Kilkenny business wins food and hospitality award

Mountain View Restaurant in Ballyhale has won the prestigious Innovation Award in the Georgina Campbell Irish Food and Hospitality Awards 2023.

Celebrating 25 years in their current incarnation, the independent Georgina Campbell Awards represent the four corners of Ireland and are the country’s longest running food and hospitality awards. They recognise and honour the standard-bearers in food and hospitality with particular focus, this year, on genuine hospitality, consistency, innovation and good value. They also pay special tributes to some of the giants of Irish food and hospitality. and the brave newcomers who, against the odds, continue to delight with inspiring new businesses.

The Ballyhale based business took home the 'innovation award' on the evening with feedback on the winning submission stating: "As lock-down projects go, what the O'Neill family have done on their 120-acre Kilkenny farm is epic by any standards. Siblings Bee O’Grady and Michael O’Neill are the driving forces behind the aptly-named third generation enterprise, which enjoys a truly rural setting in rolling hills with wonderful views across miles of the regions famous farmland.

"Originally their parents’ farm, and opened as a golf course 30 years ago, it now offers an astonishing range of experiences, including an alternative wedding and events venue, a boutique (dog friendly) glamping village, a seasonal weekly farmers; market and a panoramic restaurant, The Greenhouse, where well known Head Chef Rory Nolan (recently of Kilkenny’s former Anocht restaurant) creates beautiful seasonally-led menus showcasing local produce. Sustainability is at the heart of everything they do here, and what a gem of a place it is."