Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2016
An export stout, pickled herring, organic milk, foraged preserves, sourdough bread and an organic orchard. Just imagine being a chef presented with such an eclectic selection – and asked to create a meal using these ingredients. Difficult? Not if you’re Guillaume Lebrun at Dublin’s Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.
The Silver Darlings herring kicked off proceedings with quenelles of potato and crunchy toasted buckwheat, White Gypsy Russian Imperial Stout and grilled Herford sirloin were a sweet match, while nettles and milk sang together in a glass – Wild Irish Foragers Spring Nettle Syrup sitting atop of a Mossfield organic farm milk pudding. Riot Rye’s Borodinsky sourdough was incorporated into an ice cream and the whole lot topped off with shot glasses of Irish Orchard liqueur from Highbanks Orchards.
Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly and Kilkenny; the midlands were the focus for this year’s IFWG Food Award winners, which are all nominated and voted on by members of the guild. That’s always a fascinating meeting – the nominators buy and bring the products along, talking everyone through a formal tasting. And then there are winners:
❖ Food Award: Mossfield Organic Milk
❖ Food Award: Wild Irish Foragers’ range of wild and foraged preserves
❖ Food Award: Silver Darlings
❖ Irish Drink Award: White Gypsy Russian Imperial Stout
❖ Environmental Award: Highbank Organic Orchards for its commitment to sustainable farming and food and drink production
❖ Special Contribution to Irish Food Award: Joe Fitzmaurice of Riot Rye Bakehouse and Bread School for his commitment to promoting real bread in Ireland
I’ve previously interviewed two of the winners for Culture File on Lyric fm. Read more here:
2014 Culture File: Joe Fitzmaurice of Cloughjordan Wood-fired Bakery
2014 Listen: A Limerick trilogy – herring, jam and food trails
