It’s official: Chocolate and cheese aren’t good – they’re great!
Irish chocolate, cheese and whiskey among winners in 2020 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards
Print11 March 2020
It’s official: chocolate and cheese aren’t just good, but when made locally and sustainably or produced using traditional methods, the chances are they’re great. This comes from Kristin Jensen, chairperson of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG), speaking at the annual IFWG Food Awards.
Now in its 26th year, the awards celebrate excellence and recognise indigenous food producers and organisations that help to create and maintain Ireland’s outstanding reputation in food and drink.
“These awards highlight the incredible work of small, independent Irish food producers and organisations at a time when supporting local, home-grown industries has never been more relevant or important,” added Jensen.
No one can enter themselves or their product into the awards and no company knows it has been nominated or shortlisted for an award. The Irish Food Writers’ Guild is the sole nominating and decision-making body, with the exception of the community food award, which the guild invites nominations every year from the public.
The winners of the 2020 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards are:
- Food Award: Frank Hederman for Hederman Hot Smoked Irish Salmon, Co. Cork
- Food Award: Shine’s Seafood for Shine’s Wild Irish Tuna, Co. Donegal
- Food Award: Inch House Traditional Black Pudding, Co. Tipperary
- Irish Drink Award: Teeling Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Co. Dublin
- Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food Award: Joyce Timmins, Co. Dublin
- Environmental Award: Exploding Tree (chocolate), Co. Cork
- Community Food Award: Falling Fruit Ireland (fruit harvesting), Co. Dublin
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeffa Gill (cheesemaker), Co. Cork
Cork’s reputation as a centre of food excellence received an even bigger boost, with three of the eight IFWG Awards going to the county this year.
“In considering this year’s award winners, we identified a fantastic company producing Fairtrade chocolate sustainably in Cork, along with a wonderful cheesemaker, also in Cork, who has dedicated much of her life to the betterment of Ireland’s food culture,” said Jensen.
“The guild was so impressed by their work, their standards of excellence and their contribution to our food industry that we have singled them both out for an IFWG Award, one of the highest accolades in the Irish food honors list.”
Una Fitzgibbon, director of marketing, Bord Bia said: “Consumers are actively seeking out new food experiences and research by our consumer and market insight centre, Bord Bia Thinking House, has shown that the majority of Irish shoppers have a real appetite to buy locally sourced, high-quality food and drink products. This is good news for the many small to medium producers who underpin the wider local community and the image of Ireland as a provider of innovative and sustainable food. The IFWG Awards are an opportunity to pay tribute to these artisan producers and recognise the important contribution they make to the Irish economy.”
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