The menu: Irish Food Writers’ Guild’s annual awards

The Menu is, naturally, swathed in green this weekend, raising a glass to the Oul’ Sod and all who eat in her, recalling another splendid celebration of fine Irish produce and producers last week in Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild’s annual awards beano. 

Six winners were announced along with the Guild’s first posthumous award, honouring the late, great Oliver Hughes, one of the original pioneers of the Irish craft beer revolution and founder of the Porterhouse in Dublin and Dingle Distillery.

The 2017 food award winners are The Friendly Farmer (Ronan Byrne, of Galway) for his pasture-reared chickens, Cork’s Ummera Irish Smokehouse (Anthony Cresswell) for Ummera Smoked Silver Hill Duck Breast and, an especial Menu fave, Cuinneog, for Irish Farmhouse Country Butter and Natural Buttermilk.