The Menu, having saddled up the doughty Neidin and ensured his Party Hat was cocked at a particularly rakish angle, lit out for the Big Smoke earlier this week to the Irish Food Writer’s Guild Annual Food Awards, one of the highlights of the Irish culinary year when the cream of Irish food writers assemble to honour the world-class Irish food world.

Cork’s reputation as the food capital of Ireland was confirmed yesterday at the 2014 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards, with six of the seven awards going to producers, organisations or individuals based in the county.

FIVE Irish food producers won prestigious Euro-toques Ireland awards yesterday for their services to Ireland’s culinary heritage.