Double win for West Cork at Listowel Food Fair awards

By BRIAN MOORE

TWO West Cork food companies were tops for taste at the prestigious Listowel Food Fair awards last week.

Clonakilty’s go-to company for sweet treats, the Hungry Crow, and owner Niamh O’Reilly, picked up the well-deserved award for the best emerging food product for its Coconut Caramel. 

Also picking up an award was Avril Allshire Howe’s Rosscarbery Recipes for its gluten-free white pudding. ‘We are thrilled with this award from the Listowel Food Fair. The ceremony and the banquet that followed was amazing and the food was just delicious. We are also delighted to have received awards from a competition in France. While it’s always lovely to win abroad, it’s just very special to win an award at home,’ Avril told The Southern Star. 

The quality and calibre of the artisan food producers for consideration in all categories this year was very high, said festival chairman and Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan. ‘The process of adjudication is a detailed and thorough process, whereby the festival committee bring in expertise in the food industry to assess each category.’

Guests at the gala event were treated to a nine-course culinary feast, which began and ended with a small taste of the amazing food available in West Cork. 

The menu was specifically designed with each course featuring the winning produce from the 2016 Food Fair.