Kevin and Seamus Sheridan who started selling cheese at Galway’s Saturday market in 1995 and are now a household name, have received the lifetime achievement award at this year’s Irish Food Writers’ Guild awards.
The cheesemonger brothers were among a diverse group of winners that included eel, ale, sheep’s milk yogurt and eco-friendly pig farming, at the 30th edition of the prestigious awards, celebrated at Dublin’s Suesey Street, with a lunch created by Head Chef Deniss Lasenko, featuring the winning produce.
The biggest winner of the day was Irish cheese, with Ballylisk of Armagh, Gabriel Faherty of Aran Island Goats’ Cheese and brothers, Kevin and Seamus Sheridan of Sheridan’s Cheesemongers all picking up awards.
Speaking about this year’s awards, Caroline Hennessy, chair of the IFWG said, “Since the Food Award’s inception, each winner has been chosen independently and anonymously by IFWG members, recognising the best in Irish food by shining a light on smaller producers who might otherwise slip under the radar. From traditional products of the highest quality to new innovations, this year’s winners exemplify what is so exciting about Ireland’s food and drink industry right now.”
The winners of the 2023 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards are:
- Food Award: Smoked Lough Neagh Eel, Co Antrim
- Food Award: Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Co Mayo
- Food Award: Ballylisk of Armagh, Co Armagh
- Irish Drink Award: Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne for Béal Bán, Co Kerry
- Notable Contribution to Irish Food: Gabriel Faherty, Aran Island Goats’ Cheese, Co Galway (photo attached)
- Environmental Award: The Wooded Pig, Co Meath
- Community Food Award: Field of Dreams – Down Syndrome Cork, Co Cork
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Kevin and Seamus Sheridan, Co Galway (photo of Seamus Sheridan attached)
Una Fitzgibbon, Director of Marketing at Bord Bia, which sponsors the IFWG Food Awards, said, “Bord Bia is delighted to support The Irish Food Writers’ Guild as it consistently highlights the outstanding quality, craftsmanship and innovation in Ireland’s artisan food industry through these awards. Now in their 30th year these awards have honoured those in the sector that take ingenuity and entrepreneurship to the next level. Congratulations to all those involved in these prestigious food awards and, of course, to the very deserving winners.”
The IFWG Food Awards are unique. No business or individual can enter, nor do they know if they have been nominated or shortlisted for an award. The Guild is the sole nominating and decision-making body* whose members nominate and anonymously buy products for tasting. Proportional representation voting is then undertaken at a Guild tasting meeting. Winning products must be produced in Ireland and the main ingredient must be Irish grown or produced.
Read more at: www.irishfoodwritersguild.ie
*With the exception of the Community Food Award, for which the Guild invites nominations
