For nearly 20 years, Good Food Ireland has brought farming into the heart of tourism – often in the most literal sense.
“We had our first Good Food Ireland Awards in the Shelbourne Hotel in 2007 and we brought four sheep into the ballroom of the Shelbourne,” laughs Margaret Jeffares, founder and managing director of Good Food Ireland. “It had just had a million plus euro refurbishment!”
“It was a coming together of the two biggest sectors in the country – the farming sector and tourism sector – who were normally never in a room together. We did a big showcase where we had the producer and the chef side by side.”
Highlighting the connection between farming and tourism is "personal" to Margaret, who was raised on a dairy farm in Co Clare, married a farmer in Co Wexford and had a career in international tourism marketing.
“Good Food Ireland was the first brand that really pulled together the agrifood sector and the tourism hospitality sector,” says Margaret. “Chefs did not meet the producers. Chefs did not go to farms. It was not the norm.”
The Good Food Ireland Awards continue to celebrate businesses at every layer of Ireland’s food, drink and tourism industry. From producers to chefs, hotels to restaurants, every business shortlisted for an award embodies all that makes
Ireland’s food and drink offering so unique.
The Good Food Ireland Awards 2024 in association with FBD Insurance took place on Monday, 11 November at The K Club Hotel, Co Kildare. Winners were revealed at a high-profile awards ceremony attended by some 300 guests, including Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders.
Winners
Margaret Jeffares with the Glenroyal Hotel Co Kildare, one of the winners of the new Food Lovers Choice Award. \Paul Sherwood Photography
Among the 2024 winners were Peter Caviston of Caviston’s Seafood Restaurant and Food Emporium in Glasthule, honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to the craft of fishmongering; Anthony Creswell, the Master Smoker behind Ummera Smoked Products in Cork, who received an award for his Outstanding Contribution to Food Production; The O’Neill Family of Mountain View, Kilkenny, a third-generation family business, recognised as Food Innovator of the Year for their multi-faceted approach to food production; and Kelly’s of Newport, Co Mayo, a third-generation artisan butcher, who received the title of Good Food Ireland Overall Producer of The Year.
“So many of our winners this year are second or third generation family-run businesses who make up the very foundation of what’s so special about Ireland’s food and drink,” says Margaret.
“They are the benchmarks for everybody,” she adds. “When we put up a winner of a restaurant category or we put up a winner of a culinary haven category, you can go and visit those and see how they tell their story and see what they do.”
For the first time in the history of the awards, members of the public got the opportunity to cast their votes online for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Awards which was opened up to all businesses who believe they share the Good Food Ireland philosophy.
The winners for each region were: Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, Limerick (Wild Atlantic Way); Corrigan’s Butchers Drumcondra (Dublin); The Glenroyal Hotel, Kildare (Ireland’s Ancient East); Kilronan Castle Estate, Roscommon (Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands); and Culloden Estate & Spa, Down (Northern Ireland).
Prioritising Irish ingredients
Margaret Jeffares with Anthony Creswell, who received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Food Production. \Paul Sherwood Photography
The core emphasis of the awards is the consumer experience of local, fresh, seasonal Irish ingredients.
“People now realise that to say that they’re using Irish ingredients or supporting local producers is commercial,” says Margaret. “They know that’s what the consumer wants but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re doing it. People need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
“The other thing about the Good Food Ireland brand is that it’s not just about Irish businesses that are producing food in this country and employing people. It’s an Irish ingredient led experience.”
“You have to prioritise Irish ingredients. You have to be Irish ingredient led," says Margaret. "For our smoked salmon producers, their salmon doesn't come from Norway, Sweden or Scotland. These are producers that smoke Irish organic salmon."
The Good Food Ireland Award nominees are judged by an independent group of industry experts who select the winners following mystery on-site inspections and assessments in the weeks preceding the awards ceremony.
A plethora of Irish businesses support the awards including FBD Insurance, Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia, the National Dairy Council and AIB.
It’s not just about Irish businesses that are producing food in this country and employing people. It’s an Irish ingredient led experience
“These are very high respectable brands that give Good Food Ireland the respect and credibility. We’re very proud of that. But that has come from all of us working together over 18 years and all the people that have brought Good Food Ireland to where it is today.”
Coming up to Christmas, a big consumer purchasing time, Margaret says that Good Food Ireland wants to inspire people to go into supermarkets and look for local and quality-assured labels.
“Go for the Bord Bia quality assurance mark," Margaret advises. “If you are on a tight budget, look at the food in season, because the food in season is always going to be the best price.”
Margaret says that we can take our food for granted but Christmas can be a time to support the local farming community.
“Understand where the food comes from,” she says. “Every time you pour your jug of milk into your coffee, remember, there’s a farmer behind that jug of milk. There’s a family whose Christmas dinner is scheduled around what time they’re going to milk the cows,” reminds Margaret.
Good Food Ireland aims to foster and highlight these connections, bringing visibility to local producers and encouraging a deeper understanding of where our food is sourced and how it is made.
“That’s what Good Food Ireland does”, Margaret concludes. “Today, the brand is still a unique all-island brand linking the consumer literally from the farm to the sea to the table.”
For nearly 20 years, Good Food Ireland has brought farming into the heart of tourism – often in the most literal sense.
“We had our first Good Food Ireland Awards in the Shelbourne Hotel in 2007 and we brought four sheep into the ballroom of the Shelbourne,” laughs Margaret Jeffares, founder and managing director of Good Food Ireland. “It had just had a million plus euro refurbishment!”
“It was a coming together of the two biggest sectors in the country – the farming sector and tourism sector – who were normally never in a room together. We did a big showcase where we had the producer and the chef side by side.”
Highlighting the connection between farming and tourism is "personal" to Margaret, who was raised on a dairy farm in Co Clare, married a farmer in Co Wexford and had a career in international tourism marketing.
“Good Food Ireland was the first brand that really pulled together the agrifood sector and the tourism hospitality sector,” says Margaret. “Chefs did not meet the producers. Chefs did not go to farms. It was not the norm.”
The Good Food Ireland Awards continue to celebrate businesses at every layer of Ireland’s food, drink and tourism industry. From producers to chefs, hotels to restaurants, every business shortlisted for an award embodies all that makes
Ireland’s food and drink offering so unique.
The Good Food Ireland Awards 2024 in association with FBD Insurance took place on Monday, 11 November at The K Club Hotel, Co Kildare. Winners were revealed at a high-profile awards ceremony attended by some 300 guests, including Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders.
Winners
Margaret Jeffares with the Glenroyal Hotel Co Kildare, one of the winners of the new Food Lovers Choice Award. \Paul Sherwood Photography
Among the 2024 winners were Peter Caviston of Caviston’s Seafood Restaurant and Food Emporium in Glasthule, honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to the craft of fishmongering; Anthony Creswell, the Master Smoker behind Ummera Smoked Products in Cork, who received an award for his Outstanding Contribution to Food Production; The O’Neill Family of Mountain View, Kilkenny, a third-generation family business, recognised as Food Innovator of the Year for their multi-faceted approach to food production; and Kelly’s of Newport, Co Mayo, a third-generation artisan butcher, who received the title of Good Food Ireland Overall Producer of The Year.
“So many of our winners this year are second or third generation family-run businesses who make up the very foundation of what’s so special about Ireland’s food and drink,” says Margaret.
“They are the benchmarks for everybody,” she adds. “When we put up a winner of a restaurant category or we put up a winner of a culinary haven category, you can go and visit those and see how they tell their story and see what they do.”
For the first time in the history of the awards, members of the public got the opportunity to cast their votes online for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Awards which was opened up to all businesses who believe they share the Good Food Ireland philosophy.
The winners for each region were: Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, Limerick (Wild Atlantic Way); Corrigan’s Butchers Drumcondra (Dublin); The Glenroyal Hotel, Kildare (Ireland’s Ancient East); Kilronan Castle Estate, Roscommon (Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands); and Culloden Estate & Spa, Down (Northern Ireland).
Prioritising Irish ingredients
Margaret Jeffares with Anthony Creswell, who received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Food Production. \Paul Sherwood Photography
The core emphasis of the awards is the consumer experience of local, fresh, seasonal Irish ingredients.
“People now realise that to say that they’re using Irish ingredients or supporting local producers is commercial,” says Margaret. “They know that’s what the consumer wants but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re doing it. People need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
“The other thing about the Good Food Ireland brand is that it’s not just about Irish businesses that are producing food in this country and employing people. It’s an Irish ingredient led experience.”
“You have to prioritise Irish ingredients. You have to be Irish ingredient led," says Margaret. "For our smoked salmon producers, their salmon doesn't come from Norway, Sweden or Scotland. These are producers that smoke Irish organic salmon."
The Good Food Ireland Award nominees are judged by an independent group of industry experts who select the winners following mystery on-site inspections and assessments in the weeks preceding the awards ceremony.
A plethora of Irish businesses support the awards including FBD Insurance, Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia, the National Dairy Council and AIB.
It’s not just about Irish businesses that are producing food in this country and employing people. It’s an Irish ingredient led experience
“These are very high respectable brands that give Good Food Ireland the respect and credibility. We’re very proud of that. But that has come from all of us working together over 18 years and all the people that have brought Good Food Ireland to where it is today.”
Coming up to Christmas, a big consumer purchasing time, Margaret says that Good Food Ireland wants to inspire people to go into supermarkets and look for local and quality-assured labels.
“Go for the Bord Bia quality assurance mark," Margaret advises. “If you are on a tight budget, look at the food in season, because the food in season is always going to be the best price.”
Margaret says that we can take our food for granted but Christmas can be a time to support the local farming community.
“Understand where the food comes from,” she says. “Every time you pour your jug of milk into your coffee, remember, there’s a farmer behind that jug of milk. There’s a family whose Christmas dinner is scheduled around what time they’re going to milk the cows,” reminds Margaret.
Good Food Ireland aims to foster and highlight these connections, bringing visibility to local producers and encouraging a deeper understanding of where our food is sourced and how it is made.
“That’s what Good Food Ireland does”, Margaret concludes. “Today, the brand is still a unique all-island brand linking the consumer literally from the farm to the sea to the table.”
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