Two Kilkenny businesses shortlisted for Good Food Ireland awards!

Two of Kilkenny's foodie businesses have been short listed for this year's prestigious Good Food Ireland awards!

A popular café and a food producer are included in their respective categories.

Café Of The Year – Fennelly's of Callan

Sustainability Award – O' Shea Farms

The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile business lunch taking place on Monday 17th April at The K Club, County Kildare.

What sets the Good Food Ireland Awards apart from all others is their cross-sector approach, celebrating the successful collaboration of agri-food and tourism working together for inclusive economic growth. Each award will be underpinned by premium quality, exceptional achievement, innovation, agility and resilience, together with a core commitment to local Irish provenance, community, sustainability and a culture where all can flourish.

Bon appetit! Kilkenny commis chef apprentice wins national award

An independent panel of Irish and international leaders including founder and managing director of Good Food Ireland Margaret Jeffares, journalists John Wilson and Amii McKeever, IFAC Consultant Stephanie Walsh and Executive Chairman and Owner of Odyssey International Kevin Shannon, shortlisted the nominees from those businesses approved by Good Food Ireland, subject to meeting strict criteria through onsite inspection. The expert panel will select the overall winner following mystery inspections and assessments.

The public also has the opportunity to cast their votes for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Award. The shortlist will be drawn from the finalists in all other categories. Online voting began on Tuesday 7th March and remain open until Monday 20th March.

Other awards of recognition will include Outstanding Contribution to Food Production, Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food/Drink Internationally and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Returning for the first time since pre-Covid, the awards – proudly sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and National Dairy Council – will be opened by guest of honour, Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and attended by some 300 guests including business owners, Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders. Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, will deliver the afternoon’s Key Note speech.

'Concerns' from employees regarding potential closure of office in Kilkenny

Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland says: "There is great excitement around the return of The Good Food Ireland Awards. All of those wonderful businesses who have made the shortlist are a committed collection of passionate and driven people who genuinely capture the essence of Ireland's food and drink, setting it in a cultural context to inspire travellers, international consumers and locals to seek out real authenticity and Irish provenance. All the judges would like to extend our congratulations to them all and wish everyone the best of luck for the 17th April."

See the full shortlist of finalists below. For full details on the individual awards, tickets to the event, and general information about Good Food Ireland visit goodfoodireland.ie