Blas food awards: Taste of success

THE Blas na hÉireann food and drink awards were presented in Dingle over the weekend and many producers’ sterling efforts were honoured by their peers. 

This kind of recognition can help a business grow and reach a wider audience, create some if not spectacular wealth and create jobs so it’s an entirely admirable process.

These awards and the food trends dominating a society also offer a window into that culture’s priorities. Sometimes they can be a pretty sharp reflection of who and what we are. More than 430 awards were made in 120 categories and there were over 2,500 entries so this assessment was comprehensive.

The focus on food and its preparation is now something approaching a fetish; chefs, especially TV chefs, are more influential in how we construct our diet than we might care to admit. This is all entirely harmless and one day the fashion will change. However, the need to better label and be ever more vigilant on what makes up the diet of the great majority of people never will. Diet defines us and we should be at least circumspect when we use mass produced food.