Two Irish Food Companies Win Donegal Enterprise Awards 2012

Ireland's most northerly food company, Inishowen Country Kitchen has carried away the prestigious Donegal Business of the Year Award at the 2012 Enterprising Donegal Business Awards, held on Friday evening in the Silver Tassie Hotel, Letterkenny.

Owner Joseph Doherty, who took over the business in 2009, also won the Business Achievement Award category. The company which employs 25 people in Drumcarbit, Malin produces salads, garlic breads, desserts, trifles and prepared vegetables for retailers throughout Ireland including major multiples such as Tesco.

Ian Ireland, CEO of Donegal Creameries, and Seamus Neely, Chairman of Donegal County Enterprise Board, presented the awards during the black-tie dinner event which attracted a huge turnout from the local business community.

Ian Ireland, Donegal Creameries, Joseph Doherty (Winner) and Seamus Neely, Donegal County Enterprise Board, 

"I'm absolutely delighted", said Joseph.  "It has taken a lot of hard work for the past 3 years and growing the business to make it sustainable.  I'd like to thank the staff here in Malin and all of our customers for making this possible.  Word travels fast if you provide a good product and good
service and our customers have been our best sales staff.  I'd also like to thank my family whose own connection to the food industry has helped greatly and finally Michael Tunney, Ursula Donnelly and Danny McEleney of Donegal County Enterprise Board for their great support over the past 3 years."

"The amazing expansion and success of Inishowen Country Kitchen reflects its commitment to providing high quality food and its passion for creativity" said Michael Tunney, CEO of Donegal County Enterprise Board. "Joseph and his staff are a great example for other companies in the
county to show what can be achieved through innovative products and good customer service combined with hard work and determination." See: Here for More

Joseph Doherty has always been hands-on at Inishowen Country Kitchen

This year's Emerging Business Award also went to an Inishowen food company, Claire the Bakers, owned by Claire Doherty and her husband Aaron Gallagher.

  

Opened in Carndonagh in 2010, Claire the Bakers provides healthy lunches, home-baking and hand crafted cakes. The company has grown rapidly and now employs 7 people. See: Here for More

Other winners included Michael and Helen Masterson of Moll Industries Ireland , Donegal Town who won the Business Development Award. This year's Innovation Award went to Stephen McGinley for his FarmFeeder (YouTube Link) system and a special award for Community Enterprise was awarded to the Castlefinn Partnership Initiative (CPI) organisers of the North West Garden Show.

The Enterprising Donegal Business Awards are an annual event to acknowledge the contribution of local entrepreneurs to the economic and social fabric of the county. Sponsored by Donegal County Enterprise Board, each year an overall County award is made to one of the category winners,
and this company goes on to represent Donegal at the National Enterprise Awards in Dublin.  Previous winners of Business of the Year award have included Swilly Group, Gartan Technologies and DS Environmental Services.

zack

Ulster Regional Winners for the Irish Restaurant Awards 2012

The Ulster Regional Final For The Restaurant Awards 2012 sponsored By Santa Rita / Sunday Independent Life Magazine took Place In The Merchant Hotel, Belfast Tuesday 27th March 2012.

The List of Winners in each of the following categories were:

Best Customer Service

Antrim                          Berts Jazz Bar@ The Merchant Hotel

Armagh                         Pot Belly Restaurant

Cavan                            Mac Nean House & Restaurant

Derry                            City Hotel

Donegal                         Harveys Point Hotel

Down                             Cullodon Hotel

Fermanagh                   Dollakis

Monaghan                    Snaffles Brasserie@ Castle Leslie

Tyrone                         Oysters

Best Gastro Pub Sponsored By Faustino

Antrim                         The Morning Star

Armagh                        Digbys

Cavan                           The Blackhorse Inn

Derry                            Badgers Bar

Donegal                        Harrys Bar

Down                            Currans Bar

Fermanagh                  Customs House

Monaghan                    Andy's Bar

Tyrone                         The Brewers House

Best Casual Dining Sponsored By Joseph Drouhin

Antrim                         Il Pirata

Armagh                       Zio Restaurant

Cavan                          Pol O D's

Derry                           Flaming Jacks

Donegal                       The Harbour Restaurant

Down                           Strudle Bistro

Fermanagh                 Dollakis

Monaghan                   Conors Bar At Castle Leslie

Tyrone                        Deli On The Green

Wine Experience - Ulster - Sponsored By Thomas Barton

Harveys Point Co. Donegal

Kids Size Me – Ulster- Sponsored By Heinz

The Old Castle Bar & Red Hugh Restaurant

Best Hotel Restaurant

Antrim                        River Room Restaurant At Galgorm Resort & Spa

Armagh                      Newforge Country House

Cavan                         Setanta Restaurant At The Slieve Russell

Derry                         Ardmore Restaurant At Beech Hill Country House

Donegal                      The Weeping Elm Restaurant At Rathmullan House

Down                          Portaferry Hotel

Fermanagh                The Catalina Restaurant At Lough Erne Resort

Monaghan                  The Restaurant At Nuremore Hotel

Tyrone                       The Kitchen Restaurant At Lylagan Country House

Best Chef Sponsored By Tipperary Water

Antrim                        Damian Tumilty, Cafe Vaudeville

Armagh                      Dean Coppard, Uluru

Cavan                         Gearoid Lynch, The Olde Post Inn

Derry                          Ian Orr, Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge

Donegal                      Kelan Mc Michael, The Weeping Elm At Rathmullan House

Down                          Joery Castel, The Boat House

Fermanagh                Noel McMeel, Lough Erne Resort

Monaghan                  Andrew Bradley, Snaffles Restaurant At Castle Leslie

Tyrone                       Hayden Gamble, Vanilla

Best Restaurant Sponsored By Santa Rita

Antrim                        James St South

Armagh                      Uluru

Cavan                          Mc Nean House & Restaurant

Derry                          Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge

Donegal                      The Mill Restaurant

Down                          The Boathouse

Fermanagh                Watermill Restaurant

Monaghan                  Snaffles Restaurant At Castle Leslie

Tyrone                       Vanilla

All County winners will now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the Burlington Hotel Dublin on Wednesday 14th May 2012 2. www.irishrestaurantawards.com . 

There are 3 components to phase two  of the process. Each element is independently assessed by KPMG.

1. Mystery Guest Visit (35%) This component of the awards is conducted by Prism Consulting headed by Hugo Arnold, independent food writer and consultant. (http://www.hugoarnold.com). All County Winners receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of April.

2. National Awards Academy (55%) Our National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in May to Judge the County Winners.

3. Menu Judging (10%) All County winners and the Dublin Shortlist in each category are asked to submit a copy of their food menu and wine list for judging.

For Further Details Please Contact:

Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive, www.RAI.ie - 086 8263311.

Bord Bia Amenity Horticulture Quality Awards 2012

Something for the calendar for this Friday, 17th February:

The Amenity Horticulture Spring Seminar 

& the Bord Bia Amenity Horticulture Quality Awards

The National Amenity Horticulture awards recognise and promote excellence across the industry of Garden Centres. Research carried out on behalf of Bord Bia has found that 43% of people are willing to spend money on their garden and that gardening, plants and flowers are seen as a credible and acceptable treat in recessionary Ireland.  35% of respondents claimed that the economic downturn has not had any effect on their buying habits.

The National Botanic Gardens, Dublin

The College of Amenity Horticulture is located at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin in Dublin. Having the college located in The Botanic Gardens provides students with a unique training opportunity. There is a strong tradition of training at the National Botanic Gardens dating back to 1812. 

John Mulhern, College Principal, says "Our aim is to train students for employment in the amenity horticulture industry. We provide our training in association with OPW, Dublin Municipal Parks departments and the Golfing Union of Ireland. Currently we are providing training for 380 students between all our courses. There is a balance of both school leavers and mature participants among the students."

The College of Amenity Horticulture is non-residential with students finding accommodation in the locality. While on courses students are trained in the theory and practice of horticulture and get an opportunity to work in a practical way alongside skilled horticulturalists as part of their training. Graduates of our courses contribute in many sectors of the horticulture industry, such as, landscape design and construction, garden centres, parks, estate gardens, grounds maintenance and greenkeeping.

Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia said “Quality Award recipients pride themselves on delivering above and beyond consumer expectation. They have to make significant investments in training, infrastructure and procedures to attain a Quality Award and consumers can benefit greatly from identifying them before they plan a trip to the local garden centre or engage a landscape contractor.”

Carol Marks,  Bord Bia said “The research has shown that the garden is viewed as an extension to the home with people seeing it predominantly as a place to relax but also a place for entertaining, eating and for children to play. As a result of the economic downturn people are spending more time at home and many are now engaging more with the Horticultural Industry.”

Last year at the 2011 ceremony, Bord Bia presented Quality Awards to 86 horticultural businesses, which have successfully achieved the standards as set out by its Quality Assurance Programmes. This included fifty garden centres who achieved star ratings from 2 to 5 star gold, 12 Quality Approved Landscape Contractors, and twenty four Quality Approved Nurseries.

Ticket prices are:

• Seminar only - €50
• Gala Awards Presentation Dinner only - €75
• Seminar & Awards Dinner - €120

For Full Details visit the Bord Bia Events section here

Don't Forget to feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!

Zack

And the Best Irish "Food Find" of 2011 is...

On the evening of December 29^th we were sitting around chatting about all the wonderful things we had discovered during the year so I decided to pose a question to Twitter.

“Question! What was Your favourite Irish food find of 2011? #BestIrishFood” 
...I tweeted.

The replies came back thick and fast from all over, both from people in the food trade here and customers who had been out & about eating, here in Ireland, during 2011.

The general consensus was that the standard of food, produced here by small and dedicated producers, is second to none and that this standard is rising all the time as new names start to emerge from the market-stalls, farm-kitchen & start-up units around Ireland.

Some of the products named here are nationally recognised, some are only found in local shops or market-stalls and one is found on the side of the road near the sea!

They all have one thing in common. These Irish food products have all gained the respect of many hundreds of fans who are not afraid to praise their delicious & unique qualities!

One name in particular kept popping up, but I’ll save that to last!

So here, in alphabetical order, are my Top 21 Best Irish Food Finds of 2011, as decided by the Twitter foodies that follow @irishfoodguide!

Bacon Jam	With both @edhick and @eatlikeagirl getting shouts of approval!
Bellingham Blue Cheese	Made by Peter and Anita Thomas in Castlebellingham, County Louth - 042 9372343 / 087 277853
Boar’s Head Black Pudding	Jack McCarthy’s Butchers, Kanturk, Co. Cork
Connemara Hill Lamb	Fed on a diet of natural fresh herbs, heathers and grasses http://www.connemarahilllamb.ie/
Dominic’s Bakery	Yeast-free, sugar-free soda breads Athy Road, Carlow
Ed Hicks Smoked Venison	http://www.hicks.ie/
Fallow Venison from Sligo	Farmed at Coopershill Country House
Fig & Balsamic relish	“Fab with cold meats, pate and cheese” said @drivenmental
Olde Farm free-range Pork	Naturally produced, delicious, free-range pork from Tipperary
Glebe Brethan Cheese	Made by David Tiernan & Family, Dunleer, Co. Louth www.glebebrethan.com
Greenore 8yr old whiskey	Single Grain limited edition Irish whiskey http://www.cooleywhiskey.com
High Bank Orchard 's Apple Syrup	Ireland's answer to maple syrup made in Kilkenny
Home-farmed Sweetcorn	By David Burns http://on.fb.me/sCjR8v
Homemade Pizza	Pizza came well up the list with three names popping up regularly La Cucina @italianfoodie for their Irlandais Pizza & @Darren Bradley and @TheHandyKitchen coming a joint 2nd
Janets Chutneys	Made by Janet Drew in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
Lannleire Honey	Produced by Eoghan Mac Giolla Coda, Trean, Dunleer, Co. Louth (041) 6861884
Scotch eggs	at L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
Ummera Smoked Chicken	Hot Oak-smoked by Anthony Creswell in Inchybridge, Timoleague, Co. Cork. http://www.ummera.com/
Stonewell Irish Cider	Made by Daniel and Geraldine Emerson in Kinsale, County Cork
Wild Alexander Seeds	As Ed Hick said “You’ll find it at roadside near the sea. So aromatic! Like Irish peppercorns, without the heat!”

And the most tweeted-back-to-me Irish Food Find for 2012 was:

Mary & Tony Walsh’s Kilkenny Free Range Chickens

They manage production of their birds all the way from a day old chick to the end customer. Their volume of production is very small by industry standards thereby ensuring that they maintain the highest quality. 

Mary Walsh checking out her flock of gosling

Most of the people who mentioned their chicken first heard about them at the Savour Kilkenny festival and then discovered that many of the top restaurants in Dublin & the Southeast have been serving these tasty birds for several years. 


They specialise in Chicken, Duck & Geese and you can find out more about them here:

http://www.kilkennyfreerange.com

Share the news. Irish Food is simply the Best!

Don’t forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!

zack

Donegal Artisan Butcher wins European Champion Title

Celebrating 60 years in business in 2012 is a great occasion for any family tradition and now McGettigan’s Butchers in Donegal Town have added another trophy to their prestigious silverware collection after taking the title of "European Champions" for their all time favourite Hickory and Maple Sausage. The award was presented at a ceremony in Alençon, Normandy, in November.

Ernan & Diarmuid McGettigan
with their European Championship Trophy -pic donegalpost.com

“We are still in shock and we didn’t expect anything like this,” said Ernan McGettigan, co-proprietor of the family run butcher shop.

McGettigan’s Butchers won two rosettes for both their Lamb, Rosemary & Plum sausage and their Rhubarb & Ginger sausage and two trophies for their Traditional Sausage and a Curry, Banana & Mango sausage. The icing on their cake this Christmas, however, was when the judges awarded them the much sought-after European Champion’s Award for their most creative sausage with the Hickory and Maple Sausage.

By coincidence, their original version of this Hickory and Maple sausage got the family butchers their very first European award in that category back in 2001! “It was nice that ten years later, we received an even more prestigious award for the very same sausage,” said Ernan. The other countries competing for the European Title were France, Germany, Austria, Great Britain & the Netherlands. “We are delighted to take this home to Ireland!” he added.

Ernan, along with his brother Diarmuid, are now looking at the possibility of rolling out their award winning sausages nationally. “That’s something we are thinking about but for now we just want to savour and enjoy the moment!”

The wall in McGettigan’s Butchers is covered with numerous Gold Medal awards including an amazing Five times Supreme Champion Award in the Associated Craft Butchers Sausage Competition of Ireland! The family are delighted to be adding this European Champion’s Award to their already prestigious silverware collection!

60 years in business! Founder Michael McGettigan
with his sons Diarmuid & Ernan

On the 10th July 1952, Michael McGettigan opened his Butcher Shop in premises on the Diamond, Donegal Town, that were leased from a Mr Andrew Begley (where Begley’s Pharmacy now stands). Behind the counter at 9am on that opening day was Ms Minnie McGahern who, by purchasing three lamb chops for half-a-crown, became Michael’s first customer. In 1954, Michael moved to their present-day location.

For more on McGettigan’s Butchers of Donegal click on their Facebook page Here 

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!
zack

Winners at the Georgina Campbell's Ireland Guide Awards 2012

The very best of Irish hospitality gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin today for the announcement of the 2012 Georgina Campbell's Ireland Awards

IRELAND GUIDE AWARDS 2012

And the Winners are...

Hotel Of The Year	Ballynahinch Castle, Co Galway
Restaurant Of The Year	Restaurant FortyOne at Residence
Chef Of The Year	Aidan McGrath, Wild Honey Inn, Lisdoonvarna
Pub Of The Year	Mary Ann's,  Castletownsend, Co Cork
“Just Ask” Restaurant Of The Year Award  Sponsored by Bord Bia	Farmgate Café, Cork
Newcomer Of The Year	Ballyfin Demense, Ballyfin, Co. Laois
Outstanding Service Award	Chapter One, 18 - 19 Parnell Square, Dublin
Good Housekeeping Award	Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
Good Cooking Award	Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
Natural Food Award	Country Choice,  Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
Sunday Lunch Of The Year Award	Viewmount House, Longford
Atmospheric Restaurant Of The Year	Olde Post Inn, Cloverhill, Co. Cavan
Host Of The Year	Mary O'Connor, Derrynane House Hotel, Co. Kerry
Taste Of The Waterways Award	Cottage Restaurant, Jamestown, Co Leitrim
Business Hotel Of The Year	Brooklodge & Wells Spa, Co Wicklow
Wine Award Of The Year	No.1 Pery Square, Limerick
Ethnic Restaurant Of The Year	Cava Spanish Restaurant & Tapas Bar, Galway
Casual Dining Award	Salty Dog, Bangor, C. Down
Café Of The Year	An Builin Blasta, Spiddal, Co. Galway
Family Friendly Hotel Of The Year	Westport Woods Hotel, Co. Mayo
Pet Friendly Hotel of the Year	Hotel Dunloe Castle, Killarney
Hideaway Of The Year	Mill Restaurant, Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal
Green Ireland Hospitality Award	Coopershill House, Co Sligo
Country House Of The Year	Clonalis House, Co. Roscommon
Guesthouse Of The Year	Ariel House, Ballsbridge, D4
B&B Of The Year	Powersfield House, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
Farmhouse Of The Year	Coolanowle House, Co. Carlow
Irish Breakfast Awards  Winner	Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
Hotel Breakfast	Salty Dog, Bangor, Co Down
Country House Breakfast	Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
Guesthouse Breakfast	Ariel House, Ballsbridge, D4
B&B Breakfast	Powersfield House, Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Outstanding Contribution to the hospitality industry: Neven Maguire

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to @poloconghaile & @irelandguide

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!
zack