Ireland: Euro-toques Food Awards

Cloonacool Arctic Charr from County Sligo in Ireland was amongst the winners at the Taste Festivals/Euro-toques Food Awards in Dublin, in which the country's top chefs honour outstanding food producers. Top chefs called on the catering industry to look towards quality local producers and think about the real cost of cheap food at the 12th annual Euro-toques Food Awards in the Westin Hotel Dublin, sponsored by Taste Festivals Ireland for the first time.

(Picture: Bill Carty from Cloonacool Arctic Charr)

Speaking at the event Euro-toques, Commissioner-General Lorcan Cribbin said that is was understandable that people would look for the cheaper options in these difficult times, but that "it makes more sense than ever to look towards quality, local food which can often represent better value. The catering industry should try to lead the way in choosing quality over quantity and providing wholesome, responsibly produced food to consumers". Each year the Euro-toques chefs nominate and select a small number of outstanding food producers who provide an excellent product or service to chefs and consumers.
"These producers manage to combine the best of artisan, traditional and natural methods with the modern demands of food production. They take into account concerns like environmental impact, animal welfare and sustainability. What they do is all about quality and taste. These people are to be commended and respected. They raise the bar for all food producers and indeed for chefs," said Cribbin. (Picture: Arctic Charr with almond and lemon butter sauce)
 

Four bakers, M&D Bakery and Hickey's in Waterford City, Harney's of Kilmacow and Barron's of Cappoquinn, were recognised for preservation of a traditional regional product, the Waterford Blaa; a white yeast bread roll unique to Waterford City and surrounds and produced there since the 1600s. McGeough's Butchers of Oughterard, Co. Galway's James McGeough was recognised for developing and producing top quality cured meats. The inaugural 'Taste Festivals Excellence Award' for an outstanding consumer product went to Green Saffron, spice specialists based in Midleton, Co. Cork. Their conscientious attitude includes their own self-imposed Carbon off-set tax, which sees them putting a percentage of profits into schemes to off-set the carbon from the journey of their spices from India.
 

Cloonacool Arctic Charr, a small family run fish farm in South County Sligo, was recognised for producing a native fish in a way which is sustainable and respectful to the environment and natural conditions of the fish. Founded in 2005, Cloonacool Arctic Charr is located at the foot of the Ox Mountains. It is family owned and run by the Carty-Johnston family (picture) who have farmed for well over a hundred years. The farm combines the best in modern, sustainable technology with ancient purity. "We believe in keeping Arctic Charr as close to its natural environment as possible’, says Bill, ‘that’s why we add nothing to the process except food and oxygen. So everyone who tastes our fish gets pure Arctic Charr, nourished only by the natural elements."

(Credits Pictures: Cloonacool Arctic Charr)
 

The Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food was in attendance to present the recipients with their awards. "These awards make waves among all people interested in the best of fresh local GM-free food" commented the Minister. Hosting the awards in the Westin, Senator Norris said that he was delighted to take part in the Eurotoques Awards. Good healthy and enjoyable food was part of the healthy enjoyment of human life. Ireland had always had the best raw materials and natural ingredients, to his mind it was only in recent years that they had made full use of this resource.
 

Held in June each year since its launch in 2006, Taste Festivals are a celebration of the most outstanding names in food and drink. City based, in unique locations, Taste brings together the city's best restaurants, food personalities, and speciality food and drinks producers.  Bringing unparalleled culinary experience to over 45,000 visitors, there is no other food event like this in Ireland (Picture: Taste Festival Dublin). Euro-toques, The European Community of Cooks, was established in 1986 in Brussels as a guardian of European culinary heritage and as a lobby group addressing the concerns of Europe's top chefs and cooks about food quality and  the future of food.

(Credits Picture: Taste Festivals)


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