The Best of The Best
It was a good week for gongs as another prestigious awards ceremony also took place. The Bushmills Restaurant of the Year Awards were presented in the Mansion House restaurant on Tuesday afternoon and, as always, were attended by the creme de la creme (brulé) of the Irish gastro community.
The awards, now in their 11th year, were hosted by broadcaster Gerry Ryan, who, incidently, must have eaten in every restaurant in the country, such was his indepth commentary on every nominee. There must be an alternative career there somewhere to fall back on, should he ever need one.
I was seated at a table of foodies including top chef Nevin Maguire of the McNean Bistro in Blacklion, Erik Robson of Ely Wine Bar and Troy Maguire of L'Gueleton. Troy informed me that plans to expand L'Gueleton are well under way. It's probably easier to secure a table at Buckingham Palace than at his restaurant at the moment - hopefully this expansion will give more people a chance to taste his super cuisine.
The Bushmills Restaurant of the Year award went to Ballymaloe House in Cork, who join the ranks of previous winners and can bask in the glory of scooping this top acolade. Best Chef Award went to Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain, who attended with his wife Sally Ann. This continues their great sucess following the recent publication of their popular cook book.
Other winners on the afternoon included Mint in Ranelagh who were presented with the Image Magazine Most Stylish award and Wing Tai House in Donegal, who won the Ireland AM Best Ethnic Restaurant Award.
Enjoying the champagne reception and lunch was composer Karl Broderick, who is busy with preparations for Ireland's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. I will be joining him and the Irish delegation in Kiev next week, so look out for exclusive ESC coverage right here!
Also at the awards were Restaurant Association of Ireland chairperson Aidan McManus, TV3 presenter Alan Hughes and TV and radio broadcaster Derek Mooney, who soon celebrates 10 years of his popular radio show Mooney Goes Wild. 10 years? He must surely have been one of the youngest talents ever in RTE!
