Awards dished out to top restaurants

AWARDS have been dished out to some of Munster’s top restaurants for having the right ingredients for a great dining experience.

And after sampling the taste of success at county level they are now going forward to the grand national finals of The Irish Restaurant Awards 2011.

The Munster awards, which recognise everything from the chef’s skill to a restaurant’s customer service, were presented at Cork’s City Hall this week at an event attended by 300 industry peers.

Nominations for the awards were made by readers of the Sunday Independent Life Magazine, members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and by regional judging panels.

Paul Cadden, the president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland said, the awards cast a spotlight on Ireland’s “hottest restaurants and chefs”.

“They have become a byword for quality, class and achievement... the awards everyone wants to win,” he said.

“As a testament to their success the entries have doubled since last year, with 6,000 nominations made for Ireland’s favourite restaurants, chefs, gastro pubs, hotel restaurants and local food heroes throughout the country.”

Mr Cadden described the restaurant sector as the economic engine room in every town in Ireland.

“Our industry has annual sales in excess of €2 billion and we employ 64,000 people,” he said.

“In fact, we are the largest employer within the Irish tourism sector.”

All county winners will now compete for the regional and All Ireland titles which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin in May.

* www.irishrestaurantaw-ards.com