The Battle for the #FoodOscars Begins

The Restaurants Association of Ireland tonight hosted the inaugural launch for their annual Irish Restaurant Awards. The launch of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2014 in association with the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine took place this evening, Wednesday 12^th February, in the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin.

Food bloggers, journalists, sponsors, associate members, the national council of the Association and many more will travel from all four corners of the island of Ireland to raise a glass to the hospitality industry and officially kick off the 2014 Awards season.

Since these Awards started in 2009, the number of nominations have grown and grown. 2013 was a significant year for the Awards as the number of nominations doubled as a result of the transfer to an online nomination process. With almost 10,000 online votes received last year, the total number of nominations is set to break the records once again in 2014.

Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association commented; “Interest in the Irish Restaurant Awards has grown year on year, and as our awards are the only in Ireland to have a Mystery Judge element, we can really stand over the entire process. We are extremely lucky to once again have our media partner, The Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine, on board.

The awards are a celebration in the best of Irish cuisine and recognise the hard work that restaurateurs put in all year round. Restaurateurs are entrepreneurs, and to give them something back for their contribution to the hospitality industry is important. The restaurant industry is the biggest employer within the Irish tourism sector, employing over 64,000 people. They should be proud of that, and celebrate their hard work in the coming months.”

Speaking on the popularity of the Awards, Pádraic Óg Gallagher, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland said, “the Irish Restaurant Awards are the supreme accolade of the restaurant sector, these are the awards everyone wants to win“.

Online nominations open this Sunday, 16^th of February and will close on Friday, 7^th of March via www.independent.ie/irishrestaurantawards. Full information will be published in the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine on the 16^th of February, 23^rd of February and 2^nd of March.

There are 9 main award categories in which the general public, readers of the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine and members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland can nominate in. These categories and their respective sponsors are as follows:

• Best Restaurant – Kindly Sponsored by Wakefield Wines
• Best Chef – Kindly Sponsored by La Rousse Foods
• Best Restaurant Manager – Supported by the Restaurants Association of Ireland
• Best Hotel Restaurant – Kindly Sponsored by Pallas Foods
• Best Casual Dining – Kindly Sponsored by Bunzl Rafferty
• Best Gastro Pub – Supported by the Restaurants Association of Ireland
• Best Wine Experience – Kindly Sponsored by Classic Drinks
• Best Customer Experience – Kindly Sponsored by The Dining Room.ie
• Best Kids Size me – Kindly Sponsored by Heinz

In the first stage of the judging process, online nominations are given a weighting of 30%, while the remaining 70% is made up from a regional judging panel assessment. Both of these results are combined and reviewed by an independent auditor to give an overall county winner per category.  These winners will be announced at a number of regional events held in April.

Each county winner then goes forward to the Regional and All-Ireland series whereby they will then each receive a mystery guest inspection.  They will be assessed on their menu, customer service, and the overall dining experience from the moment the booking is made until the customer receives the bill. Full details on the judging process can be found on the official Awards website www.irishrestaurantawards.com

The Irish Restaurant Awards 2014 in association with the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine All–Ireland Final takes place on the 9^th of June 2014 in the Double Tree by Hilton Dublin (Formerly the Burlington).

ENDS