Bord Bia has rebuked a claim by Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny who said that the State body was sponsoring the UK national culinary team at cooking competitions instead of the Irish team.

The claim that Bord Bia “sponsors the UK national culinary team” is completely inaccurate, a spokesperson for Bord Bia told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Bord Bia has never sponsored the UK (or England) national culinary team, nor has it provided sponsorship at the Culinary Olympics,” it said.

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Deputy Kenny had said that he had been “contacted by members of the Irish culinary team who are very upset and feel insulted and let down by Bord Bia”.

“The Irish culinary team is made up of chefs who cook and promote Irish food produce, yet Bord Bia is not providing them with the same sponsorship it gives the UK culinary team,” he stated.

Bord Bia has said that the UK remains Ireland’s largest single export destination, worth €6.7bn in 2025, representing 35% of total exports and that it has a limited partnership with the British Culinary Federation, which showcases Irish beef.

Partnership

“As part of Bord Bia’s beef export strategy, Bord Bia has a limited UK-only partnership with the British Culinary Federation (BCF), focused specifically on two domestic chef competitions that take place in the UK and are designed to showcase Irish beef to influential UK-based chefs,” it said.

“The competitions require chefs to use Irish beef with the aim of creating long-term advocacy for Irish beef with chefs who influence menus, purchasing and peer networks.

“A key outcome is that winners of both chef competitions travel to Ireland with a key UK customer of Irish beef, to visit Irish farms and learn directly about Irish beef production, sustainability and quality systems,” the State agency added.

Bord Bia confirmed that its partnership is tied to chef competitions only.

“These are the BCF Chef of the Year (biennial) and the BCF Young Chef of the Year (annual) - both at University College Birmingham.

“In 2025, the total paid by Bord Bia to the British Culinary Federation for these competition partnerships was just over €9,000,” the spokesperson said.