The Beauty of the Blas Family

The wind will blow in from the west and the sun will rise over the Dingle Peninsula this Thursday morning, awakening the town to the 11th Blas na hÉireann awards, now dubbed the Oscars of Irish food. With the autumn pink in the sky, beautiful Dingle will no doubt be putting on its best act for the thousands of food-lovers descending upon the town for the weekend.

For those who haven’t been to Blas, here’s what you need to know: the food comes first! Forget black-tie events and fine dining, the best of Irish food is celebrated over relaxed dinners and pints of Guinness. Old friends catch up, new friends are made and, ingrained in it all, fine Irish food producers are celebrated. Its informal friendly vibe is why the weekend is always referred to as “Blas” and why even newcomers feel part of the Blas family. At the helm of it all is Artie Clifford, with his daughter Fallon at his side.

“The whole thing actually started with the Dingle Food Festival,” says Artie. “I worked as a commercial fisherman for 25 years and then ran a seafood company, so I was on the steering committee for the festival. The concept of a food awards was to add something extra to the weekend, to attract more people to the event. I also felt that the best of Irish food should be recognised, but you know the Irish way; if you want something done, do it yourself.”

Defining moment

A defining moment for Artie was in the early years when he awarded the gold for seafood chowder to his biggest competitor. “It wasn’t ideal,” he says smiling, “but it was affirmation that we had the right system in place.”

When you walk into a supermarket and see a Blas na hÉireann gold label on the shelf, remember that story because the process that a producer goes through to earn its stripes is nothing short of intense. This year, 2,500 entries were submitted online. After that, the products are sent to UCC for the initial judging before the top five in each category head to Dingle where over 100 judges cast their vote.

“It is amazing how things have grown so much in just a decade. In the early years, before we judged in UCC, we used to be prepping food in a small hotel kitchen in Dingle. And then when we moved to UCC, the products would come in over three days. We now spend four weeks taking in stock.”

However, most significantly is the fact that the judging process, which was developed with Professor Joe Kerry in UCC, is still holding strong. Fallon says: “We figure that the judging process has been used over a quarter of a million times now, when you calculate the number of products, judges and years.” Its validity stands up when you consider the results of the weekend.

“The judging in UCC is very clinical, while the judging in Dingle is much more social but the ranking will generally hold right through.”

The Blas team don’t judge though. “We know the products but, as well as that, we know the producer. We know the back story to their business and how hard they work. We know if something good or bad has happened to their business over the past 12 months. Often on the Friday morning, going through final scorings, we are upset for some if they don’t do well and we’re delighted for others. There have been tears in the office when you see someone has done well.”

There have also been tears on stage when winners have been announced. “Some of the stories we’ll never forget,” says Artie. “I remember a woman winning gold one year and bursting into tears saying at the time that she submitted her entry, she didn’t know if the cheque for the entry fee would bounce. Often winning a Blas for a producer is the clap on the back they need because they are head down, working so hard that sometimes they don’t lift their head to see how far they have come. That’s the real beauty of Blas.”

Blas family heartbreak

The other real beauty of Blas is the family behind it. Fallon came on board to work with her father two years ago. Artie says: “Fathers and their girls. For years, the family just got stuck in to help me out when I was bogged down in excel sheets. I remember one day in the early years trying to figure out how we would structure the judging when a voice in the back of the car came from my daughter Rachel saying: ‘Dad, why don’t you just colour code them?’ She was still in her school uniform at the time,” he laughs.

However, this is one of the few laughs during this interview because, while both Artie and Fallon have a great love for Blas, the truth is that it, nor life, will ever be the same again. In January of this year Artie and Linda’s daughter Keady died in a devastating and tragic car accident on her way home to the apartment she shared with her partner, Sean. She had been working a night shift as a paediatric nurse in Cork. Even at the mention of her name, Fallon’s voice starts to break while tears run down Artie’s face. In fact, when it comes to Keady, Artie cannot say very much, the heartbreak evident on his face, the grief still raw.

“You know, Keady would be there this week, unpacking boxes in the kitchen at Blas, singing and dancing as she went,” says Fallon. “She was always there, always positive, and facing Blas this year is going to be incredibly hard.” Pausing, she then adds: “But then every day without Keady is incredibly hard. We are heartbroken and we are devastated but we are a family who have always been good to each other. There were no words left unsaid, there were no tensions unresolved. Our time with Keady was far too short,” says Fallon, “There are days where you feel very fortunate for what you had but very angry for what you’ve lost. Rachel and I, we see mom and dad being strong both in looking after us but in facing up to it as well. We take a lead in how they are, and how kind they are to each other and us.

“On those really hard days, you have to think about Keady and how she lived her life. She took on everything to enjoy it to the full. I don’t fully understand the purpose or the meanings behind it, behind life, but we are here. We are able to enjoy it and look after each other and love each other, and that’s as much as we know we can do.”

“We are on a journey we don’t want to be on,” adds Artie. “But the comfort we have to take from it is the support that we have got. There really is a Blas family. When Keady passed away, the house was open for two and a half days, with a steady stream of people from 9am until 11pm at night. People came from all over and the local hotels put them up for free. It was incredible.

“At the hardest time in our lives, that Blas family really proved just how special they are. You know, people talk about Dingle and the beauty of the place; the food, the stunning scenery, the heritage. I can say with a doubt in my mind that the real beauty of Dingle is the people.”