireland, including design, atmosphere, staff and offering overall.

Best Native Irish Pub Award
Awarded to the inspirational pub which in the opinion of the judges has reached the benchmark standard which others should aim to achieve, within Ireland.

Marketing Campaign of the Year – Irish Pub
Awarded to the Irish Pub, who in the opinion of the judges, created the most effective marketing campaign such as a new opening, re-launch, promotion or event.

Innovation Award - Beverage
Awarded to the supplier, who in the opinion of the judges, provides the most innovative, product or service that demonstrates real value, benefit and purpose.

Innovation Award - Technology
Awarded to the supplier, who in the opinion of the judges, provides the most innovative, product or service that demonstrates real value, benefit and purpose.

Irish Pub Manager of the Year
Awarded to the Irish Pub General Manager, who in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the best understanding and level of service expected of a leading General Manager amongst his/her peers.

Irish Pub of the Year
Awarded to the Irish Bar, who in the opinion of the judges, epitomises the very essence of what makes an Irish Pub the best in its class, from design to customer service.

Supplier of the Year
Awarded to the supplier who, in the opinion of the judges, has excelled in the services they supply to Irish Pubs.

Bar Manager of the Year
New for 2016. Awarded to the Bar Manager, who in the opinion of the judges, best demonstrates the understanding and level of service expected of a leading bar manager amongst his/her peers.

Irish Bartender of the Year
New for 2016. Awarded to the bartender, who in the opinion of the judges, best demonstrates the understanding and level of service expected of a leading bartender amongst his/her peers.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Awarded to the person, who in the opinion of the judges, has made the most outstanding contribution to the drinks sector.

To Enter your Irish Pub go to www.irishpubsglobal.com/awards

The Village Tavern in Mountcharles is a classic Irish Pub

The overall event runs from 26th to 28th September and will also include Master Classes, an Irish Pub Auction, Guided Pub Tour, Chef’s Demo, Irish Whiskey Auction, Golf Outing, Mixology Challenge, Tastings, Brewing Equipment as well as the Gala Awards Dinner.

The 2016 Irish Pubs Global Awards Night on 27th September at Citywest Hotel & Event Centre, in Dublin and is a valuable industry networking opportunity. To book your seat or host your own table for your invited guests, industry partners, colleagues and friends, contact Averyl Quinn averyl@irishpubsglobal.com or telephone +353 (0)1 2947710.

Zack

Food One The Edge 2016 launched last Monday

Last Monday night in Amass Restaurant, in Copenhagen, Denmark the Irish international food symposium, Food On The Edge, which takes place in Galway on October 23rd and 24th was officially launched. The evening saw three of the most well known nordic chefs collaborate with JP McMahon, founder of Food On The Edge, to produce a range of snacks which were served to guests.

The collaborating chefs were Christian Puglisi of Relae restaurant in Copenhagen (listed number 45 in World’s Top 100 Restaurants) and Matt Orlando of Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen (listed number 66 in World’s Top 100 Restaurants) and Michelin Star chef and restaurant owner Sasu Laukkonen of Chef & Sommelier in Helsinki, Finland; all of whom will travel to Ireland in October to participate in Food On The Edge 2016. 

Christian Puglisi, JP McMahon, Matt Orlando and Sasu Laukkonen.

Other world renowned chefs present included Diego Munoz from Lima, Peru ( previously listed number 14 in World’s Top 100), Chef Munoz delivered a short presentation on fishing in Peru as part of the evening’s proceedings. Other notable chefs present included Niklas Ekstedt of Ekstedt restaurant in Stockholm and Syrco Bakker of Pure C Restaurant in The Netherlands. Travelling from Ireland of the event was Ross Lewis, Chapter One Restaurant in Dublin - Ross delivered also a speech at the event where he said “Food On The Edge is the lightening rod for the food movement in Ireland”. 

Special guests included Cliona Manahan - Irish Ambassador to Denmark; John Mulcahy - Head of Food Tourism, Failte Ireland.

JP McMahon says that the inaugural Food on the Edge 2015 surpassed all his expectations, and “it was an incredible almost surreal experience. Each chef was given the opportunity to deliver topics that centred on the future of food ­ they discussed their ideas, shared their fears, their dreams, their dreads and regrets from their careers. There was a core theme, however, which resonated strongly across the two days and that was ‘responsibility’. Responsibility in the way we source food, waste food, fish for food and supply food was passionately debated”. 

JP says that the speakers are chosen for their passion, drive, and their ability to inspire chefs around the world. “They are leaders that we look up to for inspiration. It is important for us to create a sense of continuity. Rather than only invite new chefs to discuss the future of food, each year a number of past speakers will return to reflect on their previous presentation and assess the change or development of their thought and practice”. 

The exciting line­up continues to build with more speakers included this year and the addition of new Expert Panel Discussions. 

Speakers already confirmed for this year’s Food on the Edge include Daniel Burns,​ currently “one of the hottest chefs in New York city” who owns Luksus; Shaun Hill, who owns the renowned Michelin Star restaurant The Walnut Treein Wales and Tim Hollingsworth who recently opened the three star Michelin restaurant Otiumin Los Angeles. 

The exciting and prolific ​Massimo Bottura​, the ​Italian restaurateur and chef patron of Osteria Francescana​, a three­ Michelin ­star restaurant based in Modena, Italy will also be speaking and giving a presentation on the future of food.
See the up-to-date List of confirmed Food On The Edge speakers for 2016 here at http://www.foodontheedge.ie/speakers.html with many more still to be confirmed.

The two day event will take place again in Galway City, ticket price includes lunch on both days, entry to Monday night party where audience gets to meet and mingle with speakers. Early bird tickets are available until July priced at €350 (normal price €400) are Selling out fast at www.FoodOnTheEdge.ie

Get your tickets now before they're all gone!

Zack

Real Food, Real Easy - Val's Kitchen is a wonderful Recipe Book

There are a lot of cookbooks on the Irish market today and there are a lot of people buying them! However many of these books of recipes sit on an overstuffed bookshelf filled with other cookbooks that rarely get read and even less often, get used! But now and then a cookbook comes along that has real homely recipes in it, that know that your family will eat, learn from and carry with them into their own future.

Valerie O'Connor is a food writer, cook, teacher, organic horticulturist and photographer, from Limerick and she has recently brought out such a book based on her food blog, Val's Kitchen which celebrates it's 10th Birthday this year and this cookbook really ticks all the right boxes!

Val's Kitchen - Real Food, Real Easy takes the reader through a series of tasty food journeys based on the pleasures of real life modern eating, but it's unpretentious and true to the reasoning of an old fashioned kitchen. From the first chapter to the last, Val talks you through her own kitchen pantry and cupboards and explains the logic of why she uses particular ingredients. This book is so readable that it's almost like she's sitting chatting with you at your own kitchen table - and she's great company!

How to make perfect Omelets

Val's Kitchen dances through the average day starting off with how to make your own granola, how to cook porridge, pancakes, egg dishes and smoothies. There are some excellent brunch and salad recipes, real soups and winning dinners. Sprinkled through the book are some delicious dishes and gems like the baked butternut squash stuffed with cheese, braised shin of beef and lots of recipes of food for parties and picnics.

Val O'Connor is an excellent baker (her book Bread on the Table is also a must-have) and Val's Kitchen contains a special baked treats chapter. This includes recipes for homemade bagels, brownies and breads,  recipes for apples and apple cakes and a superb gluten-free yogurt cake!

Val's delicious Pork and Bean Chowder

The In the Pantry section is, in itself, worth buying the book for! Val shows you how to make your own elderflower champagne, homemade cordials, simple cream cheeses and natural yogurts. She also walks you through basic fermented veggies and kimchi. The final section of the book is dedicated to Growing your Own Food and brings you, simply, through growing the essentials for any kitchen garden.

This is an absolutely perfect cookbook or present for today's college-going teenager who is away from home for the first time and doesn't want to live on spaghetti bolognaise for the next three years! It's all here.

Val's Kitchen - Real Food, Real Easy is published by O'Brien Press and is available in all good bookshops and on the publisher's website priced at €19.99 here at www.obrien.ie/vals-kitchen

Zack

Exciting new Sligo Food Trail launched

"The Secret's in the Mix!" 

That was the message behind a very successful official launch of a new Sligo Food Trail which took place in Sligo City last evening, Wednesday 6th April.

Over the last few years a dynamic and creative team of food producers, foragers, entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and visionary food lovers have continuously endeavoured to develop Sligo's food offering and now they have combined their talents and products with local tourism providers to put Sligo at the forefront of Food Tourism in the northwest of Ireland.

The new Sligo Food Trail has over 65 members who range from restaurants, cafes, artisan food producers and suppliers, hotels, guesthouses, festivals and providers of out-door experiences. All of these people have come together and built a comprehensive all round food tourism package in county Sligo. 

A new website, a YouTube Channel, a Facebook Page, Instagram and a Twitter account along with a comprehensive brochure have all been launched simultaneously to create an awareness of the new food trail and all that it offers to guests arriving in this Gateway City in the northwest.

Discover the secrets and magic of the brewing process at The White Hag Brewery. Make your own pizza dough, roll it, throw it, top it with your favourite ingredients and cook it in the wood burning oven at Bistro Bianconi. 

Herbalist and chef Gaby Wieland and husband Hans will teach you the secrets to finding and identifying many wild foods that grow right on your doorstep and are commonly used for culinary purposes. Dr. Prannie Rhatigan leads walks and talks along the seashore introducing the fascinating world of edible seaweed and how to identify and harvest them.

The most amazing seafood platters, home baking or locally sourced organic produce at Eithna's by the Sea at Mullaghmore. Farm to Fork dinners at Coopershill House, a stunning Georgian mansion set in 500 acres of farm and woodland. Sea Trails with diver/archaeologist Auriel Robinson are matched with a lunch of freshly harvested mussels cooked on the rocks by one of Trá Bán Restaurant’s expert chefs. 

"The great secret that is Sligo Food is now out!" says Aoife Carrigy @Holymackers from the Irish Food Writers Guild @foodguild at the launch of #SligoFoodTrail

Marc from Seashore Veg leads fun and informative seaweed identification walks where you’ll also enjoy a practical demonstration on how to cook and use sea vegetables. Try your hand at surfing with Strandhill Surf School, enjoy a delicious brunch at Shell’s Café and indulge in a seaweed bath at Voya Seaweed Baths followed by delicious ice cream at Mammy Johnston’s.

Anthony Gray, Sligo restaurateur and Chairperson of Sligo Food Trail

Stand-up Paddle-Boarding, Kayaking, Canoeing, Archery or Hill Walking on the Ox Mountain from activity provider Wild Wet Adventures. Relax and watch the swans glide down the Garavogue river while enjoying a “beautifully presented, wide choice“ of sweet and savoury afternoon tea delights at Eala Bhán. Join up with Irish speakers of all levels in an informal conversation group every Friday evening in Ósta Café and there's so much more!

Watch this excellent short video that showcases the new Sligo Food Trail:

Sligo’s premiere location on the Wild Atlantic Way means you can enjoy freshly-caught fish in every local restaurant. Alternatively, indulge your taste buds on Knocknarea Honey, wild Mullaghmore Lobster, Lissadell Oysters and fresh free-range eggs from the foot of Benbulben Mountain.

Whether your touring the Wild Atlantic Way from Cork to Donegal or just getting away for a day or two, you'll discover that as you drive through County Sligo you’ll witness an outstanding landscape which yields the fresh ingredients that create its exceptional cuisine: the lush green fields under the majestic mountains, the working farms, the rivers, the salmon and the mighty Atlantic Ocean!

Take some time out to stop, discover the people and the places and experience some of the great food and food-connected excursions, day-trips, classes and fun things to do that the new Sligo Food Trail has to offer all over the county!

For more info visit  www.SligoFoodTrail.ie
and follow them on Twitter @SligoFoodTrail and #SligoFoodTrail

Zack.

Ten Irish Food Companies begin their FoodService Academy mentoring

Ten Irish food and drink companies will join the first FoodService Academy, a new programme run by Bord Bia and Musgrave MarketPlace from today. The FoodService Academy seeks to help small Irish food and drink companies develop their business in the foodservice market (commonly referred to as “out of home food market”). The programme also aims to help the companies achieve growth within Musgrave MarketPlace’s foodservice business, which works with over 6,000 customers each week ranging from hotels and restaurants to pubs and nursing homes. 

Blanco Nino, Europe’s first producer of authentic corn tortillas and Nobó, the dairy free ice-cream company, have already been set up as suppliers in advance of the programme starting today. Other companies that will benefit from the programme include Tipperary Kitchen, a family run artisan bakery and Secret Recipe, the only producer of halal and gluten free meals to the foodservice industry in Ireland and the UK as well as other bakery, seafood, pork and beverage producers.

According to Maureen Gahan, Bord Bia’s Foodservice Specialist, “Bord Bia is delighted to work with Musgrave MarketPlace for the first time on the inaugural FoodService Academy, looking to grow the sales of small businesses in the market. The foodservice market is delivering real growth and value for Irish food and drink companies, as is evidenced in our recent industry report. The ‘out of home’ market is now worth €6.37bn and this is forecasted to grow to almost €6.9bn by 2018 so this is an area we are encouraging companies to develop.”

Sheena Forde, Trading Director, Musgrave MarketPlace added that, “Following on from the success of Musgrave’s SuperValu Food Academy programme with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices, we are now looking forward to bringing a similar programme to Irish foodservice producers through MarketPlace. A number of the participating companies are Food Academy graduates so we are proud to be in a position to introduce their products to our foodservice customer base. As the largest and fastest growing wholesaler in Ireland, we are ideally placed to understand the needs of the foodservice market and, as an Irish family business, we are delighted to work with small Irish manufacturers, many of which are family owned, to give them a head start in the market. The FoodService Academy programme offers a combination of commercial and marketing expertise and will provide invaluable consumer insight for the companies involved. We would like to acknowledge the excellent support of Bord Bia throughout the development of this programme, their shared passion for supporting Irish food business has been evident throughout.’’

The FoodService Academy programme, coordinated by Bord Bia, will take place over four months and comprise of workshops and mentoring, with the first workshop taking place today (Thursday, 24th March). Representatives from Musgrave MarketPlace will participate in the workshops, sharing practical insights and experience to help the companies understand areas such as supplier set-up, food safety requirements and distribution model as well as sales and the marketing support.

The ten companies that have been chosen to participate are:

• Atlantis Seafood, a family seafood business based in Wexford
• Blanco Nino, Europe’s only producer of authentic corn tortillas and un-fried tortilla chips made in Tipperary
• Coffee House Lane, a Waterford family run coffee roaster 
• Lily’s Tea House, blenders of a range of premium, loose leaf teas as well as matcha tea and premium tea pyramids based in Co Louth
• Nobó, the dairy free ice-cream producer, which is made without any refined sugar, gums or stabilisers
• Maria Lucia Bakes, a Dublin producer of gourmet gluten, wheat and dairy free granola cereals
• Outdoor Oinks, a range of Bord Bia approved pork and bacon products in Kildare
• Secret Recipe in Cork is the only producer of halal and gluten free meal solutions to the foodservice industry in Ireland and the UK
• Tipperary Kitchen, a family run artisan bakery producing a range of handcrafted meringues, dessert sauces and chocolate biscuit cake
• Wildberry Bakery, an artisan gluten free bakery in Cork

Wishing them all the best of success!

Zack

US President Obama gets the ultimate Irish Foodie Bag for St Patrick's Day!

As part of An Taoiseach Enda Kenny's visit to the White House to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Bordbia (the Irish Food Board) organised a hamper of Irish food and drink products to be presented to the Obama Family and Mrs. Jill Biden. The contents include the best of Irish dairy, beef, cheese, seafood, confectionery, craft beers, tea, coffee, whiskey, oatmeal, biscuits, crisps, preserves and breads.

Pictured are: Emmet Doyle, BordBia’s Marketing Executive in New York and Dale Crammond, Ireland’s Agricultural Attaché to the US, who explained the provenance of the hamper contents to Enda Kenny.

The Irish Food Hamper contained the following products:
Oatmeal/Porridge

• Flahavans
• Kilbeggan 

Dairy – Butter & Cheese

• Kerrygold Butter 
• Wexford Cheddar
• Little Milk Company Organic Brie; Mature Cheddar
• Cooleeney Farm 
• Coolea Farmhouse Cheese
• Gubeen 
• Cahill’s Farm Cheese

Seafood and Beef

• Burren Smokehouse Smoked Salmon
• Irish beef

Confectionery, Biscuits & Crisps

• Butlers
• Jelly Bean Factory
• Kilbeggan Organic Oat Cookies
• The Foods of Athenry – Flapjack’s & Cookie Shots
• Broderick’s Mini Bites
• Keogh’s Crisps
• O’Donnell’s Crisps

Preserves & Jams

• Mileevan Jams & Sarah’s Honeys
• Abbey Farm Jams
• Follain Jams
• Ballymaloe Relish
• Boyne Valley – Lakeshore Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil
• Boyne Valley Lakeshore Mustard 

Whiskey and Craft Beer

• Jameson Whiskey
• Baileys Irish Cream
• Guinness 
• O’Hara’s Craft Beers 

Tea/Coffee

• Barrys Tea
• Bewleys Tea/Coffee

Breads/Crackers

• Sheridan’s Crackers (Brown Bread, Rye & Linseed, Mixed Seed)
• Promise Gluten Free Breads
• McCambridge’s Sliced Brown Wholewheat Bread

It's great to see Irish Food products and products made in Ireland continuing their rise in international recognition as being among some of the best in the world. And we are very proud of our food producers!

Zack

Fish & Chips Masterclass on 3rd March in Killybegs, Ireland's Biggest Fishing Town

Two of Failte Ireland's Donegal Food Champions, Hugh O'Donnell & Mary McGettigan, are hosting
a Fish & Chips Masterclass at the LYIT School of Tourism in Killybegs, with the hope that they can help improve the quality of this signature dish along the Wild Atlantic Way!

This will be a great opportunity to learn and develop your offering as a Fish & Chip business to ensure are making the most of the experience for you and your customer, or for those not in business, to learn how to perfect that perfect crispy battered Fish & Chips!

The Masterclass will be delivered by John & Ciara Shine of Shine's Killybegs Tuna fame. John comes from a family tradition of catching fresh fish as a fisherman and also a family steeped in the the fish & chip business. He has also been very successful in setting up Shine's Irish Tuna, cooked basque style and sold in jars with olive oil. 

Ciara has herself been brought up in the family business, did a masterclass with the guild of British Friers, graduated with an Honours Degree in Business and is currently on the Acorn Programme for young female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland.

Failte Ireland developed the Food Champions program to find key people around the country that are instrumental in promoting the food offerings in  their local area and their county. Donegal is lucky to have 3 Failte Ireland Food Champions (I'm the other one but I broke both my wrists last month and can't help out with the Fish & Chips Masterclass). Hugh O'Donnell runs the famous Kitty Kelly's Restaurant near Killybegs and Mary McGettigan is the founder and organiser of A Taste of Donegal Food Festival.

The Masterclass is also supported by the Donegal Local Enterprise's Food Coast initiative which was set up to increase awareness in Donegal Food and to assist in the development of new food businesses in County Donegal.

The Fish & Chips Masterclass runs from 10am - 1pm on Thursday 3rd March, 2016 (which includes lunch) and costs €50 per person. Places are limited and filling up fast so to book a place or find out more email Mary McGettigan at development@donegaltown.ie

Zack