About the Awards
The Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards is one of the most enduring and respected events of its kind in Ireland. The Guild launched these annual awards in 1993 with a simple aim: to celebrate indigenous Irish food products of the highest quality, as well as to recognise some of the individuals, companies and initiatives which continue to make the Irish food story such an exciting one. Previous winners range from traditional producers of preserves to innovative producers of import substitutions such as Irish buffalo mozzarella.
Crucial to the integrity of the awards is the nomination and judging process. No company or individual can enter themselves into the awards, but rather are nominated in a confidential process by IFWG members. Products are bought and paid for and a formal tasting meeting takes place where members vote, using proportional representation.
A Little History
The inaugural award ceremony took place in the Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, with canapés and drinks served. Two years later, Ballygowan came on board to sponsor the awards and they were held at The Commons restaurant on St Stephen’s Green, where the chef created a four-course lunch menu featuring the winning produce. Over the years the awards were also held in the Writer’s Museum on Parnell Square with Ross Lewis of Chapter One creating the menu for the lunch.
From 2004 to 2015, the awards were hosted at l’Ecrivain on Baggot Street. In 2014, the Guild introduced the inaugural IFWG Drink Award to reflect the exciting blossoming of a vibrant craft beer, cider and spirits sector here in Ireland.
From 2016 to 2018, the awards were hosted at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, with Michelin-starred chef Guillaume Lebrun creating stunning dishes with the award-winning ingredients and Bord Bia sponsoring the event.
In 2019, the awards moved to Glovers Alley by Andy McFadden in the Fitzwilliam Hotel.
In 2020, the awards moved to The Marker, overseen by executive head chef Gareth Mullins.
In 2021 and 2022, while COVID-19 precluded the holding of in-person awards ceremonies, winners’ citations, interviews and recipes were lovingly catalogued in IFWG Food Awards e-zines, which you can check out here and here.
The Guild returned to in-person awards in 2023, moving to Suesey Street under head chef Deniss Laskeno in 2023 and head chef Matt Fuller in 2024.
Nomination Process and Criteria
• No company or individual can enter themselves into these awards
• Every member of the Guild is invited to nominate products and people they believe are worthy of an award
• All food products must be produced in Ireland and the main ingredient must be home produced
• The producer must be trading for at least three years
• Products are bought and paid for and a formal tasting meeting takes place where members vote, using proportional representation
Thanks & Appreciation
The Irish Food Writers’ Guild is grateful to the wonderful chefs and venues who have hosted our annual awards over the years, to Paul Sherwood Photography for capturing the chefs’ creations so beautifully, to Bord Bia for their continued support in making the awards possible, and to Rachel McSherry and all of her team at Sherry Communications.