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In the first in-person annual Irish Food Writer's Guild Awards since 2020, the nation's food media talent gathered to celebrate the work and produce of eight businesses, farmers and organisations who work within the Ireland's dynamic food production space.
Winners
The event took place in Suesey Street restaurant in Dublin's city centre on 7 March. A lunchtime affair; attendees were treated with executive chef Deniss Lasenko's multi-course menu, which was inspired by the winners of the 2023 Irish Food Writer's Guild Awards and heavily featured their produce. The awards themselves were presented before the lunch, with the following producers and organisations being honoured:
Smoked Lough Neagh Eels (Food Product winner)
In 1965, Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Operative was set up to safeguard the traditional methods of catching eels. In 2011, Lough Neagh eel joined an illustrious line-up of foods such as Champagne, Gorgonzola and Parma ham when it was awarded PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status by the EU. In line with careful conservation guidelines, the Co-Operative now catches and processes around 220 tonnes of Lough Neagh Eel annually. A select few are smoked and it is this smoked Lough Neagh eel that wins a 2023 IFWG Food Award.
Velvet Cloud Sheep's Milk Yogurt (Food Product winner)
“Nothing added, nothing strained away,” the label says, just the pure, natural goodness of sheep’s milk from an almost 400-strong flock on the Flanagan family farm near Claremorris, Co Mayo. Nutritionally, it punches above its weight with a higher-than-average protein yield, alongside probiotics and live cultures. Eaten on its own, the yogurt is a pleasure in itself, but it performs magical things in sauces, marinades, drinks, bakes and desserts. Velvet Cloud co-owner Aisling Flanagan was featured in Irish Country Living's 2022 Women & Agriculture Conference.
Ballylisk of Armagh (cheese; Food Product winner)
Mark Wright, one of the fifth generation of the Wright family, who grew up on the family farm at Ballylisk, Co Armagh, makes Ballylisk's Triple Rose. This white mould ripened, single-herd, triple cream cheese was Armagh's first farm-produced cheese. Since developing and launching the flagship Triple Rose, Ballylisk has gone on to make two more gorgeous cheeses.
Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne for Béal Bán (West Kerry Brewery; Irish Drink winner)
Adrienne Heslin is one of Ireland's early craft beer innovators, founding Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne, also known as West Kerry Brewery, in 2008 in the garden of her pub, Tig Bhric, in Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsula. Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne was the first brewery in Kerry and the first in Ireland to be founded and managed by a woman.
Aran Goat's Cheese (Notable Contribution to Irish Food winner)
Gabriel Faherty is a born and bred Aran Islander who started his cheese journey after his wife bought him a cheese-making course as a birthday present. When he decided to buy a herd of frisky goats, Aran Islands Goat's Cheese – Cáis Gabhair Árann – was born. In 2021, Gabriel set up Aran Food Tours and combines his cheese production with bespoke tours on the history, culture and food of Inis Mór.
The Wooded Pig (charcuterie; Environmental Award winner)
Eoin Bird established the Wooded Pig in 2016 on his family-run farm in the Boyne Valley in Tara, Co. Meath, where he and his team produce ethically raised free-range Irish pork charcuterie. Eoin values the importance of seasonal, ethically produced food and its provenance. He and his artisan team practise ethical and regenerative agriculture not only to craft the best possible food produce, but also to ensure a nature-friendly farming network.
Field of Dreams - Down Syndrome Cork (Community Food Award winner)
Field of Dreams was established in 2017 by the Cork branch of Down Syndrome Ireland. The three-acre site supports the learning needs of adults with Down Syndrome across the city and county of Cork using horticulture as a catalyst for learning and personal development. From seed to plot to plate, participants work together to grow and harvest food, learn about good nutrition and how to cook.
Kevin and Seamus Sheridan (Lifetime Achievement Award winner)
From farmers’ market stall to household name. That’s been the journey for Kevin and Seamus Sheridan who started selling cheese at Galway’s Saturday market in 1995 and who have worked to develop and grow a market for Irish farmhouse cheese. Building strong relationships with producers and working closely with them to get the very best, has been central to the ethos of the company.
Unique
What makes these annual awards unique is the fact that no business or individual can enter; the awards nominations, deliberations and winners are completed by members of the Irish Food Writer's Guild (IFWG). As IFWG chair Caroline Hennessy commented during the ceremony: "The winners won't even know they were nominated until they are informed that they have won."
Once nominations are made by members, the winners are decided by a proportional representation vote and tasting meeting of the Guild.
The 2023 Awards were sponsored by Bord Bia. Bord Bia's director of marketing, Una Fitzgibbon, said they were delighted to sponsor the awards as the Guild "consistently highlights outstanding quality".
"Now in their 30th year these awards have honoured those in the sector that take ingenuity and entrepreneurship to the next level," she added.
30 years of awards
Caroline reflected on how the industry has evolved in those 30 years and how the awards have reflected these changes.
“When the IFWG Food Awards began in 1993, it was with the aim of promoting and celebrating Ireland’s indigenous food producers and, as Ireland’s artisan food scene has developed and flourished, our core principles have remained true," she said.
“Guild members have always shared a passion for nurturing a proud and vibrant Irish food culture," she continued. "Thirty years on from those first awards, we are fortunate to live in a country where there is more attention paid to the food we eat, to who is producing it and how it is produced. Many of the winners from the early years are still familiar names today, proof of their enduring quality and we have no doubt that this year’s cohort of winners will continue that legacy.”
irishfoodwritersguild.ie
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